Vermont 83 Maine 62
Vermont kept right on rolling, overcoming a slow start and putting Maine away with a big second half. Drew Urquhart led the way with a career high 21 points. The maturation of his game this season is remarkable. He just keeps getting better. His decisiveness when he has the ball has improved so much. This was an incredible team win. The Cats depth is starting to take charge much like it did last season. They can change the game plan or the lineup on the fly because they have so may different combinations and truly capable players. Cam Ward looks like his old self again, knocking down tough shots and providing a calming presence on the court. Trae Bell-Haynes is on an incredible streak right now. He is showcasing jaw dropping clutch plays night in and night out. He has rediscovered his explosiveness around the rim and is bringing that relentlessness that Vermont is accustomed to. In tonight's game he really stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. He knocked down another two threes and because of that dimension right now teams are struggling to game plan to stop him. Ernie Duncan struggled shooting but led the team with 6 assists. His passing was great today as he picked apart Maine's defense. The unselfish way this team approaches each and every game is a thing of beauty. They are so patient and are always willing to make the extra pass. Now they face their toughest conference test so far traveling down to face a hot New Hampshire team. Durham is always a tough place to play and New Hampshire has been destroying opponents on the boards. They are using their size and dominant post play to wear teams down. This upcoming stretch is full of tough road games and is going to be the defining stretch of their season. This is where the progress by the Cats bench is most important as they try to continue their winning ways
Monday, January 15, 2018
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Vermont at Dartmouth 1/10/18
Vermont 91 Dartmouth 78
The seniors stepped up for Vermont and led them to victory over Dartmouth. Trae Bell-Haynes had an unbelievable game scoring a season high 27 points without missing a shot. 10/10 from the field, 6/6 from the line. Bell-Haynes was spectacular, slicing and dicing through the lane and finishing through contact. He also had a team high 5 rebounds and chipped in 3 assists and 2 steals. What a performance. He wasn't the only senior that stepped up. Payton Henson continued his hot streak, pouring in a season high 20 points and again got the Cats off to a hot start. It seems like Henson might have taken the "Vermont is dead without Lamb" narrative personally and is playing like a man on a mission. Cam Ward also had his finest game this season. Ward finished with season high 14 points on 5/6 shooting and dished out a team high 5 assists. You could see this type of performance on the horizon as Ward has been steadily gaining confidence as the season has progressed. Vermont's offense was humming all night. The Cats' relentlessly attacked the basket and put up a season high 91 points on a night they struggled from three. During this relentless attack they took tremendous care of the ball, committing only 5 turnovers. The only negative from this game was that the Cats difficulty defending the three reared its ugly head again. With their 10th non-conference win Vermont tied the program record for most non-conference wins. That is an incredible feat considering the degree of difficulty of their schedule. Now it is time to focus on securing home court advantage. Stony Brook comes to town on Saturday and that is always a tough game. So far the America East has been quite unpredictable and every team has to be ready to play every night.
P.S. Trae Bell-Haynes jumped up three spots on the all time scoring list with his performance tonight. He is currently 12th all time with 1,331. Next up on the list is current Middlebury head coach Jeff Brown who finished with 1,336 career points.
The seniors stepped up for Vermont and led them to victory over Dartmouth. Trae Bell-Haynes had an unbelievable game scoring a season high 27 points without missing a shot. 10/10 from the field, 6/6 from the line. Bell-Haynes was spectacular, slicing and dicing through the lane and finishing through contact. He also had a team high 5 rebounds and chipped in 3 assists and 2 steals. What a performance. He wasn't the only senior that stepped up. Payton Henson continued his hot streak, pouring in a season high 20 points and again got the Cats off to a hot start. It seems like Henson might have taken the "Vermont is dead without Lamb" narrative personally and is playing like a man on a mission. Cam Ward also had his finest game this season. Ward finished with season high 14 points on 5/6 shooting and dished out a team high 5 assists. You could see this type of performance on the horizon as Ward has been steadily gaining confidence as the season has progressed. Vermont's offense was humming all night. The Cats' relentlessly attacked the basket and put up a season high 91 points on a night they struggled from three. During this relentless attack they took tremendous care of the ball, committing only 5 turnovers. The only negative from this game was that the Cats difficulty defending the three reared its ugly head again. With their 10th non-conference win Vermont tied the program record for most non-conference wins. That is an incredible feat considering the degree of difficulty of their schedule. Now it is time to focus on securing home court advantage. Stony Brook comes to town on Saturday and that is always a tough game. So far the America East has been quite unpredictable and every team has to be ready to play every night.
