Vermont survived a second half charge from NJIT to pick up a victory at Patrick. Vermont started the game hot on both sides of the ball, knocking down shots from the perimeter and locking NJIT up at the other end. The game was very physical from the start and in the second half it really became a slog. I don't normally talk much about officiating but the second half of this game was called particularly poorly and as a result the action was extremely choppy and it really sucked the energy out of the building. It was another game where the Cats were shorthanded as leading scorer TJ Hurley joined the street clothes crew for tonight. With the offensive struggles Vermont has dealt with this season it was no surprise to see the offense stall in the second half without Hurley. The Cats did however, dish out 14 assists, only committed 6 turnovers, and were able to generate good shots. What really kept the game close was some poor free throw shooting in the second half (another area where they missed Hurley). Vermont finished 16-27 from the line (59%) which didn't do enough to punish NJIT's physical defense. It was great to pull out a win and give themselves a chance to sweep the homestand against UMBC on Saturday.
Ileri Ayo-Faleye was tremendous in tonight's game, stepping into a more prominent offensive role with Hurley out. Ayo-Faleye poured in a career high 27 points to go along with 9 rebounds. He was 4-5 from three tonight and is shooting 12-26 (46%) from distance in conference play. The increased aggressiveness on offense has really been paying dividends over the past few weeks. Shamir Bogues continued his hot streak with his first career double double. Bogues finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and zero turnovers (he only has 2 turnovers in conference play), Once again it seemed like he was everywhere all at once. He is so exciting to watch when he is locked in. Sean Blake was good off the bench, finishing with 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and zero turnovers. He is playing with more control and got to the rim at will tonight.
Can't wait for Saturday's game!
Hope JT is OK. Bogues is amazing. Ayo was on, great game. Jace and Sam - you are both good role players and have your strong suits, but please, no more 3's.
ReplyDeleteJace is not always this bad, but both he and Sam missed many wide open 3s. It shows how much the TJs are missed.
DeleteThe usual - inability to close out teams when they have a lead. Fortunate that NJIT didn't get them at the end. Example - IAF fumbles the ball out of bounds near the end of the game and then the Cats foul a 3 point shooter on the resulting turnover. It never felt like they would lose, but they sometimes sure try hard to.
ReplyDeleteBlake needs to work on his free throws. Shooting only 53% on the year.
ReplyDeleteAny info on the return of the injured. TJ x 2, and Shy Odom? Fortunately the short term is bottom feeders at home, but that will end soon.
ReplyDeleteWe're not too far off from being bottom feeders ourselves. This W felt like an L. Of course, it wasn't, but you know what I mean.
DeleteLee: could you ask Becker when the TJs are returning?! I beg you.
I wish Nick needs to be better from 3.
Good to see IAF and Shamir do well.
During the awesome Becker years a trademark of his teams has been the ability - when having a lead- to deny the opposition hope by responding to any run with one of their own. Not to mention lock down defense. Not this group. Make no mistake, this was not Bryant- with respect- NJIT is not a good team at all and they damn near won the game ....in Patrick.
ReplyDeleteThere were signs of hope: Ileri and Shamir looked really good.
Another positive. For the 2nd game in a row, we saw our turnovers at a minimum and our causing turnovers on them resulting in a good deal of points. Also, perhaps I. A. is finally emerging as a real offensive threat as we had hoped. Great game from he and Shamir. And while Nick was pretty quiet, he made those last 2 dagger FTs.
ReplyDeleteIt’s the little easy things with this team that seem so hard. I don’t get it but it just seems that the vibe of this team is one of playing not to lose. Maybe it is the high expectations that we came into the season with that has led to them playing so tight or no one has stepped up as a leader to basically say don’t worry I got this like a doloney did last yr, robin duncan/finn before that, etc. But missing key FT’s to extend a lead, missing so many layups and bunny shorts, open 3’s, and turning the ball over on inbounds is exactly the signs of a team that is tight and playing not to lose. There’s really no way to fix that coaching wise or even personnel wise it’s either going to happen in the next 10 games or it won’t and it will just be one of those yrs because the talent is there. When we go on a scoring drought I’m thinking to myself SHamir is on the court, AI is on the court, Hurley is on the court and yet the go 3-5 minutes without a good shot. The last thing is no one is afraid of them this yr, and they’re all licking their chops and getting revenge for the past 15 yrs ala Dartmouth, Bryant etc. I hope it’s motivation for them to put their best foot forward and defend their title. Also any word on these offers from Juco?
ReplyDeleteMy guess it will be a long time before we hear anything about these JUCO offers. These kids are likely to get a lot of attention from other programs.
DeleteThey were playing against one of the worst teams in Division 1, at home, after a 10 day break. It shouldn't have been a close game. And without the terrific game by Ayo-Faleye they would have lost. Yes players get injuries and miss games. And sometimes the refs are inconsistent and miss calls. Suck it up! To their credit they took care of the ball and pulled out the weak win. Next.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the comments above and would like to add one additional criticism .I’ve always been a big Becker supporter and have always trusted his judgement, both in player evaluation , development. And in game strategy But for the life of me I could not understand his late game substitution. Sam Alamutu is a guard in an unskilled power forwards body . What was Becker thinking having Alamutu on the floor when NJIT had to foul. Just didn’t make sense I know Sean has struggled from the line but honestly does anyone think Sam is a better choice and just look at Noah’s stats I think 13 for 16, they still would have had two real ball handlers on the floor Jace and Shamir This team desperately needs both TJ’s back and soon . Does anyone have any clue what happened to Hurley and how long he is likely out for ? We all know the season is all about the conference tourney but playing well beforehand certainly helps . There is time to get this straightened out but they need to get both TJ’s healthy
ReplyDeleteI would give up on long and Odom for the season. Even if they come back it’s hard to see them being helpful. Due to injuries they both haven’t really played in a yr and when they have this yr they were completely ineffective. Long looked like a shell of himself early in the yr and it’s difficult to see him returning to last yrs form. Hurley on the other hand is surprising and must have tweaked something in practice since he looked fine in the last game. Hopefully he was just held out against njit for precautionary reasons figuring they could still win without him..
ReplyDeleteHurley had a significant limp while on the bench in the NJIT Agamemnon. Odom is out for the rest of the year due to the number of concussions he has had, per NCAA protocols, per someone close to the team.
ReplyDelete