Fairfield 67 Vermont 66
Fairfield held off Vermont in a back and forth game that saw neither team lead by more than seven. In the first half both offenses were humming along, with Fairfield going into the break with a two point lead. The second half saw more defensive pressure from both teams and Fairfield made key plays to pull away. Vermont battled hard despite being shorthanded. Shamir Bogues missed the game with an injury, Seth Joba was in street clothes as well, and Nick Fiorillo took a hard foul with 2 minutes to go. Without Bogues the turnovers cropped up again, particularly down the stretch when the game was getting tight. The Cats first half defense also suffered without their anchor as Fairfield was able to get high percentage shots throughout. The Stags really punished Vermont on switches. The defensive rotations were not quite as sharp this weekend. The injury issues continue to interrupt the chemistry building process for the Cats. Hopefully Fiorillo is okay and Bogues is a short term issue, but the process of bringing the team together continues to experience delays. This team has really had a "snakebit" feel to it so far this season with some tough breaks in games and the injury bug continuing to crop up. It has been a tough start but the team has been right there under some difficult circumstances.
TJ Long led the Cats in his "revenge game" against his former team. Long finished with 18 points and almost brought Vermont back from the brink with a late three. Teams are forcing him to work very hard on both ends of the floor as he is often the focus of the opposition's defense. TJ Hurley exploded for 15 first half points but struggled to get going in the second, finishing with 17 points. Unfortunately he also had some crucial turnovers late in the game. Jace Roquemore played a great game filling in for Bogues, finishing with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. Similar to around this time last year when Bogues was out, Roquemore really provided the Cats with a calm, steady presence which is quite a luxury for the Cats to have on their bench. Nick Fiorillo didn't carry over the shot making magic from yesterday but was playing another solid game before going down. Fiorillo finished with 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists before injuring his left arm in a fall after getting undercut on a dunk. Hopefully it is not serious. Ileri Ayo-Faleye struggled to find space on offense but finished with 2 blocks and 2 steals. Sam Alamutu finished with 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in a solid performance off the bench.
I previously compared the beginning of this season to the start of the 22-23 season and in another parallel, the Cats will be looking to use the non DI game as a kind of reset button for the season. This team has been right there despite the challenges that they have faced so far this year. Hopefully they can get healthy and build some momentum.
