Courtesy Vermont Sports Information
BURLINGTON – The Catamounts opened the second half of America East play with a 74-53 win over Maine on Wednesday night. The victory extended UVM’s winning streak to 11 games and preserved an undefeated conference record.
Vermont improves to 19-5 overall and 9-0 against league competition. Maine falls to 5-19 on the year and 1-8 in conference play.
UVM’s defensive unit had another solid night by holding Maine to 35.2% (19-of-54) from the floor and 25.0% (4-of-16) from long distance. The Catamounts drained 56.9% (29-of-51) of their attempts from the field and outscored the Black Bears 44-22 in the paint.
Anthony Lamb posted his fifth double-digit outing of league play with a game-high 15 points and four rebounds. Lamb shot 7-of-12 from the floor with two blocks and dished away an assist. Payton Henson scored double figures for the third time in the last four games with 13 points. The redshirt junior shot 5-of-9 from the field and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Ernie Duncan added 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting and recorded five assists.
Maine was led by Ilija Stojiljkovic’s team-high 13 points. Stojiljkovic was 4-of-5 from both the field and the charity stripe. Andrew Fleming was the second Black Bear in double figures with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting and made all four trips to the foul line. Wes Myers, who averages a league-best 23.0 points per game in conference play, was held to 10 points on 5-of-18 shooting to round out Maine’s scoring attack.
The Catamounts jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the first three minutes but the Black Bears came back and took a 19-17 lead at the 9:44 mark after putting together a 15-8 run.
As the two foes traded buckets, UVM produced a 10-0 run in a two-minute stretch and grabbed a 35-27 advantage with four and a half minutes left in the period. After Maine scored five quick points, the green and gold tallied the final four points of the half for a 39-32 lead at the break.
The Cats carried the momentum into the second half with a 12-4 run in the first four minutes and built a 15-point advantage.
UVM’s defense did not allow the Black Bears to gain traction for the rest of the game. Vermont closed out the victory by scoring seven of the game’s final 10 points to remain unbeaten in conference play.
Vermont hits the road on Saturday (Feb. 4) at Hartford for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The game can be seen on ESPN3 and the watchESPN app by logging in with your cable provider.