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Vermont Men's Basketball Falls to Northeastern on a Buzzer-Beater

Details: Created on Saturday, 31 December 2011 03:34; Written by George Commo

Jumper at the buzzer lifts Huskies to 53-51 victory over the Catamounts

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

BURLINGTON – Joel Smith hit a jumper that just beat the buzzer in a tie game and lifted Northeastern to a 53-51 victory over the Vermont men's basketball team on Friday afternoon at Patrick Gym. Five Catamounts scored eight or more in the contest, led by nine apiece from freshman Four McGlynn and junior Ben Crenca, as Vermont falls to 6-8 with the loss.

The Catamounts had tied the game at 51-51 on a pair of free throws from McGlynn with 3.9 seconds left, giving Northeastern (4-7) had one last chance. Smith, who netted a game-high 19 points, took the ball and raced up the court to the right wing where he took a shot that hit the rim, bounced off the backboard and then rattled around the rim three more times before falling.

“Another tough home game today, we struggled to score the ball against a good a defensive team who was physical with us,” said Vermont head coach John Becker. “Free throws in the first half when we missed two front ends of one-and-ones came back to hurt us. They made a tough shot at the end of the game to pull it out, so our season starts on Monday when league play opens at Stony Brook.”

Both teams struggled from the floor early on, with Vermont taking a 10-9 lead after a layup from senior Pat Bergmann. Northeastern netted the next five straight and would lead for the remainder of the half. The Huskies took their biggest lead of the frame when Lee hit a 3-pointer with 5:20 to go that made it 23-16.

Vermont cut it to 26-24 after a Clancy Rugg tip-in, but Northeastern's Quincy Ford beat the buzzer with a layup that sent the Huskies into the locker room with a 28-24 lead. Junior Brendan Bald led the Cats in the first half with eight points, but they were hindered by going only 2-for-6 from the free throw line as a team.

Leading 30-28 early in the second half, the Huskies scored seven straight to stretch their lead to nine, 5:08 into the frame. With Northeastern up six at 41-35, Vermont scored the next six straight capped off by a pair of free throws from Rugg to tie the score. The Cats would take their first lead since it was 10-9 when sophomore Sandro Carissimo converted a layup to make it 45-43 with 4:09 remaining that finished a 10-2 run for the home team.

Neither team would lead by more than two for the remainder of the contest. With the score tied 49-49, NU's Kashief Edwards made a layup with 8.9 seconds to go that put the Huskies up a pair. McGlynn was fouled on the other end with 3.9 seconds left and he made both, setting up Smith's final attempt.

Bald along with seniors Matt Glass and Pat Bergmann each added eight points for Vermont, while sophomore Brian Voelkel added game-highs for both rebounds (11) and steals (5). Crenca finished 3-for-3 from the floor and added a career-high eight rebounds, while Bergmann was 4-for-5 off the bench.

Smith went 7-for-14 from the floor, finishing the game as the only player to reach double figures in scoring. Jonathan Lee added nine points for the Huskies, who held a 33-30 rebounding edge in the contest.

Vermont returns to action on Monday when it opens America East play at Stony Brook starting at 7 p.m.

NOTES: Matt Glass finished with a career-high five assists, while Brian Voelkel's five steals matched a career-best … Voelkel has now grabbed 10 or more rebounds in a game five times this season and 21 times in his career … Five of UVM's eight losses this season have been by five points or less … Sophomore Luke Apfeld missed the game with an injury and is listed as day-to-day … Vermont finishes the 2011 calendar year with a record of 20-14, but only 7-6 at home … The loss was the fourth of the season at Patrick Gym for the Cats, but those have been by a combined 14 points … Friday marked the third CAA team that Vermont has faced this season, as it defeated by Old Dominion and Towson … The Cats are giving up only 51.7 points per game over the last three … The game marked the first time the two teams had met since the 2005 America East Championship Game, which the Cats won 80-57 … Crenca was named the America East Player of the Game.