In a back and forth affair Liberty executed down the stretch and handed Vermont their first loss in the championship game of the Myrtle Beach Invitational. It was another exciting game with both teams executing and making adjustments throughout. Vermont jumped out to a big lead early but Liberty composed themselves and battled back. From then on everytime it looked like someone was going to pull away the other team battled back. Then Vermont went through a tough stretch with some sloppy play right at the end of the game and Liberty seized control for the win. With two good defensive teams battling it was interesting to see both the Cats and the Flames take away main scoring options with Liberty shutting down Matt Veretto and Vermont stifling Kyle Rode. Both teams had other players step up and share the load. The game capped off a really impressive tournament for Vermont with lots of positives to take away and good early season chemistry. The struggles at the end of the game looked very much like a team who still isn't quite sure who is the guy at the end of games when the pressures on. It was the first time the Cats looked a little rushed. What a great showing in this early season tournament and it looks like a great jumping off point for these Cats.
Shamir Bogues led Vermont with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Bogues wowed once again with his energy and intensity. There was a sequence at the beginning of the second half that included a block, missed layup, recovery all the way back for a steal, and then pushing the ball ahead for a layup. Just absolute end to end energy. He struggled a little but with finishing at the rim and forced a few shots down the stretch but those are the growing pains early in the season on a new team. Aaron Deloney scored 13 points and also had a few tough possessions down the stretch. He finished 1-6 from three and has still not quite gotten himself in rhythm on the offensive end. TJ Hurley came off the bench and scored 11 points. He had some timely buckets but struggled a bit defensively against the quick Liberty guards. TJ Long scored 10 points on 3/6 shooting from three. Liberty did a nice job taking away his drives to the rim. Sam Alamutu continued his strong start to the season, hitting a few clutch threes and finishing with 8 points. He is playing with great confidence right now and looks to be making a leap in his third year with the Cats. Both Ileri Ayo-Faleye and Matt Veretto struggled, going a combined 1-10 from the field finishing with more combined fouls (6) than points (3). Once again Liberty did a great job executing their game plan to neutralize Veretto.
Vermont competed hard in all three games and came away looking like a team that is ahead of schedule. The Cats learned a lot about themselves and will come back with a wealth of information about their strengths and weakness that they can apply to their game prep for the rest of the season. One more non DI game and then a fun stretch against some very strong mid major teams.
