Noah Barnett putback a TJ Hurley miss with 11 seconds left to lift the Catamounts to victory. A huge play in a huge spot as Vermont continues to fight for playoff seeding. The game was intense and physical from the start with both teams crashing the offensive glass and a playoff atmosphere in the building. It was a back and forth affair with six points as the largest lead of the night for either team. The key moment in the game came with two minutes to go. After a steal and layup by Lowell to pull ahead 63-58, TJ Hurley rose up and connected from deep while getting fouled for a chance at a four point play. Ninety percent from the line? This one is in the books. Except is wasn't...... and it was the best missed free throw ever. Lowell couldn't control the rebound and Vermont got another chance. Gus Yalden hit a huge three, as he has done many times in clutch moments this season, and gave the Cats a six point possession to turn a five point deficit into a 64-63 lead. A free throw, a great steal by Jackson Skipper and then the set up for the Barnett heroics. Incredible moment for this crew. The defense was good tonight for the Cats, holding Lowell to 3-16 shooting from three and making just about every shot difficult. The battle on the boards was interesting as both teams were good on the offensive glass and it was a back and forth affair with each team having stretches of dominance in the battle underneath. One more regular season game to go.
Gus Yalden led the way with 21 points and 12 rebounds. His three point shooting has really come on strong down the stretch as he is shooting 12/25 (48%) from three over the last 6 games. He also played a season high 33 minutes and continues to improve on the defensive end. His growth and progression this season has been fun to watch. TJ Hurley finished close behind with 19 points and he made life miserable for conference leading scorer Angel Montas Jr, holding him to 5-19 shooting from the field. Noah Barnett finished with 7 points and 5 rebounds and his aforementioned putback electrified Patrick Gym. Sean Blake had an uneven game with 6 points and 4 turnovers, but he also had 3 steals and 2 incredible blocked shots. Momo Nkugwa continues to make plays when called upon and finished with 5 points and 3 rebounds. Ben Johnson knocked in a three but teams are relentlessly targeting him on defense and he is struggling on that side of the ball. TJ Long struggled mightily, finishing 0-8 from the field and committing some key turnovers late. He had been tracking in the right direction so hopefully this is just a blip as he gets ready for March. Lucas Mari suffered another lower leg injury, which could be a huge blow as he has become such an integral part of the rotation.
The crowd was great tonight and hopefully it is a similar atmosphere for senior night on Tuesday. March basketball is finally here.
A HUGE shoutout to the Vermont women's team for securing their first outright regular season title in 24 years!
