Vermont 92 NJIT 78
Back at Patrick. Back on track.
Vermont used an offensive explosion, courtesy of ten first half threes, to take control against NJIT and win their conference home opener. With Ryan Davis returning to the starting lineup, Vermont's offense did a 180 from last week. The Cats couldn't miss from the outside and found much more balance with their full team available. Stef Smith led the Cats with 27 points (5-7 from three) and 7 rebounds. He was in an offensive rhythm from the get go and looked much more comfortable within the offense. Davis looked fantastic in his return to the court, tying his career high with 22 points. He knocked down 2 threes and finished with an array of moves down low. When healthy Davis is one of the best big men in the league. It was an incredibly balanced effort as Vermont shot 56% from the field and had 21 assists on 33 made baskets. The big men really showed their floor stretching ability as Stef was the only guard to make a three. As I mentioned Davis had two, Isaiah Powell and Nick Fiorillo made two as well, and Tomas Murphy made one in his first action as a Catamount. A funny box score to say the least. Murphy only played 6 minutes but made the most of it, scoring 7 points in his first game action. He did not look 100% and it will be interesting to see how he and Davis respond to the back to back game schedule. The coaching staff did a nice job managing minutes as no one played more than 29. Once Vermont got up big in the first half there was a shift to having a foot in both games for sure. Vermont faces the opposite problem of last week's series as they now need to find a way to stay engaged and come out with the same energy after a blowout win. Today's game was a glimpse of the potential of this Cats team when they are fully healthy. They have offensive balance and are a threat to score from just about every position. This schedule really makes game two of the series an exciting chess match and I can't wait to see what the game looks like tomorrow.
Appreciate the report. Thank you. Ryan Davis has skills. Nice to see a few 3s go down for Powell. Thought the foul on Deloney at the end of the first half was questionable. Go Cats!
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