UMass Lowell at Vermont 1/25/20

Vermont 92 UMass Lowell 62

Vermont dominated both sides of the ball in an absolute shellacking of UMass Lowell to take sole possession of first place in the America East. In one of their most complete performances of the season the Cats shot 55% from the field and swarmed Lowell on the defensive end. Guys were flying all over the court and won just about every 50/50 ball throughout the entire game. In the first half Vermont dominated with their defense. They held Lowell without a field goal for about 10 minutes in the first half. In the second half Lowell began to get some easy buckets and cut the lead to 9 at one point. Vermont responded in a big way and stretched the lead out to 30 in the blink of an eye. There was a renewed energy and focus from the Cats tonight. With Albany’s loss earlier in the day Vermont had the chance to reassert itself at the top of the conference and they did not disappoint. Anthony Lamb broke out of his mini-slump and led the Cats with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Lamb knocked down 4 threes and took advantage of Lowell electing not to send an aggressive double team. Ryan Davis impressed again with 16 points and 7 rebounds. At times during the preseason when Lamb was out, Davis looked like the best player on the team. He has battled ineffectiveness and defensive lapses throughout the season but right now he might be the most crucial player in the Vermont rotation. His offensive ability opens up the whole court for the Vermont offense and his ability on the offensive glass gets Vermont second chances. Davis had some jaw dropping highlights in this one including an incredible spin move on a cut from the baseline and a beautiful drive from the top of the key. He has played his way into more minutes and hopefully he can continue to take advantage. Bailey Patella continues to bring boundless energy to the court and he contributed in all aspects in tonight's game. Patella finished with 10 points and had several big momentum swinging plays. Tonight demonstrated what this team can do when they are playing as one unit. Now that the bench is producing Becker is able to go entire stretches with the second unit. The ability to mix and match lineups is when Vermont is at their best.  The next two games are going to really test Vermont. Two games on the road against a much improved New Hampshire team and then the bitter rivalry game against Albany. This is the stretch where Vermont can separate themselves from the rest of the league by winning two tough road games.