Articles

McGlynn and Apfeld Lead Vermont Men Over Marist 84-75

Details: Created on Sunday, 20 November 2011 06:57; Written by George Commo

McGlynn (22) and Apfeld (19) each record new career highs

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Freshman Four McGlynn (22) and sophomore Luke Apfeld (19) each recorded new career highs to lead the Vermont men's basketball team to an 84-75 victory over Marist in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament at the Mohegan Sun on Saturday night. The Catamounts shot 52.2 percent from the floor and went 30-for-39 from the line to improve to 2-1 on the year.

Vermont made its first eight shots of the second half and ended the frame shooting 63.6 percent from the floor (14-for-22), while also getting 12 points from senior Matt Glass to advance to the championship game of the Springfield Bracket where it will face Long Island.

“We are really happy with the win today against a tough Marist team. They are really scrappy and I give coach Martin and his team a lot of credit because they played hard, harder than us,” said Vermont head coach John Becker. “We made a lot of free throws and that was a hard-fought game in which we were very fortunate to come away with the win. We kind of opened the floor up a little bit (in the second half) and were able to get some open looks and guys knocked them down.”

The first half was back and forth early on, as the Marist (0-3) full court press gave the Catamounts some issues. Trailing 13-11, Vermont used an 8-0 run capped off by a 3-pointer from junior Brendan Bald that made it 19-15 with 8:21 left in the frame. The Cats struggled from the floor, making only six of their first 18 attempts, as a 9-0 Marist spurt put the Red Foxes back on top 24-19 with 5:13 to go.

Vermont closed out the first half with a 10-3 run, led by Glass who netted the first eight, while McGlynn added a layup with 21 ticks on the clock. UVM took a 32-29 lead into the break behind 10 from Glass and nine from McGlynn.

While in the first half both teams struggled to score at times, in the second stanza neither team could miss early on. With the Cats making their first eight attempts to go with a pair of free throws from junior Ben Crenca it made it 56-46 UVM with 11:05 remaining. Vermont went nearly seven minutes without a made field goal and Marist got within three at 59-56, but that would be as close as it would get as Vermont answered with an 8-2 run thanks to six free throws and an Apfeld layup.

Apfeld, who scored 15 of his 19 in the second half, added another lay-in to give UVM its biggest lead of the day at 71-60 with 4:36 left in regulation.

McGlynn reached double figures for the second time in his first three games as a Catamount, as he went 12-for-12 from the line. Apfeld converted on 7-of-9 from the floor and added a career-best three blocks, while classmate Brian Voelkel netted nine points to go with game-highs for both rebounds (8) and assists (7). Chavaughn Lewis and Devin Price paced Marist with 15 points apiece.

The Catamounts return to action tomorrow when they will face Long Island starting at 5:30 p.m. in the second day of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Long Island topped Radford 81-59 in the final game of the night.

NOTES: Vermont is now 9-6 all-time against Marist and has defeated the Red Foxes in each of the last three years … UVM has won 17 of its last 21 games in the state of Connecticut … For the third straight game Vermont played 10 guys in the first half … Apfeld's previous high for points was 13 at Binghamton on January 23 of last season, while McGlynn netted 17 in his debut this year at South Florida … The 84 points were the most for the Cats since they tallied 85 in a win at home vs. UMBC last season … Apfeld was named the America East Player of the Game.