Vermont battled it out on the road and emerged victorious over Albany. It was really a vintage Cats performance with timely shot making and lockdown defense. Once again, the Cats got off to a hot start only to see the opposing team come roaring back. The Cats stayed calm and battled the Great Danes in a very exciting and well played first half. The first half was played at Albany's pace, and Vermont went into the break with a 37-36 lead. In the second half Vermont controlled the tempo and dug in on the defensive side of the ball. Back and forth the teams went and with the score tied at 57, the Vermont coaching staff drew up a great play out of the time out to give the Cats the lead for good. A big key for the Cats was winning the battle on the boards and in the paint. Vermont only committed 7 turnovers and took advantage of their chances at the foul line (despite the crazy sequence at the end). A great road win against a team that was riding high after taking down undefeated Bryant.
TJ Hurley led the way with a big second half and finished with 21 points on an efficient 6-10 shooting night from the field. He was tremendous in the second half, hitting tough shots and knocked down the go ahead three with the score tied at 57. Nick Fiorillo dominated the first half, scoring all of his 17 points before the break. He knocked down 4-7 from three and was the spark to get things started in a tough road game. Shamir Bogues continued his hot streak with 15 points and his trademark tough defense as he continues to look more like himself. Ileri Ayo-Faleye struggled shooting the ball but had two huge dunks and finished with 9 points and 10 rebounds. He was a large part of the Cats big night on the boards. Sam Alamutu finished with 4 points, 8 rebounds, and came up with several big defensive plays down the stretch. This was a starters game for sure as Becker really shortened his bench in the second half.
A great win as the Cats look to build momentum.
Looks like Cats won it at the foul line…6 pt differential right there.
ReplyDeleteAnd it was Nick in the 1st half and TJ Hurley in the 2nd half and Shamir being himself throughout. Clutch win on the road.
Great on the road victory ! Sam Alamutu played very well is is attacking the basket with some real good finesse. He got two great off the glass shots that went in. He has bad luck in the past where the ball bounced everywhere on the rim but wouldn’t drop in
ReplyDeleteI noticed a few times that he was spinning the ball and it caused ball to spin off the basket . Too much English as the saying goes ! Less spin more baskets I think .
He’s one hell of a defender too !
Good play guys !
Like you said- that was a "vintage" Catamount win. When Albany came roaring back after the Cats quick start- I was worried, but no- the Cats found their confidence played tough D and hit the boards, and won a big road game. That might just start a run- I hope so.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the report, Lee.
ReplyDeleteWhen is TJ Long returning?!
I think Long is done for the year.
ReplyDeleteMeaning colllege career?
DeleteThey are battling, like that. What was thought to be a deep team really isn’t. They are really 4 strong. Ileri, Nick, Bogues and Hurley. Sammy can hustle and offer some rebounds and the bench has been very uneven and Becker is riding those 4 guys. A good road win. They somehow need to claw to that 2nd seed in tournament. Which means beating Maine on the road later this month. Will be a huge game. The big question, can Blake develop over the next month to being a consistent spark plug off the bench? He can get to rim and makes what otherwise is a very stagnant offense a little more unpredictable. That a lot to ask a freshman but he is a key…. Where has Jace gone? Almost unplayable? Any updates on Odom and Ling would be great. Also, who has committed to the Cats next year because this will be a completely different looking team in 2 months….
ReplyDeleteA very cogent comment and where missing Long is so noticeable . Adding another scorer woukd diversify the offense and open things up for Hurley Fiorillo and Aye Falye . Alternatively turning Blake loose might offer the same opportunity but that means handing the keys to a freshman . He has shown flashes of capability but seems ( at this point ) too inconsistent. Jace is another puzzle , his veteran experience is a great asset it’s just not matched by his skills particularly outside shooting . This has been one of Beckers biggest challenges matching skills to create offensive opportunities. But overall I like our chances the team has recently looked more focused . Now if they could only play the entire 40 minutes like they do the first 5 they would win the conference going away . And while I like the talents of many of this years players , they don’t measure up to many of Beckers recent teams Ben Shungu, Ryan Davis Anthony Lamb , TBH , Finn Sullivan , Eylan Penn , Add anyone of these and this years team would be vastly better.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping and expecting Ileri was going to emerge as an offensive monster
ReplyDeleteHe has the leaping ability so what gives?
That's a good win. On the road against a team that's roughly your equal. I've lowered my expectations with this group. Bogues is playing better so that's encouraging. Fiorillo was unconscious in the first half then disappeared in the second. Thankfully Hurley picked up the slack. Ayo-Faleye has a bad night shooting it. His play is deteriorating. He was the best player on the team until recently. Joba gave them some good minutes in the first half.
ReplyDeleteStrange game in that they limited turnovers and rebounded well. I believe they only committed 9 fouls. So you'd expect more shots and more points. But Albany didn't turn it over or foul much either. Very few assists for Vermont. Seems like the coach could run more set plays to help generate more open looks. Good win though.
In fairness to Fiorillo, Albany redirected its focus to him in the second half, opening up the door for Bogue’s, Ileri and others to drive to the hoop. Nick (and the coaches) simply simply adjusted the game plan. Just smart basketball in my view.
DeleteSomething maybe going unnoticed these last bunch of years (entire Becker era?) is UVM almost never fouling out, even in much foul trouble. Remember those years when we had the great Marcus Blakely or some other BIG, but ut oh, they just fouled out. Kudos JB!!!
ReplyDeleteWhy's everyone complaining? This was a HUGE win. UA knocked off Bryant. And why's everyone worrying about next year? The time is NOW.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Lee, when you get a chance, could you talk to the powers that be about getting the new facility done? I would appreciate it.
And I think the Maine game is six days away. Buck up!
The conference has changed. No more walk-overs. I think that at least some of the improvement has been in response to UVM's dominance. This season's team is improving and I'm hoping for a late season run.
ReplyDelete