UMass Lowell at Vermont 2/11/18

Vermont 81 UMass Lowell 69

Another game. More adversity. Next man up. 14 in a row.

Vermont battled through more injuries and a slow start to defeat UMass Lowell. Ernie Duncan was no where to be found dealing with concussion symptoms. Vermont got off to a slow start without him and then Trae Bell-Haynes went down with a scary looking injury on a play that drew the ire of Coach Becker. Lowell couldn't miss from three and the Cats fell behind by 14. As this group has done all year, they never wavered, took the opposing teams best shot, and battled back. Bell-Haynes returned from under the bleachers and powered the Cats to victory. He finished with 27 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals, willing Vermont to victory yet again. In the process he scored his 1,500th career point and passed the great Kevin Roberson to move into 8th on the career scoring list. Congratulations to him on another incredible game and another great career milestone. Cam Ward jumped into Ernie's starting spot and delivered a strong effort. Ward finished with 13 points and tied for the team lead with 6 rebounds. He also got three steals in an impressive all around performance. Ward made crucial plays on both ends of the floor and steadied the ship when Bell-Haynes was out. Everett Duncan supplied the three point shooting going 4-5 from three and finishing with 13 points. Ben Shungu played the best minutes of his young career scoring 4 points in 15 minutes. He also provided tough defense and showcased his strength and speed. Drew Urquhart finished with 13 points on 6-6 shooting while grabbing 6 rebounds and adding 3 blocks. Until he got into foul trouble he played strong defense on Jahad Thomas and continues to get better with each game. He has scored in double figures in 5 straight games and during those five games is shooting 74% (32/43) from the field. The only major blemish in today's game was the uncharacteristic 18 turnovers by the Cats. Vermont does need to clean up their first half play after falling behind big in their last two first halves. You can see that opposing teams are coming in fired up and playing with nothing to lose. The Cats return to action against New Hampshire on Thursday night so we will see if Ernie is recovered by then. It is so great to finally get a homestand after watching so many games on television this season.