Vermont 84 Binghamton 44
Vermont regained their swagger and destroyed Binghamton to complete their first weekend sweep of the season. Total domination on both sides of the ball. The Cats are getting healthy and gaining confidence. Every player who stepped on the floor scored, every player who stepped on the floor hustled, and the team chemistry and cohesiveness that is a trademark of the Vermont program is taking shape. Tomas Murphy played a season high 14 minutes and led the balanced attack with 13 points. He looked healthier this weekend and gives them another big time offensive threat in the post. Isaiah Powell finished off a strong weekend with 12 points knocking down two more threes. His shooting has done a 180 from his first two seasons and up until now was the missing piece to his game. He is playing more under control and has eliminated the wacky disjointed positions that plagued him the past two seasons. Justin Mazzulla was the tone setter throughout the weekend, playing tenacious perimeter defense, crashing the boards, and cutting hard to the rim. He and Bailey Patella bring so much energy and tenacity to the court. It was a small sample but is was so important for Aaron Deloney to get some positive minutes and see a few shots go down. He has really struggled shooting the ball and his minutes were becoming more and more problematic in the rotation. Today Eric Beckett played ahead of him in the rotation and he needed some positive minutes to boost his confidence. Getting the last 12 minutes of the game to give the bench a chance to get their footing was incredibly important. With the shortened season, the coaching staff has had a major challenge in getting the bench guys time on the court to grow a develop. The minutes in todays game will go a long way to improving Vermont's depth. Making strides on the defensive side of the ball was huge this weekend but the most telling stat was Vermont's assist/turnover numbers from the weekend. In the two games combined the Cats had 37 assists compared to only 15 turnovers. That demonstrates the trust and chemistry that this team is developing. Vermont needed this weekend so they can take a breath and remember that despite facing challenges and dealing with some tough losses, they are still a great team who can make a run to the title.