P.S. Trae Bell-Haynes jumped up three spots on the all time scoring list with his performance tonight. He is currently 12th all time with 1,331. Next up on the list is current Middlebury head coach Jeff Brown who finished with 1,336 career points.
Saturday, January 6, 2018
UMBC at Vermont 1/6/18
Vermont 71 UMBC 56
The 2,734 fans that braved the cold were rewarded with a dominating performance by the Cats. Payton Henson led the way with 16 points and a career high 14 rebounds leading Vermont's domination in the post. Henson again got the Cats off to a hot start and took control underneath. He also threw down a highlight reel dunk to punctuate a strong first half. This was a really strong team win. Everyone that played made positive contributions. Ernie Duncan and Trae Bell-Haynes fought through tough physical defense to finish with 12 and 13 points respectively. Everett Duncan did all the little things and finished with 7 points and 6 boards (4 offensive). Drew Urquhart payed a strong first half including some beautiful assists from the high post. He finished with 6 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Cam Ward and Stef Smith hit big shots and played tough defense. Samuel Dingba came up with 2 huge blocks and Nate Rohrer threw down an impressive dunk of his own. Vermont looked like a team on a mission tonight. Their defense was incredible against a team that puts a lot of points on the board. UMBC leads the conference in scoring at 78 points pere game and struggled to reach 56 tonight. The defense on Jairus Lyles deserves special recognition. Lyles is the leading scorer in the conference at 21 points per game and he was held to 8 points on 2-12 shooting. The Cats have certainly recommitted themselves to "Vermont" basketball over these last few games. They got some big wins this week and demonstrated that they are still the team to beat despite their injuries. One of the ways they are doing it is by limiting opponents chances at rebounds. They have actually allowed the fewest offensive rebounds and the ninth fewest total rebounds in the country. That is a testament to their strong defense and team rebounding. When a shot goes up guys are finding their man and putting a body on them. This makes up for the fact that they have the fewest steals in the country. This group takes everything thrown their way and moves forward, continuing to demonstrate that their best skill is their mental toughness. After a marathon week they get a little respite with only two games in the upcoming week. Next up is their last non-conference game at Dartmouth on Wednesday.
The 2,734 fans that braved the cold were rewarded with a dominating performance by the Cats. Payton Henson led the way with 16 points and a career high 14 rebounds leading Vermont's domination in the post. Henson again got the Cats off to a hot start and took control underneath. He also threw down a highlight reel dunk to punctuate a strong first half. This was a really strong team win. Everyone that played made positive contributions. Ernie Duncan and Trae Bell-Haynes fought through tough physical defense to finish with 12 and 13 points respectively. Everett Duncan did all the little things and finished with 7 points and 6 boards (4 offensive). Drew Urquhart payed a strong first half including some beautiful assists from the high post. He finished with 6 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Cam Ward and Stef Smith hit big shots and played tough defense. Samuel Dingba came up with 2 huge blocks and Nate Rohrer threw down an impressive dunk of his own. Vermont looked like a team on a mission tonight. Their defense was incredible against a team that puts a lot of points on the board. UMBC leads the conference in scoring at 78 points pere game and struggled to reach 56 tonight. The defense on Jairus Lyles deserves special recognition. Lyles is the leading scorer in the conference at 21 points per game and he was held to 8 points on 2-12 shooting. The Cats have certainly recommitted themselves to "Vermont" basketball over these last few games. They got some big wins this week and demonstrated that they are still the team to beat despite their injuries. One of the ways they are doing it is by limiting opponents chances at rebounds. They have actually allowed the fewest offensive rebounds and the ninth fewest total rebounds in the country. That is a testament to their strong defense and team rebounding. When a shot goes up guys are finding their man and putting a body on them. This makes up for the fact that they have the fewest steals in the country. This group takes everything thrown their way and moves forward, continuing to demonstrate that their best skill is their mental toughness. After a marathon week they get a little respite with only two games in the upcoming week. Next up is their last non-conference game at Dartmouth on Wednesday.
