Men’s Hoops: Catamounts Hand Hartford 74-57 Defeat

Posted on , updated on by George Commo

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

BURLINGTON –– Vermont (13-6, 3-1 AE) won its third straight game and handed Hartford (10-9, 3-1 AE) its first conference loss of the year with a 74-57 victory on Saturday afternoon in front of a sold-out Patrick Gym.

COACH’S QUOTE
“Today was a really nice team win and I thought our bench was great once again,” Cioffi Men’s Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. “We were able to play 10 guys, almost all with double-digit minutes, and we can wear teams out down the stretch to win games.”

HOW IT HAPPENED
The early minutes of the game favored the Hawks but the Cats clawed back and took a 10-9 lead with 10:22 left in the half.
The conference foes traded scores for most of the period until UVM stretched the advantage to double digits. Leading 23-20 at the 4:50 mark, Vermont scored 14 of the final 21 points of the half and went into the recess up 37-27.
Hartford used the first four minutes of the second half to trim the deficit to 37-34, but the Green and Gold would not let the Hawks draw any closer. The Cats eventually pushed the lead back to double digits by the eight-minute media timeout.
In the final 6:20, Vermont kept its double-figure advantage for the remainder of the contest which grew to as large as an 18-point margin.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The Catamounts showed off their depth once again as 10 players recorded a point, including a team-high 11 points from Robin Duncan. The sophomore shot 4-of-7 from the field and handed out four assists.
Everett Duncan and Stef Smith followed with 10 points each. Smith collected five rebounds and recorded four assists. Duncan buried two triples and pulled down two boards.
Ryan Davis added nine points off bench. Anthony Lamb also had a solid afternoon with eight points and eight rebounds. Bailey Patella had a similar game to Lamb with eight points and nine boards.
The game was presented by Rise to the Top Vermont.
With the victory, the Cats Win, Community Wins campaign and Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to Make-A-Wish Vermont, bringing the 2020 total to nine wins totaling $900. A special thank you to Vermont Mutual Insurance for their support. Vermont Mutual Insurance, protecting Vermonters since 1828.

WHO’S NEXT
Vermont will head to Maine on Wednesday (Jan. 22). The opening tip is set for 7 p.m. on the hardwood of the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. Tickets are available for purchase at TicketMaster.com. All of the action can be seen on ESPN+ with a paid subscription. Fans can also listen live on the Vermont Sports Network, from Learfield IMG College, on 101.3 The Game or online at Catamounts All-Access with Jake Marsh on the call.