Dylan Penn exploded in the second half and Vermont used their trademark defense to open conference play with a big road win. With all the ups and downs of the non-conference and such a long and unexpected break between games, this game was going to serve as a measuring stick for the Cats. They passed the test with flying colors against a hot UMBC team. Vermont leaned on their trademark defense to shut down the UMBC three point attack. The Retrievers are one of the better three point shooting teams in the country and the Cats held them to 7/30 (23%) from distance. After giving up some uncharacteristic offensive rebounds, the Cats tightened things up down the stretch and were able to gain the rebounding edge. On the offensive side of the ball the Cats knocked down 11/25 (44%) from three and shot 53% from the field for the game. Vermont played with poise and responded to every UMBC challenge. A big road win against one of the challengers in conference is a great start and sets up a huge showdown at Patrick with Bryant on Thursday.
Dylan Penn led the Cats with 19 points and 9 rebounds. He threw in a couple steals and was the most engaged he has been in a Catamount uniform on both ends of the floor. He took over the game in the second half and showed off the entire arsenal of finishes around the rim. Matt Veretto took care of things in the first half, finishing with 15 points on 3-6 shooting from three. He looks better and better every game, shaking off the rust after three years away from college basketball. Ileri Ayo-Faleye was the unsung hero of the game, coming out of nowhere to play big minutes. He altered shots, disrupted passing lanes, and knocked down 6-6 from the free throw line. Hard to overstate how out of nowhere this performance was after Ayo-Faleye had not played outside of garbage time since the Lyndon game on December 2nd. Robin Duncan was once again the heartbeat of the Catamounts with 4 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds. Finn Sullivan and TJ Hurley hit timely threes and finished a combined 5/8 from from distance. Aaron Deloney struggled mightily with his shot finishing 1-9 from the field, but played the role of distributor down the stretch with some nice assists.
Getting road wins in conference is always a tall task and this year's teams has faced more adversity than most. This was a huge game in building momentum to use the experiences they have had thus far this season and apply them to make a run at a championship. The Bryant game will be intense and filled with lots of emotion in what should be a great environment at Patrick.
P.S. Sorry about no extra conference preview. Time gets away sometimes but I am beyond excited for conference play. Happy New Year!!!
Now that was Cats defense against the 3 we fans have been used to! Also, tremendous to see Dylan emerge with Matt. Look out conference foes. The Cats also moved the ball really well. Interesting to see them get points in the paint the hard way. Did we win this one because we matched up height wise pretty well? Who in the AE might be able to outsize us?
ReplyDeleteI think this will be typical of the teams in the America East. No one has the size to dominate inside. UMass Lowell has the best post presence but that helps them more on the defensive end.
DeleteThis felt like an old school Cats win. It was anchored in tough nosed defense and (finally) great patience on offense for much of the game. Now onto maybe the toughest America East opponent (although UMass Lowell may dispute that) Bryant. It’s fun to see this level of competition in the league! Go Cats!
ReplyDeleteBryant is the most interesting test because they too played a tougher schedule. UMass Lowell played one of the easiest schedules in the country so they are still relatively untested despite their sucess.
DeleteYeah, they almost just lost to NJIT….
DeleteI wrote earlier about ileri being in the doghouse, hard to believe he didn’t play at all since fiorillo went down. I am curious as to what was going on but he clearly is capable of playing minutes, providing athleticism, playing defense and contributing something on the offensive end. If he can play anywhere as well as he did today, and smith jr continues to develop, have veretto play more like a 3/4 and when fiorillo comes back I think we’ll be fine size wise with our big guards. This was a really encouraging performance and could have been even more convincing had there not been a few really unforced turnovers.. now let’s get Becker his record breaking win at home, on espnu, and against this Bryant team that seems to think the league runs through them now.
ReplyDeleteI think Ileri benefitted from finally having regular practice to work out some kinks. In conference, the smaller lineups will not be as difficult as many other teams in the league are in the same boat when it comes to depth and size in the post. The Bryant game is the biggest regular season matchup the Cats have been a part of in a while. Both team will be looking to assert themselves as the title favorite.
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