Gibson & Sullivan scorch the nets

Vermont 85 NJIT 69

Vermont finally had the offensive explosion they have been waiting for, shooting 60% in the second half en route to their second straight win. The Cats started strong out of the gates, building a twelve point lead. Then, in what has become a regular occurance for this team, the offense stalled in the middle of the first half. NJIT made a big run to take the lead before Vermont responded with a 15-4 run to end the half. Vermont's offense continued to hum in the second half with both Kam Gibson and Finn Sullivan catching fire. Today's game gave a strong glimpse into the potential of this team when they are firing on all cylinders. Great ball movement, lots of drive and kick, and tough physical defense are areas where this team can shine. Today the Cats had 18 assists to only 8 turnovers in a cohesive offensive performance. NJIT was hot from three but Vermont was physical all game and won the battle on the boards. With Lowell's domination of Bryant today the River Hawks are officially the clear cut favorites and with Maine picking up their first win by dominating Binghamton, everybody in the league has at least two losses. Vermont has righted the ship and put themselves in position to compete for the regular season title. They have the ability to control their own destiny and build on this positive momentum. 

Finn Sullivan was incredible in this afternoon's game. A new career high of 28 points on 6-11 shooting from deep. Throw in 6 rebounds, 3 assists and his trademark disruptive defense and you have a dominating performance. For the second straight game Sullivan was assertive on the offensive end, attacking the rim when he had the opportunity. When he is shooting with confidence he is tough to stop. It was great to see Kam Gibson have a breakout performance as well. GIbson has quietly been having a solid season filling in where he needs to at the guard position and playing solid defense. He finished with 18 points on 4-7 shooting from deep and showed off all the tools with some nice mid range hoops and drives to the rim. Dylan Penn finally found some room to work and finished with 15 points. His energy has been great the last two games. Penn also threw down a dunk for good measure. The big story of the game was Robin Duncan also throwing it down in the first half. Die hard fans will remember that there has been a long standing challenge between the Duncan brothers and Robin's teammates about getting a dunk. I don't know if I have ever seen a bigger team bench reaction to any play ever, than for Robin's dunk. Once again he was the straw that stirs the drink, finishing with 6 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Masterful performance. Matt Veretto also had a nice all around game with 4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. 

The Cats took care of business on their homestand and bring momentum into their road matchup with Binghamton on Wednesday.