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Big Second Half Leads Saint Louis Over Vermont Men's Basketball

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Created on Thursday, 08 December 2011 04:27
Written by George Commo

13-2 Start to Second Half Keys Bilikens to 62-43 Win

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

ST. LOUIS,MO  – Saint Louis opened up a seven-point halftime advantage with a 13-2 run to start the second half on its way to a 62-43 victory over the Vermont men's basketball team on Wednesday night. The Billikens outscored the Catamounts 28-16 in the second half to improve to 8-1 on the year, while UVM falls to 4-5 with the loss. Sophomore Luke Apfeld led Vermont with 13 points.

Saint Louis was ranked No. 23 in the nation just last week before dropping its first game of the season and is receiving votes this week. Dwayne Evans, Kwamain Mitchell, Cody Ellis and Brian Conklin each scored 10 points to lead the Billikens. Vermont has now lost three straight and the 43 points are the fewest since it lost to Drexel during the 2005-06 season 56-42.

In a first half that was offensive-minded, the Catamounts led 5-4 early before Saint Louis used a 16-2 run to take a 20-7 lead just 6:45 in. The Billikens came out of the gates making 12 of their first 14 attempts and would lead 27-13. Vermont answered with the next nine straight points, as Apfeld tallied the first seven and senior Pat Bergmann added a lay-up to make it 27-22 with 6:59 to go before the half.

Saint Louis extended its lead back to 10 at 32-22, before the Cats netted five of the last seven points in the frame and the Billikens took a 34-27 lead into the break. Vermont shot 50 percent in the first half, but SLU netted 60.9 percent of its attempts. Apfeld led Vermont at the half with nine points, while Brendan Bald and Matt Glass added eight each.

SLU scored 13 of the first 15 points in the second half to halt any upset bid that the Catamounts had, to extend its lead to 47-29, 6:11 in. After making 10 of their 20 attempts in the first half, the Catamounts started the second only 2-for-12.

Apfeld finished 4-for-7 from the floor and 5-for-7 from the free throw line to lead the Cats, while Glass ended with 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting and five rebounds. Bergmann added a team-high eight rebounds off the bench, as Vermont shot only 25 percent (6-for-24) in the deciding second half.

Evans added a game-high 10 rebounds for Saint Louis, as it finished the game shooting 48.9 percent from the floor and forced the Catamounts in to 19 turnovers.

The Catamounts return to action on Sunday when they return home to face Quinnipiac starting at 1 p.m. Prior to the game Vermont will be recognized for winning the 2011 America East Regular Season Championship and advancing to the NIT. At halftime the UVM student-athletes will also be honored for winning the 2011 America East Academic Cup. 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: Saint Louis was 8-for-18 from 3-point range (44.4%), as it entered the game 11th in the nation by shooting 43.6 percent from long range … Wednesday marked the first career meeting between the two teams in men's basketball and Vermont's first game in the state of Missouri … The Cats are only averaging 47.7 points per game during their three-game losing streak … Vermont has allowed each of its last four opponents to shoot 47 percent or better from the floor … At least 10 different Cats have played in the first half of every game this season … Apfeld was named the America East Player of the Game.