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!!