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Vermont at UMass Lowell 1/4/18
Vermont 88 UMass Lowell 77
Ernie Duncan was red hot and Drew Urquhart continued his incredible senior season as Vermont braved the storm and won their conference opener at UMass Lowell. Duncan finished the night with 32 points (20 in the second half) on 10/11 shooting including 5/6 from three. Several of his makes were with a high degree of difficulty. It felt like he could have had even more tonight as most of his shots were nothing but net. His willingness to go to the rim is really opening up his offense as teams can no longer close him out hard at the three point line. Drew U looks better and better every game and is absolutely seizing the moment in his senior season. He was a monster in this game, using his size advantage to dominate the paint. In his second start replacing Anthony Lamb he finished with a career high 19 points and tied a career high with 12 rebounds. Seven of those rebounds were on the offensive glass. Seven! He also stroked another three pointer and is shooting with a tremendous amount of confidence. His put back plus the foul after a missed free throw with 1:30 to go was the play that sealed the game. Payton Henson got the Cats off to a hot start and finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Cam Ward also played very well finishing with 8 points in his best effort of the season. The defense is still a work in progress but a great win to open conference play none the less. UMass Lowell is a very pesky team that has given Vermont fits. Jahad Thomas just destroys the Cats every game and is an incredibly versatile player. With a quick turnaround and a storm preventing an easy trip home, Vermont has some work to do before Saturday's home opener against UMBC. The Retrievers are a difficult matchup for Vermont and have played them tough over the last few years. They love to shoot the three and it is really going to test Vermont's defense. They also like to play small so Vermont is going to have to mix and match lineups to keep pace. It is going to be a cold walk up the hill to Patrick on Saturday night but I am ready to brave the elements.
Ernie Duncan was red hot and Drew Urquhart continued his incredible senior season as Vermont braved the storm and won their conference opener at UMass Lowell. Duncan finished the night with 32 points (20 in the second half) on 10/11 shooting including 5/6 from three. Several of his makes were with a high degree of difficulty. It felt like he could have had even more tonight as most of his shots were nothing but net. His willingness to go to the rim is really opening up his offense as teams can no longer close him out hard at the three point line. Drew U looks better and better every game and is absolutely seizing the moment in his senior season. He was a monster in this game, using his size advantage to dominate the paint. In his second start replacing Anthony Lamb he finished with a career high 19 points and tied a career high with 12 rebounds. Seven of those rebounds were on the offensive glass. Seven! He also stroked another three pointer and is shooting with a tremendous amount of confidence. His put back plus the foul after a missed free throw with 1:30 to go was the play that sealed the game. Payton Henson got the Cats off to a hot start and finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Cam Ward also played very well finishing with 8 points in his best effort of the season. The defense is still a work in progress but a great win to open conference play none the less. UMass Lowell is a very pesky team that has given Vermont fits. Jahad Thomas just destroys the Cats every game and is an incredibly versatile player. With a quick turnaround and a storm preventing an easy trip home, Vermont has some work to do before Saturday's home opener against UMBC. The Retrievers are a difficult matchup for Vermont and have played them tough over the last few years. They love to shoot the three and it is really going to test Vermont's defense. They also like to play small so Vermont is going to have to mix and match lineups to keep pace. It is going to be a cold walk up the hill to Patrick on Saturday night but I am ready to brave the elements.
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Vermont at Harvard 1/2/18
Vermont 62 Harvard 56
Vermont ringing in the new year with a big win.
Banding together after losing their leading scorer the Cats went on the road and defeated Harvard. It was Lamb's fellow post-men Payton Henson and Drew Urquhart leading Vermont to victory. Henson led the Cats with 17 points. He was aggressive from the opening tip and fought through the tough physical Harvard defense. His best moment of the game came on a beautiful backdoor cut, slamming home a ferocious dunk plus the foul to seal the game. Drew U stepped up big as well in his first game replacing Lamb. He shot 3/4 from three and finished with 11 points. It seemed like each of his threes were at crucial points in the game. It is great that he is shooting with confidence and also amazing/funny that prior to this game he had 5 made three pointers in his entire career. What a way to step up. This was a game where Vermont was the team that hit big shots in the second half. They caught fire from three and both Duncans hit big shots when Vermont needed a bucket. It was also great to see Trae Bell-Haynes go 5/5 from the free throw line as he seems to have gotten over his early season struggles. Samuel Dingba had his best minutes of the season, getting rebounds and throwing down a dunk. Bailey Patella came off his redshirt to play the first minutes of his college career. Anything Vermont can get from him would be great. This is a big win for Vermont's mentality going forward. They were able to win a tough game on the road without their leading scorer. That is a great boost as they prepare to play without Lamb for an extended period of time. It was also nice to see Vermont play some tough defense in the second half. When Harvard was raining threes in the first half I was admittedly distraught. Harvard came into the game shooting 28% from three which is 344 out of 351 Division 1 teams this season. This was the moment where it really seemed like everyone was going to shoot the lights out from three against the Cats. It may have just been a stat correction but I think Vermont make some adjustments in the second half and limited Harvard to 1/9 shooting from three in the second half. Now the Cats have a quick turnaround before opening conference play against UMass Lowell on Thursday night. Lowell has been a tough matchup for Vermont in the past so this game cant be overlooked with a big showdown against UMBC on Saturday night at Patrick. Throw the records out because everyone is 0-0 and it is time for the conference season.
