Vermont at UMBC 2/18/21

Vermont 80 UMBC 71

Vermont's big three stepped up big time and led Vermont to the victory in round one against UMBC. The stars showed up as Ryan Davis, Stef Smith, and Ben Shungu all had 20 point performances. Davis led the way with 21 points and his half-hook was cooking all night. Davis created so much space in the paint and when UMBC started to double him in the second half, he remained patient and found open teammates. Coming off his first player of the week award, Stef remained hot. He finished with 20 points by way of 6-7 shooting from three. Every time the Cats needed a bucket Stef was ready to deliver. The best performance of the night may have been from Ben Shungu. He continues to amaze on both sides of the ball and made big time plays down the stretch. Shungu finished with 20 points and a game high 8 rebounds. He did it all. He knocked down some tough threes, hit some beautiful pull up jumpers, and bullied his way to the rim. He was exceptional. Isaiah Powell chipped in 11 points and 5 rebounds in another strong performance. The defense forced UMBC into a lot of tough contested shots and kept them from getting out in transition.  The key in games against UMBC is always the ability to make shots. The Retrievers want to play in the 60s. Vermont was able to get good looks at the basket and knock them down. Vermont now controls their own destiny. With a win tomorrow night Vermont would be the regular season champ now that the America East has decided to end the regular season early. Tomorrow also happens to be my 36th birthday so I hope that gives the Cats even more motivation. Gonna be another great game between two great teams.