The Johnson & Wales University men’s basketball team dropped a heart-breaking 77-75 decision against Southern Vermont at the Harborside RAC on Saturday afternoon. The game was the final regular-season home game for seniors Conor Moran (Rio de Janiero, Brazil), Brian Fernandes (Fall River, Mass.), Brian Bannister (Boston, Mass.) and Simon Keeling (Doncaster, England)
Fernandes became just the sixth-player in school history to score 1,000 career points when he hit a three-pointer with 9:00 left in the first half. Fernandes finished with 20 points, three rebounds and three assists while Bannister recorded a game-high 28 points with five boards and four assists. Leading the ay for Southern Vermont was junior Douglas Hammond (Brooklyn, N.Y.) who recorded a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds while junior sophomore Hasili Tambuzi (Mesa Ariz.) added 15 points, six rebounds and three assists in the victory.
The two teams battled back and forth throughout the early stages of the first half with the game tied 15-15 at the 9:24 mark. JWU then used an 8-0 run, capped by a three-point play by Fernandes to give the Wildcats a 23-15 lead. Southern Vermont would respond, however and regained the lead when a three-pointer put the team ahead 29-28 with 2:42 left in the half. The visiting Mountaineers took a 35-34 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The two teams traded leads throughout the second half with neither team holding more than a five-point lead. A layup by Bannister with :43 seconds left gave JWU the 75-74 lead. SVC responded with a layup by senior Tim Bonnett (Laurel, Md.) with :35 left. The Mountaineers added a free-throw to take the 77-75 lead. In the final seconds, JWU had several shots to tie or take the lead, but none of them fell as Southern Vermont took the victory.
With the loss Johnson & Wales falls to 12-13 on the season, 10-8 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference while Southern Vermont improves to 10-15, 9-9 in league play. The Wildcats will return to action on Tuesday, February 21st when they travel to Emerson for the quarterfinals of the GNAC Championship. The game will take place at Pine Manor College at 7:00 p.m.
www.JWU.edu/prov/athletics
For more information, contact Dan Booth (401) 598-1632 or (401) 338-4093