Vermont at Miami (OH) 12/22/23

Miami (OH) 70 Vermont 69

Darweshi Hunter banked in a half court three at the buzzer to shock the Cats. The basketball gods finally shined for one of the Cats opponents after some close victories to start the season. The game was sloppy throughout with the Cats looking sluggish and the poor free throw shooting finally cost the Cats a game. It has been clear for a while that free throw shooting has become a problem for the Cats and there were several opportunities where Vermont could have pulled away in both halves that was stalled by poor free throw shooting. It is too bad to have the game slip away because up until the last 20 seconds, Vermont's defense had really locked up the Redhawks in the second half. The Cats have 10 days off to chew on this one before finishing the non-conference at Brown. Hopefully the Cats cat get healthy during that time. 

Aaron Deloney led the Cats with 13 points, but only scored 2 in the second half. Nick Fiorillo came off the bench for 11 points and 6 rebounds but was one of the players who had a tough time from the line going 5-9. Matt Veretto scored 12 points in a 3-3 effort from the field but really struggled at the line, shooting 4-9. Ileri Ayo-Faleye scored 9 points and hit some big threes for the Cats. TJ Long struggled from the field but finished with 9 points as well. Brenton Mills played very well off the bench scoring 7 points.

A rollercoaster road trip for the Cats with some high highs and some low lows. Time to say goodbye to a very successful 2023 for the Cats where they went 26-8 and took home another title. Not the way the Cats wanted the final game to go but a well deserved break to get healthy and enjoy the holidays. 

Happy Holidays!!

Vermont at Toledo 12/20/23

Vermont 86 Toledo 60

The Cats absolutely dominated Toledo on the road in an impressive bounce back win. I said in my previous post that this would be the game where we would learn alot about this team and oh boy did they deliver. A complete win on both sides of the ball and an impressive team win with several players stepping up in the absence of Shamir Bogues. Vermont was physical on the defensive end, making every single shot difficult for Toledo. The Cats also forced 15 Toledo turnovers and held the Rockets 20 points under their season average. Vermont imposed their will and made Toledo play their type of game. The stretch that got me really charged up was back to back possessions where they stole the ball from a Toledo player off a rebound for an easy two. Gutsy plays. On the offensive side of the ball, the perimeter shots fell in the first half and Vermont was moving the ball with ease. In the second half the Cats attacked the basket relentlessly, attacking the Rockets hard closeouts. Just a textbook slashing of the Toledo's defense. Big time performance in a big time spot. 

TJ Long led the Cats with 19 points and this time it was from relentlessly attacking the rim and finishing through contact. He showed some real offensive versatility today and and it was a sigh of relief to see him get back on the court after a nasty fall slipping on some cheerleading signs under the basket. Matt Veretto is back as he finally shook off the effects of his eye injury and chipped in 16 points on 5-6 shooting from the field to go along with 5 rebounds. It was great to see him back in action and he even got a "from the parking lot" shoutout for a deep three in the first half. TJ Hurley battled through foul trouble and finished with 14 points in a perfectly efficient offensive night. Hurley plays with such great poise and is never in a rush. Aaron Deloney rounded out the double digit scorers with 11 points and pulled down a team high 7 rebounds. He had a strong game leading the Cats and stepping up at the point in Bogues' absence. Sam Alamutu really looked for his offense in this one and finished with 8 points off the bench. It is great to see him continue to grow and work to improve his game. Brenton Mills played great, stepping into big minutes. Mills finished with 5 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists in a really nice all a round game. Nick Fiorillo chipped in 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. Ileri Ayo-Faleye continues to give opponents nightmares at the defensive end, challenging every shot in his sphere. He also had a nice dunk in the second half as well. 

A great way to start the Ohio swing before finishing the road trip at Miami (OH) on Friday. This team continues to impress with their ability to stay mentally tough and respond to adversity. 

