Dartmouth at Vermont 12/7/16

Vermont 73 Dartmouth 58

Vermont kicked off its three game homestand with a victory over Dartmouth. The Cats started slow and looked a little out of sync for most of the night. The players looked tentative and were almost a little too unselfish. It was one of those games where the depth and balance of Vermont was at times a detriment as players were passing up open looks in the quest for the perfect shot. These were minor hiccups and I think their first layoff of the season was a contributing factor. In the second half things started to flow a little better and shots started falling. Dartmouth was an incredibly weak opponent and I think that too negatively affected the game flow. There were many positives to this game and first off, Payton Henson shook off back to back poor games with his first career double double. Henson finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 steals. He also had zero turnovers in what was one of his best all around games of the season. Henson looked like his calf was feeling better (he did cramp up at the end of the game) and as a result his moves around the rim were faster and more decisive. Trae Bell Haynes led the Cats in scoring with 19 points including a 9-10 effort from the foul line. Bell-Haynes had been struggling from the line to start the season so it was nice to see him get back to his normal self. Vermont as a whole was 22-26 from the line. Henson has been great from the line and Drew Urquhart has also been solid from the line. This is a tremendous improvement from the past few years and it is going to really help the Cats win those tough physical games that have given them trouble. Back to Urquhart, his play has been phenomenal. He had another very effective 12 minutes of action putting up 7 points to go along with 5 rebounds (4 offensive). He is finally using his size to get after it on the glass and is going to be a key contributor this season. I also thought Josh Hearlihy had his most productive minutes of the season. He looked more comfortable on the court and if he continues to improve could give the Cats some good minutes off the bench. Anthony Lamb is stuck in a shooting slump but contributes in so many other ways. Lamb finished with 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. He gets all the hustle plays and never quits. Even when his offensive game is not there he does what he can to help the team win. His shot blocking ability is going to be key to how good of a defensive team Vermont can be. Northeastern comes to town on Saturday for what will be a tough game. Northeastern has been kind of a Jekyll and Hyde team this year and it will be interesting to see which teams shows up. Vermont cannot take them lightly and has to come out with better energy than they did in the game tonight. Should be an exciting game.

P.S. In case you missed the announcement, Everett Duncan will redshirt this season which clears up the uncertainty around his lack of playing time.