Vermont at Hartford 2/4/17

Vermont 79 Hartford 66

Vermont put away Hartford for their 12th straight win and pushed their record to 20-5 on the season. That gives Vermont their 9th consecutive 20 win season. A tremendous streak that is a reflection of the consistent high level of basketball that the Cats have been playing for a while now. Vermont has been able to build a program that good players want to be a part of because they would rather win that worry about individual statistics. I tip my cap to the entire men's basketball program for their hard work. The game tonight was a little lackluster. It was the first game where it seemed like the team was not focused and lacked that drive and tenacity they have shown all year. This was especially apparent on the defensive side of the ball where Vermont let Hartford get too many good looks and had too many mental lapses. Now the Cats were able to respond each time they had these lapses and kept Hartford at bay the entire game. That was mostly due to their distinct advantage underneath the hoop. Anthony Lamb and Darren Payen dominated the game from start to finish. Lamb led Vermont with 24 points. He scored in a variety of ways and was unstoppable. He added 4 blocks and 4 rebounds in a tremendous all around effort. Payen nearly matched him with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks. It was another balanced effort from the rest of the team and now they have a quick turnaround before Monday's game at home against Binghamton. The Binghamton game has all the makings of a trap game and they are going to have to snap themselves back into gear. With the big showdown with New Hampshire on Thursday and the short turnaround after tonight's game it would be very easy for the Cats to have a letdown. The leaders on this team will need to give a pep talk and get everyone ready to play. Trae Bell-Haynes is one of those leaders and he is in a slump over the last few games. He is out of sorts on the court and teams are really scheming to stop him. He is going to have to dig deep and get himself back on track for the stretch run.This is a big week for Vermont as after the Binghamton game Vermont has the New Hampshire game and then travels to UMBC for a very tough road game on Sunday. Vermont is going to get tested every step of the way from here on out as they try to build momentum for their postseason run.