Courtesy Vermont Sports Information
BURLINGTON – The Catamounts added a pair of records to an already historic season with Saturday’s 66-51 league win over Stony Brook. Vermont became the only team in the history of America East to post a 16-0 undefeated conference season and set the program record with its 26th win of the season.
The victory improves the Cats’ overall record to 26-5. Stony Brook drops to 17-12 overall and 12-4 in league play. The Seawolves will be the No. 2 seed in the upcoming America East Tournament.
UVM’s inspired defense held Stony Brook to only 36.4% (20-of-55) shooting for the game while the Cats were 50.0% (26-of-52) from the field on the afternoon. Vermont outscored Stony Brook 38-20 in the paint and won the turnover battle 14-7.
Anthony Lamb had a big game on both ends of the floor with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Lamb grabbed five boards, recorded four steals, and swatted away three shots. Payton Henson was 5-of-8 from the floor for 12 points and five rebounds. Darren Payen was the third Catamount in double figures with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
Roland Nyama posted a team-high 14 points for the Seawolves. Nyama was 6-of-11 from the floor with three rebounds and three blocks. Akwasi Yeboah contributed 11 points for Stony Brook on 4-of-7 shooting with a pair of three-pointers.
The Cats jumped out of the gate on an 8-2 run but the Seawolves responded with five quick points and trailed 8-7 only five minutes into the game. UVM padded its lead to 17-11 but Stony Brook crawled back and took a 19-17 advantage at the 9:17 mark.
Vermont retook the lead after producing 18 unanswered points in a six-minute span and and held a 35-19 advantage with two minutes left in the half. Stony Brook closed out the first period with an 8-0 run as the Cats were up 35-27 at the break.
UVM came roaring out of the locker room to begin the second half with a 16-4 run for its largest lead of the day, 31-51.
As Stony Brook turned up the defensive pressure, the Cats took care of the ball down the stretch to secure the historic win.
Vermont hosts Maine on Wednesday (March 1) at 7 p.m. in the America East Quarterfinal at Patrick Gym. All UVM men’s basketball games can be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM and online at 1013ESPN.com with Sam Hyman on the call. The game can be seen on ESPN3 and the watchESPN app by logging in with your cable provider.
AMERICA EAST QUARTERFINAL TICKET INFORMATION
Season ticket holders have until Sunday (Feb. 26) to purchase their tickets for the America East Quarterfinal game against Maine. A public ticket sale will start at 12 p.m. on Monday (Feb. 27). Visit UVMathletics.com/Tickets for more information or contact the UVM Ticket Office via email at athletic.tickets@uvm.edu or call 802-656-4410.
AMERICA EAST UNDEFEATED CONFERENCE SEASON T-SHIRTS
Celebrate Vermont’s historic 16-0 undefeated conference season with a limited edition commemorative t-shirt. Fans can purchase a t-shirt for $15 on Monday (Feb. 27) at the UVM Bookstore by visiting UVMBookstore.uvm.edu.