Vermont at Stony Brook 1/26/22

Vermont 80 Stony Brook 67

At what point to these out of nowhere performances stop coming out of nowhere?

Eric Beckett came off the bench for a career high 13 points and sparked Vermont to a big win on the road over Stony Brook. More on Becket to come. Stony Brook came out strong and Vermont was uncharacteristically sloppy in the first half. Turnovers were piling up and the perimeter shots were not falling for the Cats. Then Beckett jumpstarted Vermont's offense with a few late threes and despite not playing their best basketball the Cats went onto halftime with a three point lead. In the second half the ultra-efficient offense and perimeter shooting returned as Vermont slowly and methodically built the lead. The Cats finished with another 20 assists and outrebounded the Seawolves 37-25. Another very strong showing by Vermont against a tough team on the road. This team continues to demonstrate an incredible ability to believe in each other and play so strongly as a unit. The rotation was completely different today and I don't know if the coaches saw something in practice or Becker was trying to get some guys fired up during a sluggish first half, but he certainly pushed the right buttons. The Cats depth is kind of bordering on absurd at this point. Between Aaron Deloney, Nick Fiorillo, and now Beckett, Vermont has had three games where players who were a very small part of the rotation (or in Beckett's case not in the rotation) come out and put up career highs in big spots. That is a testament to not only the players for believing in their teammates and being ready when it is their time, but a credit to the coaching staff to keep everyone engaged despite inconsistent playing time. That is not an easy feat and is one of the reasons Vermont is able to win as consistently as they do. The players go to Vermont to be a part of the winning program in whatever form that may take. It is so fun as a fan to see players wait their turn, get their chance, and see everyone on the team celebrate like they won the title when someone capitalizes on their chance. 

Beckett was the momentum swing in this game. Full stop. He got the offense going in the first half and had timely buckets in the second half as well. No hesitation on his way to the aforementioned career high 13 points on 3/4 shooting from three. No easy feat for a guy who had played a total of SEVEN MINUTES the entire season. He hadn't even attempted a shot until tonight. Amazing. Big congratulations to him on the incredible game. Ryan Davis battled through foul trouble and continues to churn out big time performances one after another. Davis finished with 20 points on 7-10 shooting and is forcing teams to double and triple team him almost every time he touches the ball. Ben Shungu played a strong all around game leading the Cats with 21 points and 6 assists. Justin Mazzulla and Isaiah Powell both had major impacts without scoring. Mazzulla hit one three pointer but finished with a team high 6 rebounds and chipped in 5 assists. Powell was scoreless with 5 rebounds and 4 assists of his own. Deloney and Evan Guillory chipped in 5 points each as the Cats benched scored 28 points.

A great win in what was the last regular season matchup as conference foes. Stony Brook announced this week that they are leaving the America East for the Colonial Athletic Association. This should be a surprise to no one as the Seawolves have had one foot out the door since the last round of conference realignment about a decade ago. I want to write an extended post about the conference realignment at some point but am not sure when that will be. Vermont is about to enter a tough stretch with the COVID rescheduled games filling their weeks. Thankfully this stretch is at home but a Sat/Mon/Wed game schedule is packed. That might have also factored in the extended rotation in tonight's game. Lots of basketball over the next week. No better antidote for the winter doldrums.