Articles

Catamounts Run Past Stony Brook in Men's Hoops 68-49

Details: Created on Monday, 13 February 2012 12:51; Written by George Commo

Four McGlynn nets a career-high 24 points

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

BURLINGTON – Freshman Four McGlynn netted a career-high 24 points to lead the Vermont men's basketball team to a 68-49 victory over Stony Brook at home in America East action on Sunday afternoon. The win is the eighth straight for the Catamounts, as they now control their own destiny to win the league championship after knocking off the first-place Seawolves and improve to 17-10 overall and 11-2 in conference play.

McGlynn netted 20 of his career high 24 in the second half, as Vermont used a 13-0 run midway through the second stanza to pull out the win. The Catamounts avenged an early season loss to the Seawolves (17-8, 12-2 America East) and now can earn the top seed in the America East Tournament and at least a share of the conference regular season title by winning their final three league contests.

In a match up of the top two defenses in the league, it was Vermont who held Stony Brook to a season-low 49 points and only allowed the Seawolves to shoot 33.3 percent for the game. The 49 points matched the fewest UVM has given up this season (Towson) and the shooting percentage was the lowest for a Catamount opponent on the year.

“Huge win today at home. First I would like to thank our fans and our students for coming out, there was great energy in the building today,” said Vermont head coach John Becker. “We played a solid defensive game throughout, but struggled a bit to score at the end of the first half, but our defense kept us in there. In the second half we made some shots and obviously Four was huge, but everyone made shots and we were a little tougher with the ball and made the extra pass. That is a big win over a very good Stony Brook team.”

Vermont stormed out of the gates to open the game, getting back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore Luke Apfeld and junior Brendan Bald. The Catamounts started off 7-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-3 from 3-point range, as a layup by McGlynn put UVM on top 21-9 with 8:44 remaining in the first half.

Stony Brook clawed back into it by scoring the next 11 straight points to cut it to 21-20. The Catamounts went without a point for a span of 7:43, as McGlynn added a layup with 1:01 to go that gave Vermont a 23-20 advantage. The Seawolves' Dallis Joyner added a basket with 41 seconds left that made it 23-22 Catamounts at the break. After the hot start, UVM ended the half making only three of its final 15 attempts. Apfeld and Bald led Vermont with five each at the break.

With Vermont leading 35-30 in the second half, the Catamounts opened the game up with a 13-0 spurt that made it 48-30 with 7:34 to go. McGlynn had eight in the run, including a pair of 3-pointers, while senior Matt Glass added the other five. UVM would stretch its lead to as many as 19 in the second half in a game that it led from start to finish.

McGlynn went 7-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-7 from 3-point range to record his fourth 20-point performance of the year. Glass added 13 on 4-for-7 shooting, while Bald chipped in with 12 for the Cats. Sophomore Brian Voelkel added a team-high eight rebounds, while classmate Josh Elbaum handed out a career-high five assists off the bench.

Vermont shot 47.8 percent from the floor, 47.4 percent from 3-point range and went 15-for-18 from the line (all in the second half). Joyner led Stony Brook with 13 points, as the Seawolves went 0-for-15 from 3-point range and only 15-for-26 (57.7 percent) from the line.

Vermont returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to face Albany starting at 7 p.m.

NOTES: The Catamounts have now won 11 of their last 12 overall and have avenged both of their conference losses (UNH) this season … The loss snaps an eight-game win streak for Stony Brook … Stony Brook had won the last two straight over Vermont … The Catamounts remain perfect at home this season in league play (7-0) … Stony Brook came in to the game 19^th in the nation in points per game allowed (59.1) and were only giving up 55.5 in league play … Vermont is 7-2 on TV this year, as Sunday's game was televised on the CBS Sports Network … McGlynn's previous career-high was 22 points against Marist … Sunday marked the first time that the Seawolves did not hit a 3-pointer in a game since November 18, 2007 against Penn State … Sunday marked the first sellout (3,266) of the season for the Cats … Vermont wore its alternate black uniforms for the first time at home on Sunday … Vermont is averaging 76.3 points per game and allowing only 61.4 during its eight-game winning streak … Including today's game, Vermont has only trailed for a total of 3:45 over its last 173:02 played … The Cats have won 24 of their last 29 games in the month of February … Stony Brook won the first meeting of the season 65-59 on January 2 … Vermont's bench held a 32-6 scoring edge and the Cats converted 12 Stony Brook turnovers into 20 points on the other end … The Catamounts took part in the Play 4Kay initiative on Sunday, wearing special 'pink' uniforms in warm ups that were auctioned off during the game … McGlynn and Stony Brook's Joyner were named the America East Players of the Game ...