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.
Absence of Shamir, a healthy one,
ReplyDeleteunderscores not only his MVP status for the Cats, but his preseason nod for POY. But it was a chance for the others to step up and Jace did. Plattsburgh game gives Coach another chance to find the bench guys to help out…Shy is not showing what we had hoped for nor is Joba. Perhaps Noah will get more minutes. I thought we might be able to have a “post” player this year. Fairfield got too many easy buckets! Shamir’s worth seems to include getting into the lane
Shamir does so much he is very hard to replace.
DeleteAyo-Faleye is the missing ingredient right now. Obviously missing Bogues hurts, but there is bench coverage that’s reasonable at the guard position. But with Ayo-Faleye absolutely absent on the offensive end the Cats are left without a strong interior presence. Fiorello is a finesse big, Ayo-Faleye is the scrappy in the paint player with some great natural ability. However, he just hasn’t lived up to the promise or expectations yet. Here’s to hoping. UVM can’t survive without the balance inside and outside. Without the power inside other teams will just focus on shutting down the perimeter. Ayo-Faleye will need to regroup…
ReplyDeleteIleri is not a natural post scorer so he relies on guards driving and drawing defenders to get him space. That was made difficult with Shamir out.
DeleteIleri - 2 points. Barnett - 3 points. Odom - 0 points. Nick - 9 points (3 of those on a 3). It will always be a tough night if you can't get more than that from your front court. Relying on the guards to make shots isn't going to cut it. This is a typical Vermont team in recent years - heavy on defense - light on offense, especially down low.
ReplyDeletePrecisely - Would love to see Becker reformulate his offense to some degree focusing on post scoring (or at least try)
DeleteThey don't really have any natural post scorers on the roster and without Shamir creating space with his driving ability Fairfield stonewalled the Cats.
DeleteKudos to Nick's energy yesterday, especially crashing into the stands to save a possession, but we saw a return to the more typical shooting of his.
ReplyDeleteIt was good to see him playing so hard.
DeleteJace played a very steady game . Jace sets the pace . I’d like to see Barnett playing more off the bench . He is a big presence inside and has tremendous talent .I hope Fiorillo is okay . Shamir being out spelled problems both offense and defense . Itieri was a bit off offensively but he is always a force to be reckoned with on the court. I look forward to the beginning of league play. The Cats will regroup I’m certain
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
DeleteYeah they battled, but Fairfield is a weak team. Right now Vermont is not a strong team without Bogues. I guess the coach was experimenting a bit with Hurley as a primary ballhandler in crunch time even with Roquemore on the court? Well I guess that's what non conference games are for. However it was great to see Hurley embrace the role as primary scorer in the first half. I hope Fiorillo is ok after his fall - didn't look like he got undercut so much as lost his balance. That was a strong drive for sure.
ReplyDeleteI do think the coaching staff wants Hurley to lean into the "go to guy" role and he made a bad couple bad reads. That will come with experience. I hope Fiorillo is ok as well.
DeleteThey will be fine! Classic non-conference overreactions. Post scoring would be good, but there are no plays that put them in positions to be successful in the post. Instead of posting up from block post them up right in front of the basket instead and see what happens!
ReplyDelete