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UNH Tops Vermont in Men's Basketball 72-64

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Created on Sunday, 15 January 2012 04:38

Written by George Commo

New Hampshire hits 10 3-pointers on its way to the victory

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

DURHAM, N.H.  – Patrick Konan scored a game-high 19 points and New Hampshire hit 10 3-pointers on its way to a 72-64 victory over Vermont in America East men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon. The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Catamounts, who fall to 9-10 overall and 3-2 in league play.

Junior Brendan Bald and senior Matt Glass paced the Cats with 12 each, but Vermo

nt trailed by five at the half and shot only 28.6 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes of play. New Hampshire improved to 6-9 overall and 1-3 in league play with the win.

“It was a tough loss today, I thought UNH played very well,” said Vermont head coach John Becker. “We just didn't guard well enough today and dug ourselves a hole in the first half and were climbing uphill all game. We cut it to one, but weren't able to get over the hump. I give New Hampshire credit, they played really hard and defended their home court.”

Vermont jumped out to an early 8-3 lead behind six points from Bald. UNH used a 16-3 run to take a 19-11 advantage and would lead for the rest of the half. After starting out only making 1-for-6 from the floor, the Wildcats hit nine of their next 10 shots in the run. New Hampshire would stretch its lead to as many as 10 at 25-15 with 8:52 to go in the frame.

Vermont used an 11-3 push to cut it to 28-26 UNH with 4:44 remaining, but the home team netted the next four points to keep distance. The Catamounts were hindered by turnovers in the first half, as they committed 15 to help New Hampshire take a 37-32 lead into the break. Bald led UVM at the half with 10 points.

UNH came out in the second half and hit three straight 3-pointers to stretch its lead to 46-32. Vermont countered with a 13-3 spurt that cut it to 53-49 after a jumper by sophomore Brian Voelkel with 8:56 remaining. The Cats held the Wildcats for a stretch of 8:49 in the second half without a field goal before Konan hit a jumper that made it 55-49 with 6:55 to go.

Trailing 57-50, Vermont cut it to a one-point game with three straight layups from Clancy Rugg, Josh Elbaum and Bald with 4:25 left on the clock, but UNH responded by netting 11 of the next 15 to hold on for the win.

Bald was the only Catamount to make more than three field goals in the game, as he finished 5-for-12 from the floor and added a pair of steals. Voelkel tallied nine points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Luke Apfeld added seven points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Konan went 7-for-9 from the floor and added eight rebounds, while Alvin Abreu went 12-for-14 from the line on his way to scoring 14 points. Scott Morris added 10 points off the bench for the Wildcats, as they went 10-for-22 as a team from 3-point range in the contest.

Vermont returns to action on Monday when it hosts Maine starting at 7 p.m. in a game that will be televised on WCAXtra. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at www.UVMathletics.com. Live video of the game is available for free via CatamounTV on www.UVMathletics.com.

NOTES: Vermont had topped New Hampshire in 21 of the previous 24 meetings before Saturday … Five of UNH's six wins this season have come at home … UVM has now shot 131 free throws in its five America East games, an average of 26.2 per contest … Bald and UNH's Patrick Konan were named the America East Players of the Game.