America East Quarterfinal: Just win baby!!

Vermont 64 New Hampshire 57

Vermont overcame a sluggish start with a gutsy second half and closed the game on a 10-0 run to advance to the semifinals. In the first half the Cats were a bit tentative and New Hampshire was ready and raring to go. The Wildcats exploded out of the gate and took the fight to Vermont. The action was pretty choppy on both sides of the ball, but New Hampshire rode hot shooting from three to an eight point halftime lead. In the second half the Cats defense really dug in and took away the Wildcats perimeter scoring. Eventually Vermont's own perimeter shots began to fall and they battled their way back to emerge victorious. The big storyline was the three point shooting. First half: UNH 7-15, Vermont 1-10 from three. Second half: UNH 1-11, Vermont 6-12 From three. Honestly that pretty much sums up the difference between the two halves. Vermont's defense was tough throughout, holding New Hampshire to 36.4% shooting, finishing with a 36-24 advantage on the boards , and blocking 8 shots.  New Hampshire was very physical on the defensive end and were determined to take TJ Hurley out of the game. The Wildcats played their hearts out and executed their game plan for much of the game. The difference in this game was Vermont's mental toughness and belief in themselves. All of the adversity faced this season challenged Vermont to be mentally tougher and learn how to win close games. 

Hurley was tremendous in the second half, scoring 14 of his 18 points. When Vermont needed a big play on offense, he was there. He opened the second half with a personal 7 point flurry. His offensive rebound and bucket gave Vermont their first lead of the night and he had a quick 5 point spurt to take the lead for good. Big time performance in the face of relentless defensive pressure. Ileri Ayo-Faleye also made clutch shot after clutch shot and finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks. In the second half, he switched on to New Hampshire's leading scorer Sam Pissis and kept him from scoring the rest of the game. Nick Fiorillo knocked down the dagger three to give the Cats a two possession lead and stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points (3-6 from three), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. He has become the Cats physical enforcer in the post and isn't backing down from anyone. Sam Alamutu struggled at times with the defensive pressure but finished with a solid 8 point, 7 rebound performance. Sean Blake had some nice moments and injected energy in the Cats, but had some freshman mistakes down the stretch that allowed New Hampshire to creep back into the game. Jace Roquemore finished with 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.

A gritty, gutsy performance to open the playoffs and now they await their opponent on Tuesday night. Playoff atmosphere at Patrick is the best. 

Nine in a row!

Vermont 79 Albany 71

Vermont exploded offensively in the second half and secured their ninth straight victory to close out the regular season. The Cats also reached the 20 win mark once again which Coach Becker and staff have achieved every full season of his tenure (COVID season doesn't count). An incredible turnaround and a huge credit to the players and the staff who really put in the hard work this season to overcome adversity. With the two seed locked up the Cats can look forward to hopefully two more games in Patrick and with an upset maybe a third. What a great way to send off this group of seniors who have given so much to the Catamount program. 

The first half was a bit choppy and very physical. Albany stayed in the game thanks to red hot shooting from three, which was good because they only shot 3-19 from inside the arc. Thanks to a late three the Cats went into halftime with a one point lead. Out of halftime both offenses exploded with shots falling all over the gym and both teams trading runs. The Cats were able to execute down the stretch and come away with a win. The Cats finished the game shooting a scorching 58.3 % from the field and made 11 three pointers. They dominated the paint, outscoring the Great Danes 34-24 and also blocked 9 shots. After uncharacteristically giving up several offensive rebounds and second chance points in the first half, the Cats dug in and evened up the rebounding battle. This was a significant win because it marks the first game this season where you can say that Vermont won with their offense. This is the type of game the Cats were losing for much of the year. When an opponent was hot, the Cats struggled to keep up. In tonight's game they responded to every challenge with shotmaking and team offense. This will give the Cats a big confidence boost going into the playoffs knowing they have become a more complete team. Not much more you can ask for than going into the playoffs as the hottest team in the conference. 

