Vermont 85 Maine 68
Happy birthday Darren Payen!!!
Vermont pulled away from Maine in the second half by dominating in the paint. At the center of it all was Payen putting in his best effort as a Catamount. Payen finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds and made several other hustle plays on both ends of the floor. After losing his starting job and looking entirely lost for the month of January, it was starting to look like Payen wasn't going to contribute in the way the coaching staff had hoped. This is only one game but he is slowly looking like he may be figuring things out. His offensive skills have been strong all year but he has been unable to stay on the court due to his defensive deficiencies. Maine doesn't exactly have an imposing frontcourt but Payen had been struggling no matter the opponent. It is nice to see him have a good game and hopefully this will boost his confidence and springboard him to a strong finish. His counterpart Ethan O'Day also had a great game and is really putting it all together. O'Day led Vermont with 23 points and contributed all around by adding 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks. In conference play he is averaging 16.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg, and leads the conference at 2.4 bpg. He is stepping up in a big way and trying to finish his career on a high note. Trae Bell-Haynes had a nice game with 11 points and a season high 8 assists. Drew Urquhart and Dre Wills both hit double figures off the bench and played great during the run that put the game away. Wills knows how to step up in the big moments and gives this team a finisher. He still doesn't look fully healthy and at this point is seems as though it is going to linger for the rest of the season. Speaking of health, I think Ernie Duncan has hit the proverbial "freshman wall". He is really struggling to contribute positively on the court now that his outside shot has stopped falling. The rigors of a full season after sitting out for so long seem to be taking their toll. Maine still looked weak to me but I kept telling myself "this team beat Albany?!?" Maine just couldn't stop anyone around the rim as Vermont shot 20-23 (87%) from inside the three point line in the second half. Now the Cats have a brutal Saturday/Monday road trip from Albany to UMass Lowell. Two teams that beat Vermont handily and two very tough road games. They have to at least split the two games if they have any hope at earning a home playoff game. All the games are important down the stretch but this is the weekend that will determine a lot about how the rest of the season will play out for Vermont.
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