Vermont vs UMBC 1/11/24

Vermont 77 UMBC 72

Vermont rode the UMBC rollercoaster and hit enough shots to pull out the victory. It was a wierd, hectic game with bodies flying everywhere and very few fouls called. Conference play is a different animal than the non-conference and this group is still finding itself, many going through that for the first time. UMass Lowell similarly struggled with last place NJIT at home this evening. Anything can happen in these hotly contested conference matchups. The Cats got off to a slow start and then caught fire, building a big lead. The pace became increasingly frenetic and UMBC did a great job getting the game to be played at their pace. Back and forth and up and down with shotmaking from all over. Vermont used a balanced team attack to respond to every run from the Retrievers. The Cats finished with 18 assists and only 5 turnovers and knocked down 12 three pointers. Right now there are just to many stretches where the Cats take their foot off the gas on the defensive end. I am sure that is really sticking in Becker's craw as this team is still searching for that locked in defensive identity. The ball movement, shotmaking, and unselfish play continue to propel the Cats to victories as they look for 40 minutes of consistent, locked in Catamount basketball. 

TJ Hurley led the balanced attack with 14 points. He continues to provide an efficient offensive presence and does such a great job of letting the game come to him. Matt Veretto was right behind him with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Ileri Ayo-Faleye is becoming quite the second half hero as of late, going on a 8-0 run all by himself and finishing with 12 points. The leap he has made over the last week is impressive and he continues to come up big for the Cats. TJ Long rounded out the double digit scorers with 11 points. Long is in a bit of a slump as teams are putting a lot more defensive pressure on him but he still managed to knock down a big shot late. Jace Roquemore earned the start and ran the offense nicely. His calm presence and point guard mentality are are filling a great need for Vermont with Bogues out. Sam Alamutu played well off the bench scoring 8 points and leading the Cats with 7 rebounds. He is doing a great job learning on the fly with more and more nice cuts to the basket to compliment his physical defense. Aaron Deloney played a nice game off the bench with 8 points and a team high 6 assists. 

Vermont will always get every team's best shot and today's game was no exception. This group continues to find a way to win and they get one more home game before a great early conference road trip that will give these Cats a huge test. 

Vermont vs Maine 1/6/24

Vermont 65 Maine 58

Vermont used a strong second half to defeat a hungry Maine team in their conference opener. The game started with a electric run sparked by the return of Shamir Bogues, giving what turned out to be short glimpse into what a fully healthy Cats team can do. Unfortunately, Bogues re-aggravated his injury and did not return. I feel so bad for him. It was clear that he was so excited to get back out there and play and it must be very discouraging that his body keeps betraying him. I hope he can get healthy but you have to start to wonder if he is going to get back to 100%. Sending healing thoughts. The team was very clearly deflated by the Bogues injury and Maine took advantage going on a 16-2 run to end the half and the Black Bears went into the break with a four point lead. Maine was determined to take away Vermont's three point shooting and executed that plan perfectly, holding the Cats to 3-17 shooting from deep. The Cats made a great adjustment and attacked the rim, dominating points in the paint 44-28. The story of the game was the Cats defense. This was a bread and butter Vermont program victory where the team dug deep and swallowed up the Maine offense in the second half. The Cats finished with 9 steals, 5 blocks, and won the rebounding battle 36-33. It was a gritty hard fought game led by Vermont's frontcourt. This Cats team can really challenge shots at the rim and make every shot inside the arc a difficult one. They also took exceptional care of the ball with only 6 turnovers. 

