Vermont 66 Northern Kentucky 64
Trophy time.
Vermont overcame a 13 point second half deficit to take the championship game of the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase. An incredible win. I admit I was starting to lose faith when they got down 59-46. I was beginning to think about how tired the Cats looked and that the heavy minutes the starters played were catching up to them. However this team proves time and time again that mentally, they are a different beast. The way in which they are able to will themselves back into games is incredible. They believe so strongly that they can win no matter the situation. I have never seen anything like it. It is the most incredible thing about this group. They take every challenge head on and never stop fighting. I was one game off on the Anthony Lamb comeback, but boy what a comeback it was. Northern Kentucky made the mistake of not doubling him and they payed dearly. It was clear after this game that the double teams were throwing Lamb off and he needed to get a few shots to fall in order to give him some momentum. Once he sensed that he could get his shots up, he was quite the force. Lamb was all over the court finishing with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Several times he emerged out of a group of rebounders with the ball and willed his way to the basket. Just a incredible performance in a big game. Trae Bell-Haynes took the baton from Lamb and exploded in the second half. During the 20-5 run the Cats went on to finish the game, Bell-Haynes got to the rim at will both finishing for himself and dishing to open teammates. The court looked like it tilted in the direction of the Cats. Bell-Haynes finished with 19 points and hit the game winning floater with 2 seconds left. An incredible run by the senior leader. Payton Henson struggled most of the night but came up with some key buckets down the stretch, His 4 point play gave the Cats life and he hit the go ahead shot at 64-62 to give Vermont their first lead since early in the game. A tremendous example of mental toughness as he looked exhausted for most of the game. Drew Urquhart had a quiet game but did continue his dunk streak with an incredible one handed putback slam. I am going to continue to put a plug in for Everett Duncan as he is doing all the little things to help this team win. Tonight it was his continued strength on the boards as he finished with 7 rebounds. He got some big boards down the stretch and has a calming presence on the court. A ton of credit goes to the starters who played some serious minutes in this tournament. It has been a while since there has been a Vermont team where the starters play so many minutes. This is a great win as not only was it for a championship, but Northern Kentucky is a very strong team. They sped Vermont up for the most of the game and forced them into a ton of first half turnovers. It wasn't until that late game run that the Cats were able to slow the game down and play at their pace. What an incredible trip for the Cats. They can rest easy and enjoy this one for a few days, but with this team they probably won't. These Cats are ready to get right back to work as they have their sights set on even loftier goals.
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