Vermont vaulted themselves into second place in the America East with their fourth straight win. The road game in Orono is always a tough one and this year it had the added flair of being a battle for second place in the conference standings. Once again Vermont got off to a hot start. The excitement came to a halt when Shamir Bogues went down with what looked like a knee injury. Sending positive vibes and hoping he is okay. There was a lull for the Cats after the injury and you could see a bit of "here we go again" creeping in. The Cats burst out of halftime with incredible team basketball and built up a 16 point lead. Maine punched right back and the game seesawed like that for the rest of the action. With timely shot-making and smothering defense, Vermont was able to pick up an absolutely huge win in a tough road environment. Vermont had 19 assists on 23 made baskets and the player and ball movement on offense was really sharp. When factoring in the loss of Bogues so early on, this win is even more impressive. Check another box off the "Catamounts we know and love" list as that "next man up" mentality has led them to many victories over the years despite losing key players. That is the type of game they were losing earlier in the season and serves as a great marker of how well they have been playing during this stretch.
TJ Hurley was awesome this afternoon. What a smooth and efficient offensive performance. He finished with 24 points on 7-13 (4-7 from three) shooting from the field. He played with an extra ferocity, going for a big dunk and silencing the crown with a huge logo three. The pull up three in the corner with two time defensive player of the year Kellen Tynes in his grill was a particular favorite of mine. What a performance. Sam Alamutu continued his inspired play with another new career high in rebounds and a Robin Duncanesque stat stuffing performance. He finished with 9 points, 7 assists, 13 rebounds, and 2 steals. He looks so much more confident and sure of his role than even a few weeks ago. Ileri Ayo-Faleye finished with 12 points and 3 blocks in a great two way performance. Sean Blake blew the game open to start the second half and finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in 28 minutes of action. He stepped right in for Bogues and looked as calm and in control as he has all season. Nick Fiorillo also had a strong all around game with 7 points, 5 assists, and 7 rebounds. A true team effort.
Now the big showdown against Bryant on Thursday in what should be an electric atmosphere in Patrick. It is going to be a blast!
Great win, fun game to watch. the continued struggles against the press and especially late in the game are incredibly concerning especially this late in the season. That being said, a win is a win and there are no style points in March
ReplyDeleteI attended the game in person with my old friend Skip Chappelle , the former Maine Head Coach for many years. He was also very successful player at Maine and the basketball court is named after . Great guy as always. I wore my UVM Basketball cap in a sea of Maine fans.
ReplyDeleteSkip said that the Cats are very gritty and commended them for their hard play.
They are the real deal and they stepped up to the plate before a full house of cheering Black Bear Fans Very gutsy play all around by the Cats Hurley, Sam . Itieri , Nick and Sean Blake and Shamir - just Wow !
Go Cats Go !!!
They rode the TJ horse today! A strong supporting cast starting with Sammy who I thought would show his skills much sooner, but maybe he needed to get to “starter” status to have the consistency and confidence take shape. CATS have gotten to the point of controlling their destiny for a potential semi game at Patrick. That’s what this 4 game win streak has done. Now to knock off Bryant at Patrick! Oh, and TJ, get some foul shooting practice! You’re down below 90% for the year now.
ReplyDeleteI always need to remind myself they are college players and will make stupid mistakes but so do their opponents . Gutty away win while I have only seen other teams once or so hard to see how Hurley is not a first team all conference player
ReplyDeleteBlake filled in well for Bogues, but geez he makes so many mistakes.
ReplyDeleteBlake does make mistakes but don’t forget , he is still a Freshman . He has only become better and better this year. He is extremely talented . I only wish he would shoot more. He is outside the circle with a few open looks, but passes off instead . He’ll gain his confidence and then “ Watch Out”
DeleteVermont has had some late game meltdowns this year, but so do the 'elite' teams. Anyone watch Uconn lose a 5 point lead with a minute to go in OT last night against 1-12 Seton Hall? Epic meltdown.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Shamir knocked knees so shouldn’t be a long term problem, hopefully. Watching the evolution of this team has been very interesting. I think the first half of the yr Becker was looking at a roster filled with shiny objects and was playing everyone assuming they were talented enough to all gel and win. The reality was bogues, long and Odom were not healthy and it led to 12 guys constantly rotating with no one sure of their roles. Throw on top of that trying to get joba, Barnet and Blake playing time made minutes very choppy and no consistency was found. Once it was realized long and Odom were most likely done and Joba and Barnet weren’t ready the staff has done a great job shorting the bench and it finally seems the players know their roles and they’re playing with much more confidence and with a purpose both on def and more noticeably on offense. They’re passing more, creating more open looks, and overall aren’t taking bad desperation 3’s hoping to spark something. My biggest concern though is it’s really a 7 man roster now and the success of the team over the yrs was due to depth especially on the defensive end that would wear teams down. Assuming bogues is healthy, if Jace can play like he did last yr and we can just get quality minutes from Barnet or joba(which I doubt at this point), then maybe we can recreate that formula. If not those 7 guys are going to have to play their asses off to make it back to the dance. I don’t see home court throughout the tournament as possible so will likely need someone to knockoff Bryant to host a final at Patrick. Btw what happened to UML?!?!
ReplyDeleteAs I recall, Becker tightens his bench every year. It's always seven or eight men in late Feb/March.
DeleteSomeone on here recently denigrated UNH. While they're far from an elite conference team, they just knocked off UML. They're more than capable of knocking off the Cats, if we don't bring it.
They are young kids… 35-37 minutes of hard basketball twice a week… let’s go! Agree with above, roles being defined and a pecking order established. Love the play of Sammy. He has to bring the energy, defense and rebounding. Such a difference maker when he stuffs the stat sheet vs being a non factor. When you move the ball vs standing around makes us much harder to defend. Those games a few weeks ago vs the zone was painful to watch. Much better of late. Let’s use Patrick to rock and give Bryant a game and see where it take us.
ReplyDeleteSammy did his Brian Voekel thing beautifully: 9pts, 13 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. Awesome game winning stats.
ReplyDeleteSammy’s play has been outstanding. Team MVP. We need him to continue. Can’t wait until Thursday!
ReplyDeleteGreat win. Team is playing good defense last few outings, rebounding well and limiting turnovers and bad fouls. Hurley carried the offense. Season best all around game for both Alamutu and Blake. Hoping Bogues recovers quickly.
ReplyDeleteI see Bryant as front runners. They have a ton of talent but they can be made to unravel if things aren't going their way. If you let them get a lead, or play at a fast pace, they'll be awfully hard to catch.
Lee waiting on you post which I’m guessing will be entitled BIGGER WIN
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