This game was all about the big men. Matt Veretto got the Cats off to a good start and Ileri Ayo-Faleye and Nick Fiorillo came up big in the second half. Veretto finished with 12 points and 4 rebounds, knocking down 2 of the Cats 3 threes. He continues to improve his ability to punish mismatches in the post. For the second straight game Ayo-Faleye really took control of the game offensively with hard drives to the rim. He is still refining his offense game but has made a tremendous leap in his ability to get to rim and put himself in position to finish. Ayo-Faleye finished with a career high 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in a tremendous two-way performance. He had the defensive play of the game, chasing down a wide open Maine fast break and single handedly forcing a turnover in a crucial moment. Incredible growth over the course of the season so far. Nick Fiorillo rounded out the double figure scores with 13 points on 5-6 shooting, canning a huge three (the Cats only one of the second half) in a crucial moment to give Vermont some breathing room. You know he was hyped to play his home state team. He also had a crucial block down the stretch and has really solidified the frontcourt rotation. TJ Long scored 9 points in a game where he struggled to get anything going offensively. He also blocked a couple of shots and made some timely defensive plays in the second half. Jace Roquemore was great for the second straight game, taking over for the injured Bogues. Roquemore finished with 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 22 minutes off the bench. He is running the offense with poise and has a nice calm to his game. Adjusting to a new program is tough and never a linear process so it is great to see him starting to find his footing. TJ Hurley and Aaron Deloney struggled with the Maine defensive pressure, shooting a combined 2-12 from the field  and finishing with 2 points apiece. Sam Alamutu and Brenton Mills were great on the boards, both grabbing 4 rebounds in limited minutes. The Vermont depth was huge in this one, helping to rebound from the loss of Bogues.

Every game in conference play is tough and every team has plans and backup plans to take away a team's strengths and take advantage of their weakness. Now the Cats get UMBC at home on Thursday in what should be the polar opposite of today's matchup. Vermont and Maine are slow tempo teams (340th and 290th out of 362 total DI teams) who want to grind out games with their defense. UMBC on the other hand is second in the country in fatest tempo and just about dead last (360th out of 362) in defensive efficiency. It will be quite a contrast of styles at Patrick on Thursday night. 

CARDIAC CATS!!

Vermont 71 Brown 70

The Cardiac Carts strike again!

Vermont took their very first lead of the game at 71-70 and locked defensively to make it count, stunning Brown in the second half. Vermont started sluggish, looking like a team coming off a long layoff, and Brown couldn't miss. The Bears took a 17 point lead at at 42-25 with 3:30 left in the first half and things were looking grim for the Cats. Then Vermont went on a 9-0 run heading into the locker room and gave themselves new life. The second half was back and forth to start with but the Cats struggled to get over the hump. Brown pushed the lead back up to 10 with 14 minutes left. Vermont then went on a 16-6 run to tie things up at 61. Back and forth the teams went and then with 1:21 left TJ Long (who else) knocked down a three to put the Cats ahead 71-70. That lead held with tough defense from both sides to finish out the game. One huge plus from this game was the free throw shooting showed up big. After a disappointing effort last time out the Cats went 14-16 from the line to help secure the victory. They also took excellent care of the ball with only 4 turnovers. With the perimeter shooting struggling Vermont did a nice job getting shots at the rim, outscoring the Bears 32-26 in the paint. It would be nice not to have to sweat it out in every game but the Cats certainly have gained valuable experience with all of the tight, hard fought contests they have played in the non-conference. Honestly they manage to play almost every type of game (blowout win, blowout loss, buzzer beater win, buzzer beater loss, etc.) during this stretch and at the very least they will be ready for anything during conference play. 

Matt Veretto led the Cats with 16 points and what was most impressive was that he did so without hitting a single three pointer. He looked great taking advantage of mismatches and looking for his shot going to the rim. That is major growth for Veretto who has predominantly functioned as a shooter in a Catamount uniform. Ileri Ayo-Faleye was massive in the second half scoring 11 points and once again challenging every shot at the rim. Brown went up 68-63 late and Ayo-Faleye responded with a quick 5-0 run to tie things up. He has done a great job picking his spots from the three point line. TJ Hurley also had a huge second half with 10 points and played a team high 28 minutes. TJ Long struggled on both sides of the ball for much of the game but gutted it out and once again hit the big shot late. Long finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds and continues to hit big shots when the Cats need a bucket. There were two big time unsung hero performances in this one with Sam Alamutu and Jace Roquemore giving the Cats a huge lift off the bench. Alamutu brought energy and is looking for his offense more and more. He scored 5 points in only 12 minutes but each play he made seemed like a big moment. Roquemore was a huge difference maker, guarding Brown's leading scorer and barely letting him touch the ball in the second half. He scored 6 points in 17 minutes and went 4-4 from the line, really stabilizing the Cats in the second half. Nick Fiorillo led the bench squad with 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. He hit a big three that really energized the Cats with about 8 minutes to go in the game. 