TJ Hurley led the way with 24 points on 6-8 shooting from three. That is 17 made threes over his last 4 games at a 51.5 % clip. Scorching. Albany threw their best defender at him from the start and in the first half it limited his opportunities. Right out of the gate, the Cats made a concerted effort to get Hurley the ball and his three to open the half was a sign of things to come. Tough shot after tough shot and each one responded to a big shot made by Albany at the other end. Sam Alamutu also remained red hot with his third double double in the last four games. Alamutu finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks all while playing point guard. Stepping up big in in the absence of Shamir Bogues. It has really all come together for Alamutu down the stretch as his offense has grown leaps and bounds over the last few weeks. Jace Roquemore continued his strong play, also stepping up without Bogues. He finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds and did a nice job being disruptive on the defensive end. Nick Fiorillo played with tremendous energy on his senior night, stuffing the stat sheet and battling hard in the post. Fiorillo finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks. His blocks were particularly impressive (Must be getting tips from Ileri). Also, his three at the end of the first half was huge. What a great way to cap off six regular seasons at Patrick. Speaking of Ayo-Faleye, he finished with 10 points 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks of his own. Noah Barnett had 5 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in 18 minutes. Both of his baskets were at big moments in the second half and swung the momentum in the Cats favor. His hustle continues to pay dividends for Vermont. Sean Blake scored a bucket in his 14 minutes of the bench as every Catamount who played scored. 

Playoff time is here and Vermont is playing their best basketball at the right time. Can't wait to kick things off on Saturday!!

Reflections on the week

I am back!!!

After an amazing week with my family at Disney World, I have caught up by watching all three games this morning. Just an dominant run by this group, showing incredible heart and resilience. Whatever happens the rest of the way, the response to adversity by this group has been nothing short of amazing. The fact that a perceived "down year" has resulted in a top two seed and a team playing their best basketball down the stretch is something to be admired. They have done it through the tried and true Vermont way with incredible defense and rebounding. Since the calendar turned to 2025 the Cats have been the 3rd best team in the country in defensive rebounding percentage (per barttorvik.com). This is a statistic that Vermont has finished in the top 25 of for the last eight straight seasons. Incredible consistency. Also, since giving up 80 and 75 points in back to back losses before the winning streak, the Cats have given up 59.6 points per game. They have been absolutely locked in on that end of the floor and are dictating and controlling the tempo with incredible poise. The offensive movement in the UMBC game was the best it has been all season. A big shout out to the bench which has been inconsistent all season, for scoring 19 points in the UMBC game as well. That is going to become more important now as Cats fans wait for word on the injury to Shamir Bogues. It did not look good at all (I am no doctor but there was no contact and he was in a lot of pain). That is the only downer at this point and Catamount country is collectively sending healing thoughts his way. 

As far a individual performances, Sam Alamutu was a real standout this week. He averaged 11.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and only 3 total turnovers in 31.6 minutes over the three games. All while playing a ton of point guard and initiating the offense. Alamutu has really come on strong during conference play and in particular his rebounding and hustle have been game changing. He is incredibly disruptive underneath and creates a ton of second chance opportunities for Vermont. Staying on the theme of winning the games in the paint, Ileri Ayo-Faleye and Nick Fiorillo have become quite the dominant duo underneath. They are playing very physical basketball and are walling opponents up and dominating the defensive glass. Ayo-Faleye averaged 12 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4 blocks (!) in 34 minutes over the three games. Fiorillo finished the three games with averages of 11 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 33 minutes. Vermont has been grinding opponents down with their physicality and size. TJ Hurley sandwiched a tough night against NJIT with two huge performances. He is hitting tough shots night after night and finished the three game week shooting 44% (11-25) from three. Jace Roquemore has been the steadying force on the bench and averaged 7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 20.6 minutes over the three games. He will be needed even more if Bogues has to miss any time. The wild card if Bogues has to miss time is Sean Blake. He has looked very good in spurts and in both games where Bogues went down he performed very well in tough road environments. In those two games Blake averaged 8 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and only turned the ball over 3 times in 27 minutes per game. 

It should be an incredible senior night on Tuesday, recognizing a large group of players who have meant so much to the Vermont program.