Vermont at Stony Brook 2/7/15

Vermont 57 Stony Brook 48

In a week where the Vermont program has been on an emotional roller coaster the Cats rode that roller coaster to an incredible comeback victory against Stony Brook. The first half was easily the work half of basketball a John Becker coached team has ever had. Even the most optimistic fan would have been tempted to shut off the television. Vermont then opened the second half and promptly went down by 17 points. Things were looking bleak and it was easy to think that the weight of the week had finally caught up to the Cats. Then all of a sudden little by little Vermont began to find their offense. With the defense forcing turnovers and keeping Stony Brook off the offensive glass, Vermont was finally able to find some driving lanes and get to the hoop. My rule when making a comeback is as long as the number of points a team is down is equal to or less than the number of minutes left in a game, that team is still in the game. Shots finally started to fall and Vermont dug deep. Cam Ward hit the first three of the game and cut the deficit to single digits. He always seems to be the guy that hit shots when no one else is. From that point on it was the Brandon Hatton and Ethan O'Day show. They scored 20 of Vermont's last 23 points. Brandon Hatton broke out of a long slump and he did it by putting the ball on the floor and getting to the hoop. This was a savvy move by him and is the hallmark of an experienced basketball player. Hatton's three point shooting has not been consistent and he needed to find a different way to jump start his scoring. Putting the ball on the floor has been something he had shown in flashes throughout the year. In this game he was decisive and looking to score every time he touched the ball. Ethan O'Day was also more assertive than I have seen him this year and played like a man possessed in the second half. When he touched the ball he was looking to attack and most of his points came off drives to the rim and perimeter jumpers. He relentlessly went after Jameel Warney and used his quickness to create space to score. This Vermont team has tremendous guts and never quits. No matter how they are playing or what the situation, they believe they have a chance to win and find the strength to overcome whatever they are struggling with. This win is HUGE. This gives them a two game separation from Stony Brook and they finally got over the hump and won a game where they were down big. Vermont is now firmly in the drivers seat for the second seed in the conference. With Josh Speidel in their hearts and home playoff games on their minds, Vermont is poised to overcome any obstacle that comes their way down the final stretch of the season.