Vermont ringing in the new year with a big win.
Banding together after losing their leading scorer the Cats went on the road and defeated Harvard. It was Lamb's fellow post-men Payton Henson and Drew Urquhart leading Vermont to victory. Henson led the Cats with 17 points. He was aggressive from the opening tip and fought through the tough physical Harvard defense. His best moment of the game came on a beautiful backdoor cut, slamming home a ferocious dunk plus the foul to seal the game. Drew U stepped up big as well in his first game replacing Lamb. He shot 3/4 from three and finished with 11 points. It seemed like each of his threes were at crucial points in the game. It is great that he is shooting with confidence and also amazing/funny that prior to this game he had 5 made three pointers in his entire career. What a way to step up. This was a game where Vermont was the team that hit big shots in the second half. They caught fire from three and both Duncans hit big shots when Vermont needed a bucket. It was also great to see Trae Bell-Haynes go 5/5 from the free throw line as he seems to have gotten over his early season struggles. Samuel Dingba had his best minutes of the season, getting rebounds and throwing down a dunk. Bailey Patella came off his redshirt to play the first minutes of his college career. Anything Vermont can get from him would be great. This is a big win for Vermont's mentality going forward. They were able to win a tough game on the road without their leading scorer. That is a great boost as they prepare to play without Lamb for an extended period of time. It was also nice to see Vermont play some tough defense in the second half. When Harvard was raining threes in the first half I was admittedly distraught. Harvard came into the game shooting 28% from three which is 344 out of 351 Division 1 teams this season. This was the moment where it really seemed like everyone was going to shoot the lights out from three against the Cats. It may have just been a stat correction but I think Vermont make some adjustments in the second half and limited Harvard to 1/9 shooting from three in the second half. Now the Cats have a quick turnaround before opening conference play against UMass Lowell on Thursday night. Lowell has been a tough matchup for Vermont in the past so this game cant be overlooked with a big showdown against UMBC on Saturday night at Patrick. Throw the records out because everyone is 0-0 and it is time for the conference season.
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Anthony Lamb fractures his foot
Big news first reported by the Burlington Free Press.
Vermont star Anthony Lamb fractured his foot during practice on Thursday and the initial timetable is 8 weeks. This is the biggest news in the America East right now. Lamb was a contender for conference player of the year and was poised to lead Vermont to another championship. This turns the conference upside down and puts Vermont in a very difficult position. In the article Becker mentioned that the coaching staff was analyzing all of their options. After the Skyler Nash injury the staff was considering sacrificing a redshirt and now it is almost a certainty that someone is going to start playing. Bailey Patella's name was kicked around after Nash's injury and now Ra Kpedi's name is being thrown into the mix. It will be interesting to see what the staff does. The frontcourt is now dangerously thin which would make you think they might activate Kpedi, but it is going to depend on who they think is ready to contribute. Nate Rohrer becomes a very important player off the bench. Two years ago he played some strong minutes backing up a thin froncourt so he has been in this situation before. As far as the effect on the court Vermont is going to have to morph into a different team. They are going to end up playing small and spreading the floor more often. The offense is going to be even more predicated on dribble penetration and Trae Bell-Haynes is going to shoulder even more of a load. Where this is going to really hurt is on the defensive end. Vermont is already struggling with rim protection and they are now losing their best rim protector. I could see them trying a little more zone and throwing more double teams in the post. The conference outlook becomes very different as well. Albany now has to be the favorite to build on their hot start. I say this because their frontcourt has been incredibly good to being this season and losing Lamb is going to affect that particular matchup the most. It will obviously change all of the games from this point on, but the effect will be felt the most in those Albany games. Vermont is still a very good team without Lamb and will battle every night. For any team it is very hard to lose your best player and just continue humming along. It is time for the other guys to step up. This team is mentally tough and will continue to believe and strive for a championship. The game against Harvard will a great barometer for where this team will be during conference play. A tough road game against a team who has also been without their leading scorer. The Cats have a few days to come together as a team and make the necessary adjustments to continue to win games in Lamb's absence.
