Vermont 66 Yale 65
The basketball gods giveth and taketh away.
Then they giveth again.
TJ
Must be something about that name in Catamount green and gold.
In the most insane, unbelievable, exciting, unlikely, incredible way possible, Vermont gets the win over Yale. Basketball is the best. What a moment at Patrick. This team has guts.
The Yale game is always a rock fight with physical play, exciting action, and great coaching adjustments. Vermont jumped out to an early lead before Yale came roaring back. The game was never further apart than 5 points after that in an incredibly hard fought and well played game by both teams. Vermont's defense was really dug in all night making things hard for Yale at the offensive end. Yale swallowed up the Cats at the rim time and time again. In the second half Yale got to the line at will and made their trips count. Vermont continued to make timely buckets as both teams responded to every challenge. Then the late game execution faltered once again, Shamir Bogues went down with an injury, and things looked grim in Patrick. With the Cats down 5 and people headed for the exits, Aaron Deloney dropped in an innocuous and meaningless layup with .6 seconds left. Then the basketball gods went crazy. TJ Hurley drew a foul on the ensuing inbounds play as August Mahoney pushed off trying to get open. Cats ball. Now .6 seconds is really only enough time for a tip in or immediate release but TJ Long got fouled, time stopped at .3 seconds, and he essentially had free play so he double clutched and let it fly. High arcing, off the backboard, aaaaaaaaaaaaand IN. And one. Pandemonium ensues. Call is confirmed and Long goes to the line for the winning free throw. Patrick goes silent. Shot goes up. Buckets. Game. Set. Match. Unbelievable.
Long came up with big shot after big shot in this one, leading the Cats with 23 points on 6-10 shooting from three. I love the edge that he plays with and he has now etched his name in Catamount lore. Shamir Bogues was great in this one as well, battling through foul trouble and finishing with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. He had a huge dunk and then went for an absolute poster on Yale's 7 footer that just missed, really showing off his athleticism and speed. Unfortunately the only cold water on this game is he looked like he rolled his ankle pretty bad at the end of the game and had to be helped off the court. Sending positive vibes for a speedy recovery. Aaron Deloney came off the bench for the first time this season and finished with 10 points. You know AD made that decision on his own becasue he would do anything to help his team and teammates. A tremendous leader. It will be interesting to see if going back to his bread and butter role will jump start his season. And lets not forget he delivered the pass to Long for the shot. TJ Hurley got his first career start in his place and was held scoreless but drew the foul that was the catalyst for the insanity. Nick Fiorillo shook off a terrible first half and hit some big buckets in the second half, finishing with 8 points. Sam Alamutu hit two big free throws and continued his strong defensive play. Ileri Ayo-Faleye was really tough and physical underneath dealing with Yale's formidable frontcourt. Matt Veretto struggled with Yale's size and finished 1-9 from the field.
What a huge win and incredible moment for the entirety of the program and the fans. Getting to be a part of moments like that is why basketball is such an incredible sport. This is one to celebrate, savor, and enjoy.
Wasn’t going to bed before reading this one
ReplyDeleteIt was hard to sleep!
DeleteIncredible atmosphere - Just utter shock. Good write-up.
ReplyDeleteIt was incredible.
DeleteTJ knew he needed to sell the heck out of that push off (or lack thereof...watch the replay lol)...whatever it takes baby!
ReplyDeleteHurley embellished it for sure.
DeleteThat was a great example of some high IQ basketball we witnessed in those final 3.8 seconds. Rather than panic the team went to business in the usual "never give up" Vt style and pulled off a well executed miracle (if that is permitted to be said in the same sentence). Deloney's lay-up followed by TJ Hurley's incredible heads up defensive play, and then a great pass to the Hail Mary 3, with a foul for flavoring. The angle WCAX camera caught of the Yale push-off on Hurley demonstrates for me that TJ really showed his baseball smarts. It was not a flop but an arm extension by Yale's Mahoney and a great reaction by Hurley. Luck is always part of sport but sometimes intelligent play creates the environment in which luck has a chance to skew the equation in Cat favor. This was one of those moments. Makes one excited to be a Catamount fan! Can't stop watching the replays. Hope Bogues will be ok! He's for real!
ReplyDeleteOnce Hurley saw the arm extension he embellished it for sure. Attention to detail and mentality certainly set the stage for luck. Skill and luck together make for a great combo.
DeleteGreat college basketball game. Vermont was leading or tied for 39 minutes against a very strong Yale team. But they were outplayed down the stretch after Bogues was injured. It was a fantastic finish for sure. We'll all remember this one. But we can't pretend the refs didn't blow the last 2 calls. Hurley flopped embellishing normal contact that occurs on every contested inbound play. And Long was never fouled. But referees make errors. It's part of the game. And Vermont took advantage of it. Great win. Hope Bogues isn't badly injured.
ReplyDeleteHurley saw the arm extension and embellished it for sure. No doubt. I do agree with the foul call on Long. Too often on heaves or last second scrambles, contact goes uncalled. Especially when it some to landing space on a jumper. I am a fan of calling the contact not the situation.
DeleteReplaying the last two fouls from multiple angles supported the calls by the refs. They were also consistent with the calls made throughout the second half. Watch the under the basket film from WCAX and you can see the push off from the Yale player.
ReplyDeleteOh there was definitely a push off. Hurley made sure the refs saw it.
DeleteJust a fun environment and great game. Curious to see why Brenton Mills didn’t play and how long you think Bogues will be out? Thanks for your great recaps! Enjoy them.
ReplyDeleteMills struggles on the defensive side of the ball make it tough in some of these physical grind it out games. Depends on how bad the reaggravation was or if it is a new injury. Missed about a week earlier this year so we will see. Thanks for reading!
DeleteGlad to see AD as the 6th man again. I think the role is best suited for his spark plug mentality
ReplyDeleteHe is really tailor made for the 6th man role.
DeleteThat was a clear foul on Hurley, surprised the Yale player put his team in danger. Hurley has turned out to be an unselfish, good all around player. His time will come where he is the man. The unsung hero of the last play was AD. That was an incredible pass zipping through traffic to a tightly covered Long. I love Patrick and the atmosphere there, but this program deserves the new Fieldhouse
ReplyDeleteThe fact that it was the same Yale player on both fouls is something. Hurley is a star. AD's pass was incredible. Perfectly thrown to the only spot where TJ could catch it and get a shot off. This program ( and the women's team) deserves a new arena very very much.
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