Articles

UVM Men's Hoops Holds Off Late Boston U Flurry, 68-67

Details: Created on Thursday, 02 February 2012 03:57; Written by George Commo

19 Point Vermont Lead Cut to One, but Cats Survive

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

BOSTON – Sophomore Luke Apfeld tallied 16 points and the Vermont men's basketball team held off a furious Boston U comeback bid to earn a 68-67 win on the road on Wednesday night. The Catamounts led by as many as 19 in the second half as they win their fifth straight and improve to 14-10 overall and 8-2 in America East play. The win also gives Vermont sole possession of second place in the league standings and a season sweep of the Terriers.

Vermont led 59-43 with 3:20 remaining, before BU (11-13, 7-3 America East) ended the contest on a 24-9 run. Freshman Four McGlynn made a layup with 14.4 seconds remaining and was fouled, but he missed the free throw giving the Terriers a chance down three. Boston U missed two straight 3-point attempts on the final possession, before Mike Terry Jr. converted a put back with 0.1 seconds remaining.

Senior Matt Glass added 13 points for the Catamounts and McGlynn chipped in with 11 off the bench, as Vermont has now won eight of its last nine overall. Sophomore Brian Voelkel posted game-highs with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals to go with his six points, as the Cats never trailed in the game.

“We will take that and happily head back to Burlington,” said Vermont head coach John Becker. “BU made an incredible run at the end of the game and all the credit to them. We knew they were going to make a run at some point, but we didn't think it would be that late in the game. This is really our signature road win so far in league and we needed one. Another great team effort, we got contributions from everyone that played and that has been the staple of how we have played lately.”

The Catamounts were in control for much of the first half, as they used a 9-1 run to take an early 18-7 lead. The Terriers opened the game making only three of their first 14 attempts. A 3-pointer from junior Brendan Bald and a pair of free throws from sophomore Clancy Rugg extended Vermont's lead to 27-13 with 5:16 remaining.

Vermont would take a 35-19 lead into the break after sophomore Sandro Carissimo hit a layup with four ticks left on the clock. Glass and McGlynn paced the Cats at the half with seven points each, while UVM held a 23-15 advantage on the glass. The Catamounts also limited BU to shoot only 32.1 percent in the opening 20 minutes of play.

In the second half junior Ben Crenca converted a 3-point play that made it 48-29 with 13:28 to go. The Terriers started off the game missing their first 10 attempts from long range, but with the Catamounts on top 57-40 they rattled off four straight 3-pointers in a span of 1:36 to cut it to 59-52 with 2:26 to go.

A layup from BU's D.J. Irving with 20 seconds remaining cut it to 66-65 Vermont and McGlynn converted a layup on the other end to make it a three-point game. UVM went 4:12 without a field goal before McGlynn's bucket.

Apfeld finished 4-for-6 from the floor and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line, as he also added six rebounds for the Cats. Glass went 5-for-9 on the day, as Vermont shot 44 percent as a team. The Cats also benefited from going 21-for-27 from the line, compared to 8-for-15 for the Terriers.

Darryl Partin led all scorers with 19 points for Boston U, while Irving added 15, but the two combined to go 13-for-37 from the floor. The Terriers scored 48 second-half points.

Vermont returns home on Saturday to host Hartford starting at 1 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 has now won 11 of the last 14 games against Boston U … UVM has won the last seven games it has played at Agganis Arena … Becker moves within one win of matching the most victories for a first year head coach in UVM history … The Cats have won 21 of their last 26 games in the month of February … Vermont won the first meeting of the season 83-69 in Burlington on January 5 … Boston U is was the America East Preseason favorite this year … Wednesday's game was shown on ESPN3 … Glass has reached double figures in scoring in each of the last nine games … Apfeld and Boston U's Partin were named the America East Players of the Game.