Vermont at Virginia Tech 12/16/23

Virginia Tech 73 Vermont 51

Vermont got off to a nightmare start and never recovered, getting steamrolled by Virginia Tech on the road. Nothing was falling for Cats and everything was falling to the Hokies in the first half as Vermont got down 28-4 to start the game. The nightmare was worsened by the fact the Shamir Bogues re-aggravated his foot injury, tried to play through it, and then sat for the rest of the game. The Cats have looked sluggish in back to back games and are missing that toughness and spark they were playing with during the first month off the season. This game was going to be a tall task no matter what, but became a near impossible one with such a disastrous opening 10 minutes. The coaching staff did a nice job using the rest of the game as an opportunity to both get some messages across to the regulars and give some playign time to the bench. It was a good opportunity to let the young guys play through mistakes in a highly competitive but low stakes situation. 

Nick Fiorillo led the Cats with 13 points and continues to provide a nice spark off the bench for the Cats. TJ Hurley had some nice buckets in the second half and finished with 9 points. Seth Joba finally got a perimeter shot to fall and Jackson Skipper got his first shot at extended minutes in a Catamount uniform. Matt Veretto looks like a completely different player following his eye injury and it is certainly a concern for the Cats. Bogues was hobbled in the first half and does not have the same burst as he is very obviously not at 100%. 

Not the best way to start the road trip and there is no time to wallow as they face a very tough Toledo squad on Wednesday. The Rockets are a high flying, high scoring team that likes to get up and down so it will be a very different type of game than the one they played in this evening. Every non-conference slate there is a game where you learn a lot about a teams mentality and I think this next game at Toledo is the one on this year's schedule. The Cats have to regroup and recapture that spark. 

Vermont vs Colgate 12/9/23

Colgate 77 Vermont 71

Colgate used an 11-0 run at the start of second half to knock the Cats back on their heels and then made timely buckets the rest of the way to hand Vermont their first home loss of the season. The Raiders had a response for every single Catamounts run and executed their famously efficient offense to perfection. Preseason Patriot League offensive and defensive player of the year Keegan Records dominated the Cats down low en route to a game high 22 points. Colgate also executed their defensive game plan extremely well, selling out to make every perimeter shot tough and daring Vermont to try and finish inside against their physical frontcourt. The Raiders played a near perfect game and responded to every challenge the Cats threw at them. Outside of the interior defensive struggles Vermont played fairly well and just came up short against another mechanically efficient, experienced, mid major conference dominating program. 

Shamir Bogues returned from his one game absence to lead the Cats with 13 points. His relentless energy was on display once again, finishing with 7 rebounds and 4 steals. He didn't look quite 100% but continues to make jaw dropping plays of both sides of the ball. Hopefully he can get fully healthy with only two games over the next 2 weeks. TJ Long made some tough shots in this one and finished with 11 points. It was clear that Colgate was locked in on making life tough for Long in this one. Aaron Deloney scored 10 points back in his 6th man role. Ileri Ayo-Faleye had a nice game at the offensive end, finishing with 9 points. TJ Hurley chipped in 9 points as well. Nick Fiorillo had another strong game finishing with 8 points and 3 assists. Matt Veretto donned the sports goggles and still looked a little out of sorts from his injury, finishing with 3 points on 1-5 shooting. 

Sometimes the other team just has all the answers. Now a week off before heading down to Virginia Tech. That game kicks off four straight road matchups to finish out the non-conference schedule. It will be interesting to see the continued tweaks and changes as the Cats get prepared for conference play. 

Vermont at Northeastern 12/6/23

Vermont 73 Northeastern 71

Vermont's defense locked in late in the second half and the Cats got a big win on the road. Winning on the road is always a challenge but winning on the road down two starters is really tough. That was a great, hard fought win, putting the Cats "next man up" mantra on full display. In the first half both teams were shooting the lights out. Vermont was uncharacteristically loose with ball leading to too many turnovers and easy buckets for the Huskies. The three point shot kept them in the game and they battled back from a double digit deficit to only be down three at the half. The Cats snuck into the lead for a moment early on in the second half, only to go through a cold spell offensively with a few more turnovers. With about 10 minutes to go in the game, Vermont once again found themselves down by 9 points. The defense showed up big and the Cats went on a 16-4 run to take the lead for good. It was a great display of mental toughness without Matt Veretto and Shamir Bogues. Getting down early without two starters, it would have been easy to lose focus. Guys stepped up and showed great poise in winning a game where they were not at their best. The 18 assists are especially telling as it was a real team effort to pull out the win. The game was also a good demonstration of how dangerous Vermont's perimeter weapons can be with the Cats finishing a scorching 15-29 (52%) from three. 

