Survive and advance.
Vermont held off a furious late New Hampshire rally and punched their ticket to the America East championship. The old adage is defense wins championships and boy did the Cats dig in tonight. Until the late rally when the game got a bit hectic, Vermont's defense was darn near impenetrable. The Cats were walling up and challenging everything. Holding the Wildcats, the league leading team with 9 made three per game, to 4-28 shooting from three and making life difficult for player of the year Clarence Daniels. Great team defense limited the high scoring Daniels/Robinson duo to a combined 10-31 shooting from the field including 0-11 from three. The Vermont offense was disjointed at times and the Cats once again struggled from the free throw line but it is fruitless to nitpick those things this time of year. This team is gutsy and tough, especially when they need to be and have proven time and time again that their competitive fire shows through. What an incredible accomplishment to once again be in the championship with a new and different group. We fans are a spoiled group with the incredible success of this program and I can't wait to be at Patrick in the electric championship game atmosphere once again on Saturday.
Vermont was led on both ends of the floor by a monster game from Ileri Ayo-Faleye. He poured in a career high 19 points, shooting 6-7 (2-2 from three) from the field and 5-6 from the line. All while playing incredible defense on Clarence Daniels and pulling down 8 rebounds. A big time performance and a testament to the hard work he has put in over the last year. Nick Fiorillo had a strong all around game with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists. He knocked down 3-7 from three and each one was big. He also threw an incredibly perfect full court "TD pass" to TJ Long for a beautiful layup to break the press in a big moment. It wasn't all roses as his decision making was a little suspect for the second straight game and he finished with 5 turnovers. We will chalk it up to rust and nerves as he looks to take better care of the ball on Saturday. Shamir Bogues was once again absolutely electric for stretches and finished with 11 points and another 4 steals. He struggled finishing in this game but continues to make dynamic plays on both sides of the ball. TJ Long played really great defense tonight, finishing with 4 steals and disrupting several other plays. He struggled from the field but chipped in 9 points and had a gorgeous assist to Ayo-Faleye for a dunk. Aaron Deloney had a nice all around game with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. His leadership has been great across the two playoff games. Sam Alamutu had great minutes off the bench finishing with 4 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Saturday is what it is all for. A chance for a championship at Patrick. UMass Lowell comes to town for a title game rematch in what should be an electric matchup. No better place to be in March. Let's go Cats!!
Good win, but only because of their defense. Face it - they are not a good offensive team. So many missed shots around the rim and foul shooting continues to be an adventure. It was good to see Ileri make a couple 3's, though.
ReplyDeleteWinning because of the excellent defensive pressure is a great way to win. Bogues and Long combining for 8 steals is terrific. The overall pressure UNH faced on each possession was a factor. Fiorillo was a good passer from the high post early in the season but lately he has been a train wreck when it comes to the pass. Overall it was an enjoyable game to watch. There never is a smooth easy path to the championship. Go Cats!!
ReplyDeleteUVM men are similar to the UVM women in that they play great defense but can't shoot straight. Something about the air in Burlington?
ReplyDeleteGreat win !!! UNH is no pushover and have dramatically improved with new coach and players. A winning team plays both ends of the ball court and defense is absolutely essential in being a winning team ! Iteri Faleye was tremendous and has Really developed into a star both offense and defense ! This team really is the best UVM Mens team I’ve seen in years. They are truly a Team !
ReplyDeleteShamir's electric activity early set the tone and led to the double digit lead. Solid team D- as usual- but the fact is NH missed a lot of open shots, especially in the first half. Nick. and Ileri made several key 3s throughout to keep NH under control. Ileri seems to get better every game- on both sides of the ball. His foul shot may be an ugly line drive but it seems to work ( he scored 19 points on 7 shots from the field! ). Fiorillo's otherwise solid game was marred by his 5 TOs, each one on a pass, I believe. He is a terrific passer, especially when AD is involved, but that last pass late in the game that he telegraphed could have been disastrous. He needs to rein it in a bit. Survive and advance!
ReplyDeleteAs far as the offense is concerned, I’m going to look at it in a glass half FULL way. Look at the highlights. We scored at the right times, several times to build substantial double digit leads and then when UNH got within single digits, we did keep scoring and kept them at bay. Great defense from the usual stand up guys especially building that 19-5 lead early. So it’s on to UML and like last time, just maybe we build a 20 pt lead at halftime. Then again, that probably won’t happen but I believe our very best game is in front of us! Shamir and TJ and Rac came here to dance and I believe they will produce and when the rest of them see that, the rest will follow suit. Ileri at the rim! Both rims no less! Don’t forget it wasn’t long ago we had 5 (almost 6) in double figures. CATS are a team in the best sense of the word, like really deep with the bench providing a ton of support
ReplyDeleteI don’t think they’re a bad offensive team, but the truth is the lack that post presence. Without that option to dump down to to open up the offense it becomes more one dimensional, aka dribble drive and kick or take the layup or backdoor cuts. At this point in the season the other teams know how to defend it and so it makes their offense look bad at times. I would say the thing that has been different about this team than others in the past is they let their opponents hang around too much. When they’re up by 7-10 points they seem to take possessions off or take dumb shots which I hope they can’t do on Saturday. It’s going to be a nail biter but their defense especially ileri and Shamir should put them over the top.
ReplyDeleteAll negative thoughts should stop now since we're down to the last game and the team is what it is. Not perfect, but good enough to beat Lowell as they have proven twice before this season. I wish them well on Saturday and will be there cheering them on. X factor may turn out to be the refs and how they will call the game. Can't afford foul trouble.
ReplyDeleteI am glad TJ Hurley is back- and hope it's close to 100%. A glue guy, good 3pt. shooter, good defense and maybe most importantly in these tourney games- our best free throw shooter who is always on the court at the end of a tight one.
ReplyDeleteAnd Hurley adds some height on the perimeter defense… badly needed versus UML
ReplyDeleteNot sure who we are talking about except for Deloney who is generously list at 6’0” all of the guards are 6’4” or better Long , Hurley, Rockamore, Bogues . I agree this team has no Haynes or Shungu or Davis or Lamb but it has the talent to win in the AE .
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