Vermont went on the road and made a big statement, ending the River Hawks 7 game win streak. Beating Lowell in their home gym is something only the Cats have done over the last few years. A monster win that announces to the league that despite the inconsistent performance thus far, the Cats are still the team to beat. As the Cats have all season they were faced with a shortened bench (Jace Roquemore, Shy Odom, TJ Long all in street clothes) and then battled foul trouble throughout. The trademark Catamount defense showed up in a big way, holding the River Hawks 21 points (!) below their season average. The most surprising turn of events was the Cats complete dominance on the boards. Vermont grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and finished with a 44-30 advantage on the boards. The Cats were all over the 50/50 balls and played with an incredible sense of urgency. It felt like they relished being the underdogs for once and played with a chip on their shoulder. The three point shooting was a struggle but each one that the Cats made was at a crucial juncture. Throughout the game, the Cats used their physicality and toughness on both ends of the floor. Gutsy performance.
TJ Hurley led the Cats with 23 points and made two huge threes down the stretch. He was tough as nails, using his physicality to create space driving to the rim. The big shots down the stretch felt like Hurley fully realizing his role as the Cats offensive leader. Ileri Ayo-Faleye was everywhere finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds while helping to shut down the River Hawks in the post. He had some wild misses from three but his offensive aggressiveness is something that is crucial for Vermont. Nick Fiorillo struggled shooting but finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds. He played tough, physical defense down low and really walled off the paint. With the injury to Roquemore, Sam Alamutu has been thrust into the secondary point guard role and due to foul trouble, he was the primary point guard in this evenings game. He played a strong game, finishing with 8 points and 6 rebounds. He had two crucial buckets in the second half and his ability to guard multiple positions was crucial in slowing down the high flying Lowell offense. Shamir Bogues was hampered by foul trouble but finished with 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. Due to the foul trouble and the short bench, Noah Barnett, Sean Blake, and Seth Joba were forced into bigger roles and each contributed in their minutes. Barnett finished with 2 points and 5 rebounds, Blake made good decisions with the ball, and Joba hit a nice three.
The signature Vermont defense is firing on all cylinders over the last few games. What a huge momentum boost for the Cats as they head into another tough road test against Bryant on Saturday. Conference play is the best.
Where did that offensive rebounding come from?. I believe UML has the best rebounding in the conference. UVM seems to have a knack for winning the biggest games. To beat them there, where UML has won 37/38, says volumes.
ReplyDeleteNow to play with same ingredients as tonight and send Bryant packing.
I did wonder why the Cats abandoned the soft press in the 1st half as it was working to our
advantage.
Terrific win. Great effort. Really imposed their will. The defense was stifling and the offensive rebounding was amazing. Based on the out of conference games I didn't expect Vermont to win this one. But coach Becker gets the most out of his team. Ayo-Faleye was everywhere in this one and got the best of the Lowell bigs. Hurley carried the load on offense. Strong game by Alamutu too.
ReplyDeleteThe only question I have is What's happened to Bogues? He was the best player in the conference last season. He dominated the game at Lowell last year. Have we ever seen a star player regress like this?
I think this was an example of how when you play outstanding defense like the Cats did tonight, you can overcome many flaws. Credit to Becker for getting this team which. had looked so uninspiring so far to buy in. Ileri and TJ led the way with terrific games and if we ever get fully healthy, the Cats might just win the AE again. Handling against the press needs to be addressed.
ReplyDeleteHuge statement win Hurley is really coming into his own and it’s nice to imagine what this team might be like if fully healthy . They especially miss TJ Long . It would force teams to guard multiple outside shooters. My one criticism of Becker tonight is not giving Blake more time down the stretch when FT’s and ball handling were at a premium. But all in all a huge conference win .A win at Bryant will be a sweet way to start the season .
ReplyDeleteGood win...but...still bothered by the fact the Cats took 31 3-pt shots (out of 64 total shots - almost half!) but shoot at around the 30% from 3 - again not a good offensive approach - Wish Ayo-Faleye would focus on the post, not the 3.
ReplyDeleteSo funny to read Cats fans comments Never happy Gun to your head not one would have bet on Cats tonight Great job players and coaches
ReplyDeleteCritical observations enliven discussion boards such as this, otherwise all you get a re fan-boys and yes-men
DeleteDidn't think they would win this one and they tried hard to give it away at the end, but, yes, a good win. They continue to be a poor shooting team - 22.6% from 3 and 34.4% overall are pretty bad numbers. But, they are hanging their hats on defense - if that goes away they will have trouble (i.e. Dartmouth game).
ReplyDeleteThree men down, they did not play their best game, but still beat the top team in the league on their own gym, I say give the team a break. Good job UVM!
ReplyDeleteGo Cats Go
second best team in the league. UML is still little bro bro until they prove otherwise
DeleteI checked the stats. Bryant is perhaps even better rebounding than UML, but not much difference between the two.
ReplyDeleteAgain, we just have to swarm, swarm, swarm to the ball. Better yet, have half the shots go in!!!
Glass half full and empty. Incredible win considering where this team was after playing Dartmouth. As poorly as we shot the ball we made a much better team offensively look terrible. Gun to my head I thought they would lose and was just hoping it wasn’t an yr ending blowout. So kudos to Becker and crew for getting them ready to compete and continue to buying into the system. TJ Hurley is our go to guy now and not knocking long but he doesn’t ever take bad shots or force things which is what makes him so valuable. Now the half empty. I know Shamir had foul trouble but it’s almost like he’s got the yips around the rim now and unless he starts to see them fall we need to see more Blake because he’s become a net negative on offense. And that gets me to Sammy and ileri. Ileri shot 8 threes. That’s inexcusable, he can jump out of the gym and just needs to commit to getting near the rim. Who cares if he misses, he will get fouled and it will cause defenses to act differently. The same with Sammy, he got down low several times yesterday and either kicked it out or dribbled it out. Go up strong, they are both way to athletic and strong to shy away from it in the AE. Also Joba can hit open 3’s which we didn’t do last night. Maybe run some sets when he’s in the game. Otherwise a great game, things we can fix but can build on. And yes, please close out games by scoring when up 9 and not turning the ball over when pressed….
ReplyDeleteGreat win and a pleasant surprise especially short handed. Amazing how they can pull it together. Just think what it would be like with Long and Odom healthy and Bogues performing like last yr. He may be still injured.
ReplyDeleteIf Bogues is injured he shouldn't be playing. Not worth long term health to play injured.
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