TJ Long once again was the hero. Long scored 13 of his game high 23 points during that crucial final 10 minutes, including back to back threes to put the Cats in the lead. What more can you say about his start to the season? He has been everything the Cats have needed and more. It is also worth noting that this hot streak comes directly after a very tough game at Bradley where he did not make a shot. In the three games since he is averaging 20 points on 14/24 (58%) shooting from three. That demonstrates some real mental toughness. Nick Fiorillo stepped right into the starting lineup and did his best Matt Veretto impression, scoring 14 points on 3/6 shooting from three while dishing out 5 assists. He did a great job running the offense from the top and his early threes really got the Cats going. Aaron Deloney played tough defense and finished with 15 points, 8 assists (career high), 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. He stepped up big time in place of Shamir Bogues and had his best game of the season. TJ Hurley finished with 9 points, hitting timely shots, including a big four point play in the first half. Ileri Ayo-Faleye hit a big three early in the second half and calmly knocked down big free throws to keep the Cats in front late. 

Now on to another big home game against Colgate. The atmosphere should be great and sending good vibes to Bogues and Veretto in hopes they make a speedy recovery. 

TJ LONG RESURRECTS THE CATS!!!!!

Vermont 66 Yale 65

The basketball gods giveth and taketh away.

Then they giveth again.

TJ 

Must be something about that name in Catamount green and gold. 

In the most insane, unbelievable, exciting, unlikely, incredible way possible, Vermont gets the win over Yale. Basketball is the best. What a moment at Patrick. This team has guts. 

The Yale game is always a rock fight with physical play, exciting action, and great coaching adjustments. Vermont jumped out to an early lead before Yale came roaring back. The game was never further apart than 5 points after that in an incredibly hard fought and well played game by both teams. Vermont's defense was really dug in all night making things hard for Yale at the offensive end. Yale swallowed up the Cats at the rim time and time again. In the second half Yale got to the line at will and made their trips count. Vermont continued to make timely buckets as both teams responded to every challenge. Then the late game execution faltered once again, Shamir Bogues went down with an injury, and things looked grim in Patrick. With the Cats down 5 and people headed for the exits, Aaron Deloney dropped in an innocuous and meaningless layup with .6 seconds left. Then the basketball gods went crazy. TJ Hurley drew a foul on the ensuing inbounds play as August Mahoney pushed off trying to get open. Cats ball. Now .6 seconds is really only enough time for a tip in or immediate release but TJ Long got fouled, time stopped at .3 seconds, and he essentially had free play so he double clutched and let it fly. High arcing, off the backboard, aaaaaaaaaaaaand IN. And one. Pandemonium ensues. Call is confirmed and Long goes to the line for the winning free throw. Patrick goes silent. Shot goes up. Buckets. Game. Set. Match. Unbelievable. 

Long came up with big shot after big shot in this one, leading the Cats with 23 points on 6-10 shooting from three. I love the edge that he plays with and he has now etched his name in Catamount lore. Shamir Bogues was great in this one as well, battling through foul trouble and finishing with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. He had a huge dunk and then went for an absolute poster on Yale's 7 footer that just missed, really showing off his athleticism and speed. Unfortunately the only cold water on this game is he looked like he rolled his ankle pretty bad at the end of the game and had to be helped off the court. Sending positive vibes for a speedy recovery. Aaron Deloney came off the bench for the first time this season and finished with 10 points. You know AD made that decision on his own becasue he would do anything to help his team and teammates. A tremendous leader. It will be interesting to see if going back to his bread and butter role will jump start his season. And lets not forget he delivered the pass to Long for the shot. TJ Hurley got his first career start in his place and was held scoreless but drew the foul that was the catalyst for the insanity. Nick Fiorillo shook off a terrible first half and hit some big buckets in the second half, finishing with 8 points. Sam Alamutu hit two big free throws and continued his strong defensive play. Ileri Ayo-Faleye was really tough and physical underneath dealing with Yale's formidable frontcourt. Matt Veretto struggled with Yale's size and finished 1-9 from the field.

What a huge win and incredible moment for the entirety of the program and the fans. Getting to be a part of moments like that is why basketball is such an incredible sport. This is one to celebrate, savor, and enjoy.