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The Bearcats held on for a 71-66 win over previously unbeaten La Roche College on the road to move to 3-0 on the season.

After a slow start by both teams offensively, Saint Vincent was down 9-5 seven minutes into play before Tauvon Pettiford scored six straight points to key a 9-0 Bearcat run.  From there, the visitors never lost the lead.

Four straight points by Dennis Bassich ran the lead to seven, 22-15, at the 5:19 mark, and another score from the senior later made it a 9-point game, 29-20.  A three point play by Bassich, who scored 14 in the first half, ended the first 20 minutes with the Bearcats up, 32-26.

The Bearcat offense and defense was strong to open the second half, as the team scored nine points in the opening minute while shutting down the Redhawks, making the score 41-26.  Isaac Turner, who was limited to just three points in the first half, scored five points during the run. 

The hosts cut the gap to nine, 43-34, after a pair of free throws at the 16:12 mark, but Turner and Armani Fountain paced the offense, building the lead back to 12 two minutes later, 52-40. 

La Roche eventually fought back, closing the gap to just two, 61-59, with 4:30 to go, but Bassich hit a long three, then Pettiford drew a charge with 2:49 remaining.  He then hit a jumper at the 2:20 mark to run the lead back to seven, 66-59.

Once again, the hosts refused to quit, going on a five-point run of their own to make the score 68-66 with 47 seconds left, but Bassich hit three free throws in the closing seconds to seal the win.

Saint Vincent was led by Bassich's 23 points, while Turner tallied 17 for the game.  Fountain added 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.  Bassich also recorded three steals.

For La Roche, Michael Dixon led the way with 17 points, while David Jackson scored 10 and added a game-high 10 rebounds.

With the win, SVC is now 3-0 on the year, while La Roche falls to 2-1.