Vermont 78 UMass Lowell 67
Vermont held off a hard charging UMass Lowell team to secure their 12th straight victory. It was a strange game that felt very disjointed throughout. Lots of whistles, loose balls, and sloppy play. The Cats jumped out to a large early lead thanks to a 17-0 run. From there it was back and forth for a while until Vermont pulled away in the second half. The Cats took their foot off the gas a little to early and UMass Lowell went on a 17-0 run of their own to cut the lead to four with 1:51 left. On the next possession Justin Mazzulla hit a big three and Ryan Davis came up with two huge blocks down the stretch to seal the victory. For 35 minutes of the game the Cats had finally shaken off the three point hot streak that their opponents have been on only to see the River Hawks catch fire in the last 5 minutes. The biggest contributing factor to Lowell hanging around was that for the first time in a long time Vermont struggled to rebound the basketball. The Cats gave up 10 offensive rebounds and gave the River Hawks too many second chances. I actually like the fact that Vermont got somewhat of a gut punch in the second half as an opportunity to play in a high pressure situation. As the calendar creeps toward March it is good to get tested. The Cats responded in a big way as they have done all season and that is the mark of a good team. Their will to win continues to shine through in big moments.
Davis and Ben Shungu carried the Cats as they have done all season. Davis got Vermont going with a big first half, showing off the full arsenal. He finished with 20 points, 8 rebounds, those 2 big blocks, and now sits 13 points away from 1,000 for his career. Shungu dominated the second half as he has done all season and finished with a team high 24 points. He was 4-5 from three and that aspect of his game is really coming on strong as the season progresses. The step back three has become a regular in the arsenal. Justin Mazzulla chipped in 11 points and it seems like he is in that 8-10 point zone every night. Isaiah Powell had 12 points and was the one that found Mazzulla for the crucial late game three. Aaron Deloney continues to excel in his bench scorer role and had another 9 points this afternoon. Finn Sullivan has hit a rough patch with his shot but provided quite a wow moment with a big dunk early in the second half.
Now Vermont will try and keep the victory train rolling at home against a surprisingly competitive Binghamton team. After that game the Cats with have their toughest stretch of the conference season with an exhausting Sat/Mon/Wed road trip.