Vermont star Anthony Lamb fractured his foot during practice on Thursday and the initial timetable is 8 weeks. This is the biggest news in the America East right now. Lamb was a contender for conference player of the year and was poised to lead Vermont to another championship. This turns the conference upside down and puts Vermont in a very difficult position. In the article Becker mentioned that the coaching staff was analyzing all of their options. After the Skyler Nash injury the staff was considering sacrificing a redshirt and now it is almost a certainty that someone is going to start playing. Bailey Patella's name was kicked around after Nash's injury and now Ra Kpedi's name is being thrown into the mix. It will be interesting to see what the staff does. The frontcourt is now dangerously thin which would make you think they might activate Kpedi, but it is going to depend on who they think is ready to contribute. Nate Rohrer becomes a very important player off the bench. Two years ago he played some strong minutes backing up a thin froncourt so he has been in this situation before. As far as the effect on the court Vermont is going to have to morph into a different team. They are going to end up playing small and spreading the floor more often. The offense is going to be even more predicated on dribble penetration and Trae Bell-Haynes is going to shoulder even more of a load. Where this is going to really hurt is on the defensive end. Vermont is already struggling with rim protection and they are now losing their best rim protector. I could see them trying a little more zone and throwing more double teams in the post. The conference outlook becomes very different as well. Albany now has to be the favorite to build on their hot start. I say this because their frontcourt has been incredibly good to being this season and losing Lamb is going to affect that particular matchup the most. It will obviously change all of the games from this point on, but the effect will be felt the most in those Albany games. Vermont is still a very good team without Lamb and will battle every night. For any team it is very hard to lose your best player and just continue humming along. It is time for the other guys to step up. This team is mentally tough and will continue to believe and strive for a championship. The game against Harvard will a great barometer for where this team will be during conference play. A tough road game against a team who has also been without their leading scorer. The Cats have a few days to come together as a team and make the necessary adjustments to continue to win games in Lamb's absence.
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Quinnipiac at Vermont 12/21/17
Vermont 80 Quinnipiac 73
Vermont closed out 2017 with a win against Quinnipiac. The Cats came out with a lot of fire on defense and played a strong first half. The second half was lackluster to say the least as their defense struggles once again let them down. It was disappointing to see such a drop off from the first half. It would have been nice to see Vermont make some strides on the defensive end before this long layoff. The Cats are really struggling to defend the three as they allowed Quinnipiac to make 13 in this game. The rotations are not just slow, there is often a lot of confusion. Quinnipiac was not a very strong team and to give up 73 points is disconcerting. Vermont has a lot of work to do over the holiday break. On the positive side their offense keeps humming right along. Anthony Lamb led the Cats once again with 20 points and 6 rebounds. He scored in a variety of ways and looks better and better on the offensive end. He has to cut down on the mental lapses and silly fouls to take the next step in his game. Trae Bell-Haynes was great in this game. He finished at the rim in all sorts of different ways and really stuffed the stat sheet. Bell-Haynes finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. He must continue to be a strong leader on this team as they prepare for the conference schedule. Ernie and Everett Duncan chipped in with 11 and 10 points respectively. Ernie really took the ball to the hole in this game which is a trend I can really get behind. It was nice to see Cam Ward play good minutes and hit a couple big shots. I though Samuel Dingba had his best minutes of the season. He got some good rebounds and played hard. Vermont had a tremendous 2017 and it is kind of sad to see it go. A year full of good basketball and exciting match-ups. I cant wait to see what 2018 brings. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Vermont closed out 2017 with a win against Quinnipiac. The Cats came out with a lot of fire on defense and played a strong first half. The second half was lackluster to say the least as their defense struggles once again let them down. It was disappointing to see such a drop off from the first half. It would have been nice to see Vermont make some strides on the defensive end before this long layoff. The Cats are really struggling to defend the three as they allowed Quinnipiac to make 13 in this game. The rotations are not just slow, there is often a lot of confusion. Quinnipiac was not a very strong team and to give up 73 points is disconcerting. Vermont has a lot of work to do over the holiday break. On the positive side their offense keeps humming right along. Anthony Lamb led the Cats once again with 20 points and 6 rebounds. He scored in a variety of ways and looks better and better on the offensive end. He has to cut down on the mental lapses and silly fouls to take the next step in his game. Trae Bell-Haynes was great in this game. He finished at the rim in all sorts of different ways and really stuffed the stat sheet. Bell-Haynes finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. He must continue to be a strong leader on this team as they prepare for the conference schedule. Ernie and Everett Duncan chipped in with 11 and 10 points respectively. Ernie really took the ball to the hole in this game which is a trend I can really get behind. It was nice to see Cam Ward play good minutes and hit a couple big shots. I though Samuel Dingba had his best minutes of the season. He got some good rebounds and played hard. Vermont had a tremendous 2017 and it is kind of sad to see it go. A year full of good basketball and exciting match-ups. I cant wait to see what 2018 brings. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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