Yale at Vermont 11/26/16

Vermont 67 Yale 65

Ernie Duncan to the rescue.

Duncan hit a floater from the right side with one second left and lifted Vermont to a big win over Yale. The game was a tale of two halves for both teams. In the first half offenses were fluid and shots were falling. In the second half it turned into a grinder. For the Cats the wear and tear from a whirlwind schedule to start the season looked like it finally caught up to them. They found a way and executed down the stretch to pull out the victory. The game winner by Duncan was a thing of beauty as he beat his man off the dribble and floated the ball up off glass and in. In the postgame comments, Becker said that he was going to draw up a play for Trae Bell-Haynes but Bell-Haynes suggested they run the play for Duncan. What a selfless moment and kudos to Becker and the players to have confidence and respect for Bell-Haynes and for the respect given to Duncan. Those are the marks of a winning team. While watching the Tournament earlier in the week you could see the chemistry and trust blossoming on this team. Even though Vermont made some mistakes and blew a big lead, this was a great game. The ability to dig deep and make the plays needed to win is very evident for this group. The defense came up with two big stops down the stretch and it continues to look better and better. This is a Yale team that beat Washington 98-90 to open the season. Yale is a great win for Vermont because they are a good team and they are entering a stretch of difficult games. With South Carolina and Butler sandwiched around home dates with Northeastern and Eastern Michigan, the Cats are going to be playing some very good teams. The game today was a team win where everyone contributed and wanted the win. What won Vermont this game was they won all the hustle plays throughout the game. Despite being tired, the Cats were after every loose ball and challenging every Yale shot. I said earlier in the week that Anthony Lamb was due for a breakout and it came at the right time. Lamb led Vermont with 18 points and chipped in 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. His energy was terrific and he gets after it on every play. Kurt Steidl was the other player in double figures with 11 points. Drew Urquhart continued his strong play contributing 8 points and 4 rebounds. He has limited the silly mistakes and is using his big body to challenge shots at the rim and clear space on the boards. Duncan actually led Vermont with 6 boards to go along with his big time game winner. Vermont is showing that it can win in different ways and the most surprising change is how effectively they are playing zone this year. Becker has admitted he is a man to man guy but in the last two games the Cats zone has been a very effective tool. If that can continue to be a card that Becker can play it will make them an even better defensive team. Now the team can get some much needed rest before going down to South Carolina on Thursday.