Survive and advance.
Vermont held off a furious late New Hampshire rally and punched their ticket to the America East championship. The old adage is defense wins championships and boy did the Cats dig in tonight. Until the late rally when the game got a bit hectic, Vermont's defense was darn near impenetrable. The Cats were walling up and challenging everything. Holding the Wildcats, the league leading team with 9 made three per game, to 4-28 shooting from three and making life difficult for player of the year Clarence Daniels. Great team defense limited the high scoring Daniels/Robinson duo to a combined 10-31 shooting from the field including 0-11 from three. The Vermont offense was disjointed at times and the Cats once again struggled from the free throw line but it is fruitless to nitpick those things this time of year. This team is gutsy and tough, especially when they need to be and have proven time and time again that their competitive fire shows through. What an incredible accomplishment to once again be in the championship with a new and different group. We fans are a spoiled group with the incredible success of this program and I can't wait to be at Patrick in the electric championship game atmosphere once again on Saturday.
Vermont was led on both ends of the floor by a monster game from Ileri Ayo-Faleye. He poured in a career high 19 points, shooting 6-7 (2-2 from three) from the field and 5-6 from the line. All while playing incredible defense on Clarence Daniels and pulling down 8 rebounds. A big time performance and a testament to the hard work he has put in over the last year. Nick Fiorillo had a strong all around game with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists. He knocked down 3-7 from three and each one was big. He also threw an incredibly perfect full court "TD pass" to TJ Long for a beautiful layup to break the press in a big moment. It wasn't all roses as his decision making was a little suspect for the second straight game and he finished with 5 turnovers. We will chalk it up to rust and nerves as he looks to take better care of the ball on Saturday. Shamir Bogues was once again absolutely electric for stretches and finished with 11 points and another 4 steals. He struggled finishing in this game but continues to make dynamic plays on both sides of the ball. TJ Long played really great defense tonight, finishing with 4 steals and disrupting several other plays. He struggled from the field but chipped in 9 points and had a gorgeous assist to Ayo-Faleye for a dunk. Aaron Deloney had a nice all around game with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. His leadership has been great across the two playoff games. Sam Alamutu had great minutes off the bench finishing with 4 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Saturday is what it is all for. A chance for a championship at Patrick. UMass Lowell comes to town for a title game rematch in what should be an electric matchup. No better place to be in March. Let's go Cats!!
