Vermont at Maine 1/6/16

Vermont 90 Maine 72

Vermont  used a strong second half to put Maine away in their conference opener. In the first half the Cats played lackluster defense which gave Maine too many easy looks. In the second half Vermont clamped down on defense and forced Maine into turnovers and bad shots. Vermont scored at will for the entire game as Maine played little to no defense. Bob Walsh is installing a fast paced style with a lot of trapping on defense and it will be interesting to see when he gets a full team of "his" players what they can do. With the current Maine team they end up giving the opposing team too many wide open shots because once the pressure is broken there is no back line to defend the rim. I was surprised at how poor Maine looked, especially on defense. Vermont took advantage and never took their foot off the gas. A big shout out to Ethan O'Day for scoring his 1000th point in the game. That is a testament to his impact on the program from the moment he stepped on the floor. O'Day finished with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists in what was a very strong all around game. Trae Bell-Haynes has been great all year and many superlatives have been thrown his way. Tonight he was literally unstoppable and it felt like he could have scored 40. Bell-Haynes finished with 27 points as he was able to blow by any defender that Maine could throw at him. I thought the key to the improved defense was Nate Rohrer. He played most of the second half because once again Darren Payen was getting taken advantage of on the defensive end. Rohrer missed a few bunnies at the rim but did all the little things well throughout the second half. Most everyone who played for Vermont contributed positively and now it is on to a big game with Albany on Saturday in the conference home opener. The Albany games are always big in what is a very intense rivalry and this one will be no different. In order to Vermont to compete for the title they have to win at home. It also serves as a great early season measuring stick for the Cats. Both teams are playing their best basketball of the season and it will no doubt be a tough, physical affair.