Articles

Glass Tip-In Beats the Buzzer, Lifts Vermont Men's Hoops Over Siena

Details: Created on Sunday, 27 November 2011 04:53; Written by George Commo

Tip in with one-tenth of a second on the clock gives Vermont a 64-62 win

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Senior Matt Glass tipped the ball in with one-tenth of a second on the clock to give the Vermont men's basketball team a 64-62 victory over visiting Siena on Saturday afternoon at Patrick Gym. The win is the second straight, two-point victory for the Catamounts as they improve to 4-2 on the year.

Vermont held off a late Siena rally, as the Cats led by as many as eight with 1:36 remaining. With the game tied UVM got the ball with 25.1 seconds to go and after working it around, junior Brendan Bald had a good look at a shot on the wing that caromed off right to Glass, who tipped it back in just before time ran out.

Glass and junior Ben Crenca each scored a team-high 13 points for Vermont, while sophomore Brian Voelkel added game-highs of 14 rebounds and eight assists, to go with seven points.

“That was a good win against a tough, feisty Siena team that is a great program and who we have a lot of respect for,” said Vermont head coach John Becker. “I thought we had it in control late in the game, but we had some turnovers and some sloppy play. To Siena's credit it, they got back in it and we needed another miraculous, buzzer-beating tip by Matt Glass to pull that one out. We are happy with the win and will take it, but there is a lot to learn from this moving forward and we are happy to be sitting at 4-2 right now.”

The Cats opened the game making five of their first eight shots and a 7-0 run gave them a 20-11 lead with 9:46 left in the first frame. Freshman Four McGlynn started the spurt with a 3-pointer and he then forced a turnover that led to a two-handed dunk from sophomore Clancy Rugg. Rugg also added a jumper to cap off the push.

The Saints (2-3) cut into Vermont's lead and made it 26-24 with 4:26 to go in the half after scoring 11 of 15. The Catamounts took a 32-29 lead into the break, as sophomore Sandro Carissimo led UVM with seven, while McGlynn added six.

In the second half Siena started off with a 7-2 run to take its first lead of the day at 36-34. Vermont answered right back with a 9-3 spurt that gave the home team a 43-39 edge, as the Catamounts would not trail again on the day.

Crenca gave the Cats a boost midway through the second stanza when he scored seven straight points, including a big put back for a 3-point play, to make it 52-46 Vermont with 8:00 to go. After Siena cut it to 57-54, Voelkel converted a 3-point play on the next possession and classmate Luke Apfeld added a layup to push UVM's advantage to 62-54 with 1:36 left.

The Saints got a layup on the other end and then back-to-back turnovers by Vermont made it a two-point game. Siena's OD Anosike scored in the paint with 44 seconds remaining and was fouled, but he missed the shot and the Saints regained possession. Anosike converted for a second straight time to knot the score at 62-62 with 25.1 seconds to go, setting up the dramatic finish.

Crenca finished 6-for-9 from the floor and added seven rebounds in 17 minutes of action. Glass added five rebounds, while Voelkel pulled down 14 for the second straight game. As a team Vermont outrebounded Siena 36-23 and used an 18-8 bench scoring advantage.

Anosike led all scorers with 24 points and he also grabbed 10 rebounds, while Kyle Downey (15) and Evan Hymes (10) each recorded double figures for the Saints.

The Catamounts return to action on Thursday when they host Harvard at 7 p.m. 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: The contest marked the third time this season that Vermont has played a two-point game, after dropping the season opener at South Florida (61-59) and topping Old Dominion in its last time out 65-63 in overtime on Wednesday … Saturday marked the home opener for the Catamounts, who played their first five games of the year on the road … UVM is now 37-15 in home openers since 1960 and has won 35 of its last 42 overall at Patrick Gym … Saturday's game was televised on WCAXtra … Vermont also defeated Siena last season 80-76, snapping the Saints' 38-game home court winning streak, which was the second longest in the nation at the time … At least 10 different Cats have played in the first half of every game this season … Nine of the 10 Cats to play on Saturday scored, which included Rugg matching a career-high with four points … Crenca was named the America East Player of the Game …