Vermont at UNCG 11/27/21

UNCG 54 Vermont 51

Kobe Langley scored 19 points off the bench as UNCG prevailed over Vermont. UNCG imposed their will from the opening tip and used a dominant rebounding effort and timely shooting to put the Cats away. The poor perimeter shooting finally caught up with Vermont as they finished 4-25 from three, missing several good looks down the stretch. They had used their defense to keep them in games during this cold stretch from the perimeter but losing the rebounding battle by such a wide margin was finally too much to overcome. With such a pronounced weakness for Vermont the other facets of the game have to be nearly perfect in order to make up the difference. Despite all of the shooting woes Vermont still had chances down the stretch and also missed crucial free throws in big spots. That game definitely had a "end of a long road trip" feel for sure. UNCG is a very strong team who is used to winning much like Vermont and they remained poised and executed down the stretch. The perimeter shooting is certainly painful to watch and is absolutely a glaring weakness but I think it is overshadowing some of the things this team does very well. They finished tonight with 17 assists and only 8 turnovers as they continue to take care of the ball at a high level. The defense has been elite as well and there are times when Vermont is a victim of their own success. Road wins are very hard to come by in college basketball and the Cats have won at an absurd pace over the past several seasons. This was a grueling stretch for Vermont and maybe they will continue to shoot this poorly all year but it feels like shots have to fall at some point, right?

Ryan Davis led the Cats with 17 points. He had some nice makes around the rim but missed two crucial free throws and shot 1-7 from three. I certainly expected some regression from distance after last season but the three has really deserted Davis so far. Ben Shungu had probably the worst game of his career after his heroism in the last game. Shungu finished 1-9 from the field and had 3 turnovers. The second half magic that had saved some of his other poor performances wasn't there and the consistency just wasn't there this past week. Finn Sullivan was the lone bright spot and he continues to be a difference maker. Sullivan finished with 12 points, 3 steals, and 2 blocks in another energetic performance. He also knocked down another 2 threes and has been the only Catamount who has shown any consistency from distance. His strong play continues to earn him more minutes and when he is on the court there is a noticeable difference in Vermont's energy. Justin Mazzulla is in a similar category as he is also impacting the game at both ends of the floor. 

A tough road loss against a tough team before Vermont finally gets to return home. They return with a game against neighbor Dartmouth on Wednesday night. Maybe those Patrick Gym rims will help the Cats right the ship on offense.