Vermont 80 UNH 51
The Catamounts avenged their earlier loss to UNH in dominant fashion. Vermont put together one of their best games of the season on both sides of the ball to win their 8th consecutive game. The Cats held UNH to 34% shooting from the field and outrebounded them 36 to 27. The defense was crisp and it was a struggle for the Wildcats to get to 50 points. On the offensive side of the ball Vermont attacked the rim relentlessly, getting layup after layup. The Cats finished shooting 50% from the field and dictated the pace of the game from start to finish. This group is playing at such a high level right now. With every passing game, the play seems to be getting a little tighter and you can see the confidence in each other continuing to grow. The regular season title is there for the taking and Vermont is playing like a team that is laser focused on checking every box on that journey.
Dylan Penn was electric in the first half, slicing through the Wildcat defense. It seemed like every UNH player took a shot at stopping Penn and they all came up empty. He finished with 19 points on 8-11 shooting and grabbed 6 rebounds. He has settled in and looks so calm and comfortable initiating the offense for Vermont. Finn Sullivan scratched and clawed his way to 14 points on a night where he struggled from the perimeter. The highlight of the night was an absolute poster dunk by Sullivan followed by a massive block by Ileri Ayo-Faleye. Brought the house down for sure. Ileri would not be outdone as he also threw down a big dunk later in the contest. Aaron Deloney was great off the bench, scoring 15 points and finishing through contact with reckless abandon. Robin Duncan went "Full Voelkel" and set a new career high with 13 rebounds including a stretch in the second half where I think he grabbed about 5 consecutive rebounds. An absolute monster on the boards. He also chipped in 6 points and 7 assists to round out another amazing performance and now is just 3 assists shy of 400 for his career. Kam Gibson hit 3 threes to begin the second half and now sits just 16 points away from 1,000 for his career.
On to NJIT for a Saturday night road game before coming back home against Binghamton next Wednesday night. The Cats are locked in and playing with the confidence and focus of a team that knows they control their own destiny.
