Riverdale, N.Y. - The College of Mount Saint Vincent's men's basketball team faced off against their first Division III competition of the year against Southern Vermont in Williamstown, Massachusetts for the Williams College Tip-off tournament on Saturday evening. The Dolphins, who are coming off one of their best seasons in school history, were looking to get off to a hot start. Unfortunately, a hot start is not what the Dolphins got, as they came out of the gate only hitting two of their first ten three pointers. The poor shooting continued throughout the first half of play, shooting 31% from the field and 27% from beyond the arc. This slow start helped Southern Vermont gain a big early lead. Thanks to stellar defense, the Dolphins went on a huge run, highlighted by freshman Kalos Evans, who shot 100% in the first half. The Dolphins closed the gap to five at the half and were looking to complete the comeback. 

The second half was a high energy up and down game. The Dolphins seemed to fix their shooting woes and shot 48% from the field and 37% from three. The Dolphins outplayed Southern Vermont in every aspect of the game over the final 20 minutes. CMSV was led by junior guard Raiquis Harris and sophomore Vinny Tavella, as they combined for half of the Dolphins points in the second half. But fouls killed the Dolphins throughout the game. They sent Vermont to the free line 43 times, with the opponents knocking down 35 of them. This proved to be the difference in the game, as CMSV only got to the line nine times throughout the game. The early deficit and foul troubles killed CMSV but it is still early in the season and they showed signs of greatness in the contest.

The Dolphins get right back to action tomorrow in Williamstown where they will take on Salem State University in the tournament's consolation game. The Dolphins will be looking for their first win of the season.