Vermont at Hartford 1/16/16

Vermont 83 Hartford 68

Vermont rebounded from a tough first half to win on the road at Hartford. To begin the game the Cats pounded the ball inside and looked like they would dominate. Then Trae Bell-Haynes went down with what looked like a pretty serious injury and Vermont lost their focus. On offense they stopped getting the ball inside and settled for too many jumpers. On defense they let Hartford dictate the pace of play and let them run their sets with little resistance. Hartford caught fire from three and erased a 17 point deficit to go into halftime with a 42-39 lead. The Cats went to the locker room, regained their focus, and played tough defense in the second half. Vermont held Hartford to 1-12 shooting from three in the second half after allowing 9-14 from three in the first half. The star of the game was Ethan O'Day. The senior leader dominated from the opening tip on his way to a career high 24 points. O'Day added 10 rebounds and 6 blocks for his 3rd career double double. Cam Ward also stepped up in a big way. With Bell-Haynes going down, Ward was forced to play huge minutes and responded by scoring 17 points and dishing out 7 assists. The depth that Vermont has at point guard certainly saved the day. Several players stepped up after being thrust into bigger roles. Nate Rohrer got his first start of the year and responded by playing tough defense and grabbing several key offensive rebounds. He also threw in 4 assists for good measure. The numbers don't tell the whole story as Rohrer does all the little things that help a team win. Everett Duncan came off the bench and went 3-3 from three, scoring a career high 11 points. Ernie Duncan rebounded from the worst game of his young career, scoring 15 points and looking much more comfortable out on the court. The Cats cannot seem to catch  break as just when they are about to get Dre Wills back and finally play with a full team.....Bell-Haynes gets hurt. I hope he recovers soon but I would have to think he will miss some time. Losing Bell-Haynes is a huge blow as he has been on a tear and one of the most consistent players on Vermont all year. The Cats have a quick turnaround as they host UMass Lowell on Monday night. That game will be the first for Wills in quite and while and due to the Bell-Haynes injury, he may have to play big minutes right away.