Wagner at Vermont 12/14/14

Vermont 61 Wagner 47

A win is a win. This was a tough game to watch because there was zero flow. Wagner had one skilled player and absolutely no organization or discipline. They were lucky to score 47 as much of their offense came from about 25 feet from the hoop. The Wagner players committed fouls on nearly every play and the referees inconsistently enforced the rules throughout the game. This would have all been fine if Vermont had not started slow and played down to Wagner's level for much of the game. It took about 10 minutes for Vermont to get their first hoop and they never got in rhythm. Not having Hector Harold hurt the offensive flow as he can really stretch the floor and create driving lanes for the guards. Seeing him in a walking boot on the sidelines is discouraging. Vermont can't seem to get healthy. With the offense sputtering the defense was solid from the opening tip. This team can really clamp down and force teams into tough shots. Trae Bell-Haynes looked solid down the stretch and hit his free throws, which right now seems to be a challenge for most of the Vermont players. Team free throw shooting continues to be an adventure and makes each trip to the line tough to watch. Brandon Hatton maintained his strong stretch of play. He has a scorers mentality and is always ready to shoot. His defense is improving and he is clearly starting to carve out a role on this team. Cam Ward came up with another circus shot from three and it couldn't have come at a better time. It stretched the lead and took the wind out of Wagner's sails. He has looked a little tentative over the last two games and seems a little unsure what he wants to do when the ball is in his hands. The turning point in the game was Dre Wills going up for a monster dunk to give Vermont momentum......and then he gave it right back by getting a technical foul for taunting. I love Wills' enthusiasm and hustle but he is going to have to watch some of his on the court extracurriculars. That is already two technicals on the season and this one really hurt the team. Instead of a double digit lead and Wagner on their heels, Wagner seemed to rally and made their run directly following the technical foul. What is most frustrating is I have been waiting for Wills to dunk like that on someone and it was a bittersweet moment. I am sure Wills will be able to clean it up and there will be many more dunks. The Yale game on Thursday is going to be a tough hard nosed game and will provide this young team another difficult test.