Vermont 80 Saint Anselm 78
Vermont used a much improved second half to steal a victory in their second exhibition. Coach Santo must be pulling his hair out with two straight narrow losses to his old crew. The game started with a flurry and the Cats looked motivated to put the tough game behind them. Then it looked like the cord was unplugged from the wall and the Cats energy disappeared. Saint Anselm took advantage and pulled ahead. Becker was particularly heated, calling 3 timeouts early and really getting after guys. The Hawks continued to roll and took a lead into the half. The second half was back and forth with each team pulling ahead and responding to every run. The Cats became more physical down the stretch and were able to assert themselves enough to pull out the win. The lack of chemistry and inexperience with the system continued to show as Vermont tries to jump start their season. It is particularly strange to see a Becker team still struggling to make the right reads on the defensive end. There are some real concerns on that side of the ball to start this season. The second half was far more engaged and the Cats showed more grit and toughness. It was that step in the right direction that ultimately made the difference. After the heated first half, Becker shrunk the rotation and it improved in the connectivity of the group.
TJ Hurley returned with a bang as he poured in 34 points to will the Cats to victory. It was the most impressive Hurley performance I have seen as he dominated by relentlessly attacking the basket. He looked so calm and totally in command. On the defensive end he was spectacular as well. TJ Long chipped in 15 points and also played very tough, physical defense. The TJ squared show is going to have some big moments this season. Noah Barnett really energized the team with some hustle plays and big rebounds in the second half. Sean Blake continues to play with more assertiveness and finished with 8 points. Freshman Momo Nkugwa had another impressive performance, knocking down 2 threes to go along with a massive dunk. He is playing his way into a role this season. He is very smooth and effortless with his movements on the court. David Simon started fast and finished with 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. He has a lot of potential if he can continue to get engaged in the system. Ben Michaels played the second most minutes for Vermont and chipped in 7 points.
Time for the real thing next week and it is a good year to have basically two more exhibitions as this group needs more reps together. I think patience is going to be the name of the game early in the season as this group builds chemistry.
