Vermont 73 UNH 67
They are who we thought they were.
On a night when Ethan O'Day was being honored for a great career, the Cats turned the clock back and played like the teams that he has been accustomed to playing for. Vermont out-muscled and out-physicaled UNH on their way to a hard fought victory. The Cats played tough defense and forced UNH to take contested shots throughout the game. They also ended up with a 38-37 rebounding advantage against one of the best rebounding teams in the conference. Just a great all around game where everyone contributed positively and came up big in big moments. O'Day turned in a pedestrian looking 8 point, 8 rebound performance but this game was far more than a box score. O'Day played tough defense and grabbed some crucial rebounds. He also made several strong hustle plays and left it all out on the floor playing a team high 36 minutes on senior night. Even though at times he has struggled, O'Day really has put together a strong senior season where he has stayed out of foul trouble and rebounded at the highest rate of his career. It has been a joy to watch him in a Catamount uniform. Trae Bell-Haynes had one of the oddest games of his career. He led the team is scoring with 16 points despite only playing 23 minutes due to foul trouble. He scored by hitting 3-4 from three point range. That alone would not necessarily be strange, but he hit two of those threes back to back, pulling up, and with a defender right on him. Not typically part of his game but I would be happy to see him add that to his arsenal as he would become even tougher to guard. Cam Ward continued his strong play with 11 points and 5 assists to go along with zero turnovers. His ability to take care of the ball is tremendous and he always seems to be playing under control. He hit the big three pointer with the shot clock running down and a defender right in his grill. If the clock is winding down, he is the one I want with the ball. A couple other players like O'Day that played better than their boxscore were Ernie Duncan and Nate Rohrer. Duncan took the ball to the hole aggressively and it seems like he is starting to trust his body more. I think he will continue to add more dimensions to his game as he gets healthier and adjusts to the college game. Nate Rohrer continues to play valuable minutes and has really saved the Cats this year. He gives them a tough, physical, high IQ post player. He always seems to make big plays and tonight stepped up during several crucial moments. It still amazes me that he called Vermont out of the blue and joined the team. Kurt Steidl continues to do the dirty work and finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds. He has been a tremendous steady presence all year. No matter what happens with their seeding, this is a big win for Vermont. As long as they win their playoff game and give themselves a chance to go on the road and pull an upset, they will have had a good season. The Cats are playing their best basketball of the season at the right time and can go into the finale at Stony Brook loose and give them all they've got. UNH is a very tough team that has beaten Albany and taken Stony Brook to the last shot and Vermont has now swept them. For all the difficulties this season, what is most important is that Vermont has come through the other side stronger and is playing together at the right time.
P.S. It is tough to already be thinking about next year but if anyone has been following the 2016 Vermont recruit Anthony Lamb's senior season, it is hard not to get excited. Lamb averaged 30 points and 16 rebounds while leading his team to a number one seed. He is one of 4 finalists for Mr. Basketball in the state of New York and is currently trying to lead his team to back to back sectional titles. In the semifinals he led his team to an overtime victory with 45 points and 18 rebounds. His performance included scoring all 18 of his team's fourth quarter points, leading them back from 9 down and he hit 3 free throws to tie the game and send it to overtime. The kid is a beast and I absolutely cannot wait to see him in a Vermont uniform. His next game is the section final on February 28th.
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