A strong non-conference performance from the Cats and now it is time to make it count with the conference schedule beginning this weekend. The Cats proved themselves as the favorites but face some stiff competition in what looks like a tough, competitive conference this season. Lowell has battled injuries and looks very tough. Bryant has found a new identity as a tough defensive team. Maine, Binghamton, and New Hampshire have been tough and competitive in the non-conference as well. The Cats schedule is odd to start with three straight home games followed by a tough three game road stretch. Can't wait for Saturday's game in what should be a great atmosphere at Patrick. 

Vermont at Miami (OH) 12/22/23

Miami (OH) 70 Vermont 69

Darweshi Hunter banked in a half court three at the buzzer to shock the Cats. The basketball gods finally shined for one of the Cats opponents after some close victories to start the season. The game was sloppy throughout with the Cats looking sluggish and the poor free throw shooting finally cost the Cats a game. It has been clear for a while that free throw shooting has become a problem for the Cats and there were several opportunities where Vermont could have pulled away in both halves that was stalled by poor free throw shooting. It is too bad to have the game slip away because up until the last 20 seconds, Vermont's defense had really locked up the Redhawks in the second half. The Cats have 10 days off to chew on this one before finishing the non-conference at Brown. Hopefully the Cats cat get healthy during that time. 

Aaron Deloney led the Cats with 13 points, but only scored 2 in the second half. Nick Fiorillo came off the bench for 11 points and 6 rebounds but was one of the players who had a tough time from the line going 5-9. Matt Veretto scored 12 points in a 3-3 effort from the field but really struggled at the line, shooting 4-9. Ileri Ayo-Faleye scored 9 points and hit some big threes for the Cats. TJ Long struggled from the field but finished with 9 points as well. Brenton Mills played very well off the bench scoring 7 points.

A rollercoaster road trip for the Cats with some high highs and some low lows. Time to say goodbye to a very successful 2023 for the Cats where they went 26-8 and took home another title. Not the way the Cats wanted the final game to go but a well deserved break to get healthy and enjoy the holidays. 

Happy Holidays!!

Vermont at Toledo 12/20/23

Vermont 86 Toledo 60

The Cats absolutely dominated Toledo on the road in an impressive bounce back win. I said in my previous post that this would be the game where we would learn alot about this team and oh boy did they deliver. A complete win on both sides of the ball and an impressive team win with several players stepping up in the absence of Shamir Bogues. Vermont was physical on the defensive end, making every single shot difficult for Toledo. The Cats also forced 15 Toledo turnovers and held the Rockets 20 points under their season average. Vermont imposed their will and made Toledo play their type of game. The stretch that got me really charged up was back to back possessions where they stole the ball from a Toledo player off a rebound for an easy two. Gutsy plays. On the offensive side of the ball, the perimeter shots fell in the first half and Vermont was moving the ball with ease. In the second half the Cats attacked the basket relentlessly, attacking the Rockets hard closeouts. Just a textbook slashing of the Toledo's defense. Big time performance in a big time spot. 

TJ Long led the Cats with 19 points and this time it was from relentlessly attacking the rim and finishing through contact. He showed some real offensive versatility today and and it was a sigh of relief to see him get back on the court after a nasty fall slipping on some cheerleading signs under the basket. Matt Veretto is back as he finally shook off the effects of his eye injury and chipped in 16 points on 5-6 shooting from the field to go along with 5 rebounds. It was great to see him back in action and he even got a "from the parking lot" shoutout for a deep three in the first half. TJ Hurley battled through foul trouble and finished with 14 points in a perfectly efficient offensive night. Hurley plays with such great poise and is never in a rush. Aaron Deloney rounded out the double digit scorers with 11 points and pulled down a team high 7 rebounds. He had a strong game leading the Cats and stepping up at the point in Bogues' absence. Sam Alamutu really looked for his offense in this one and finished with 8 points off the bench. It is great to see him continue to grow and work to improve his game. Brenton Mills played great, stepping into big minutes. Mills finished with 5 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists in a really nice all a round game. Nick Fiorillo chipped in 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. Ileri Ayo-Faleye continues to give opponents nightmares at the defensive end, challenging every shot in his sphere. He also had a nice dunk in the second half as well. 

