Vermont at Binghamton 2/23/19

Vermont 69 Binghamton 63

Vermont survived a scare from Binghamton and gutted out a victory. For the second consecutive game the Cats offense looked stagnant and choppy. It is tough to win on the road and the way they were able to get stops down the stretch was a big plus. There has just been something missing the last few games. They are just not playing with the fire and energy that they had a few weeks ago. Becker is clearly seeing this as he changed up the starting lineup, inserting Everett Duncan and Ben Shungu. Robin Duncan and Stef Smith came off the bench and both saw reduced minutes. The coaching staff is clearly trying to light a fire for some of the players. This is very much shades of last season when Vermont struggled to put teams away down the stretch and we all know how that ended. The week off could not come at a better time for the Cats as they need to try and clear the slate, start over, and recapture the intensity and determination they had the rest of the season. Anthony Lamb dominated with 28 points and 12 rebounds. When Vermont needed points down the stretch he attacked the rim with purpose. For much of the game he was uncharacteristically missing shots and for the second straight game struggled with the double teams that were being thrown at him. Teams have made the adjustment defensively and are now waiting and double teaming him as soon as he gets into his move to the rim. He was able to make the adjustment late in the game and lead the Cats to victory. Ernie Duncan bounced back from and off night against UMBC and tossed in 22 points on 5-7 shooting from three. Ernie is now five threes away from becoming just the third Catamount to reach the 300 career threes plateau. That will be an incredible accomplishment. Lamb and Ernie are the guys that are going to carry this team. It will be good for the Cats to get home and they have an opportunity to take care of business and make sure they don't have to go on the road for the rest of the season.