Courtesy Vermont Sports Information
BURLINGTON – The UVM Catamounts were dialed in from three-point land, making 9-of-17 attempts (52.9%) in a 71-57 America East win over Binghamton on Monday night. The green and gold extended the fifth-longest active winning streak in the country to 13 games.
Vermont keeps pace with the 2004-05 team for the best overall record through 26 games with a 21-5 mark and improve to 11-0 in conference play. UVM is two wins away from tying the program record for the most consecutive overall and league wins. Binghamton falls to 12-13 on the season and 3-8 in America East play.
The Cats, who hold he 13th-best team field-goal percentage in Division I at 49.1%, shot 53.1% (26-for-49) from the field and grabbed 10 of the team’s 28 rebounds on the offensive glass. UVM’s defense caused 18 turnovers and converted the takeaways into 28 points.
Ernie Duncan drained 6-of-8 attempts from long distance to lead all scorers with 18 points. Payton Henson shot 6-of-11 from the floor for 13 points and came down with five boards. Darren Payennetted 11 points to round out three Catamounts in double figures. Payen was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and has made 13 of his last 14 field goal attempts. UVM was tenacious on the glass as Henson, Payen, and Drew Urquhart tallied five rebounds apiece.
Bobby Ahearn posted 15 points and seven rebounds to lead the Bearcats. Ahearn was 5-of-10 from the floor and sank 3-of-4 attempts from beyond the arc. Thomas Bruce and Dusan Perovic followed with nine points each.
Binghamton opened the game on a 7-2 run but the Cats quickly responded with a 9-2 run and took an 11-9 lead at the 14:09 mark.
After Ahearn hit a triple to put the Bearcats back on top, UVM broke out with a 13-2 run and gained a 26-14 lead. Binghamton trimmed Vermont’s lead back to single digits but the green and gold scored six of the final eight points of the half for a 33-23 advantage at the break.
The Catamounts padded their lead to 16 point in the first three minutes of the second half but the Bearcats tried to gain momentum with a 17-10 run in a seven-minute span. As Binghamton drew within 52-43, UVM went on a tear and closed out the game on a 19-8 run in the final 8:21 for the 20-point conference victory.
Vermont hosts twin state rival New Hampshire on Thursday (Feb. 9) at 9 p.m. and the game will be televised live on ESPNU from Patrick Gym. ESPNU is located on DirecTV channel 208, DirecTV Video on Demand channel 1208, Dish Network channel 141, Xfinity channel 293, and Xfinity HD channel 822.
RALLY AGAINST CANCER JERSEY AUCTION
UVM hosted its annual Rally Against Cancer game on Monday night, presented by Otter Creek Awnings and Vermont Custom Closets. The Cats wore special pink jerseys and the game-worn jerseys are up for auction. Fans can bid on the jerseys by visiting UVMathletics.com/Auctions. Bidding concludes at 7 p.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 7) and proceeds will be donated to the University of Vermont Cancer Center.