A great way to start the Ohio swing before finishing the road trip at Miami (OH) on Friday. This team continues to impress with their ability to stay mentally tough and respond to adversity. 

Vermont at Virginia Tech 12/16/23

Virginia Tech 73 Vermont 51

Vermont got off to a nightmare start and never recovered, getting steamrolled by Virginia Tech on the road. Nothing was falling for Cats and everything was falling to the Hokies in the first half as Vermont got down 28-4 to start the game. The nightmare was worsened by the fact the Shamir Bogues re-aggravated his foot injury, tried to play through it, and then sat for the rest of the game. The Cats have looked sluggish in back to back games and are missing that toughness and spark they were playing with during the first month off the season. This game was going to be a tall task no matter what, but became a near impossible one with such a disastrous opening 10 minutes. The coaching staff did a nice job using the rest of the game as an opportunity to both get some messages across to the regulars and give some playign time to the bench. It was a good opportunity to let the young guys play through mistakes in a highly competitive but low stakes situation. 

Nick Fiorillo led the Cats with 13 points and continues to provide a nice spark off the bench for the Cats. TJ Hurley had some nice buckets in the second half and finished with 9 points. Seth Joba finally got a perimeter shot to fall and Jackson Skipper got his first shot at extended minutes in a Catamount uniform. Matt Veretto looks like a completely different player following his eye injury and it is certainly a concern for the Cats. Bogues was hobbled in the first half and does not have the same burst as he is very obviously not at 100%. 

Not the best way to start the road trip and there is no time to wallow as they face a very tough Toledo squad on Wednesday. The Rockets are a high flying, high scoring team that likes to get up and down so it will be a very different type of game than the one they played in this evening. Every non-conference slate there is a game where you learn a lot about a teams mentality and I think this next game at Toledo is the one on this year's schedule. The Cats have to regroup and recapture that spark. 

Vermont vs Colgate 12/9/23

Colgate 77 Vermont 71

Colgate used an 11-0 run at the start of second half to knock the Cats back on their heels and then made timely buckets the rest of the way to hand Vermont their first home loss of the season. The Raiders had a response for every single Catamounts run and executed their famously efficient offense to perfection. Preseason Patriot League offensive and defensive player of the year Keegan Records dominated the Cats down low en route to a game high 22 points. Colgate also executed their defensive game plan extremely well, selling out to make every perimeter shot tough and daring Vermont to try and finish inside against their physical frontcourt. The Raiders played a near perfect game and responded to every challenge the Cats threw at them. Outside of the interior defensive struggles Vermont played fairly well and just came up short against another mechanically efficient, experienced, mid major conference dominating program. 

Shamir Bogues returned from his one game absence to lead the Cats with 13 points. His relentless energy was on display once again, finishing with 7 rebounds and 4 steals. He didn't look quite 100% but continues to make jaw dropping plays of both sides of the ball. Hopefully he can get fully healthy with only two games over the next 2 weeks. TJ Long made some tough shots in this one and finished with 11 points. It was clear that Colgate was locked in on making life tough for Long in this one. Aaron Deloney scored 10 points back in his 6th man role. Ileri Ayo-Faleye had a nice game at the offensive end, finishing with 9 points. TJ Hurley chipped in 9 points as well. Nick Fiorillo had another strong game finishing with 8 points and 3 assists. Matt Veretto donned the sports goggles and still looked a little out of sorts from his injury, finishing with 3 points on 1-5 shooting. 

Sometimes the other team just has all the answers. Now a week off before heading down to Virginia Tech. That game kicks off four straight road matchups to finish out the non-conference schedule. It will be interesting to see the continued tweaks and changes as the Cats get prepared for conference play.