Men’s Hoops: Lamb’s 34 Carry Catamounts Past Yale

Posted on by George Commo

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

BURLINGTON – UVM junior forward Anthony Lamb notched a new career high with 34 points in a 79-70 win over Yale on Wednesday night at Patrick Gym. The Catamounts improve to 3-2 while the Bulldogs slip to 1-2.

COACH’S QUOTE
“Tonight was a really good win and I want to thank all of our fans for coming out,” Cioffi Men’s Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. “I thought we played really well against a good Yale team. Once we settled in at the end of the first half, I thought we controlled the game in the final 20 minutes.”

HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half was a tight defensive battle with six ties and three lead changes. The Bulldogs led for most of the period and gained slight separation with a 27-21 lead at the 6:47 mark. UVM slowly chipped away at the small deficit and tied the game at 29-29 two minutes later with a triple from Stef Smith. Yale answered on its next possession with a three-pointer of its own from Isaiah Kelly but the Cats scored 11 of the half’s final 19 points for a 40-37 advantage at halftime.
Vermont carried its momentum into the second half and mounted a 29-12 surge over a 14-minute stretch and held a 69-49 lead with six minutes left to play. The Bulldogs fought back and cut UVM’s advantage to single digits in the final seconds with a 21-10 run of their own.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Anthony Lamb scored 20 of his 34 points in the first half and shot 13-of-24 for the night. The Rochester, New York native shattered his previous career high from long range with six triples and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Ernie Duncan found his stroke with 15 points, including a dozen from downtown. He shot a near perfect 4-for-6 from long distance and handed out two assists.
Smith reached double figures for the fifth straight game with 17 points. The sophomore drained a trio from beyond the arc and doled out four assists.
The Cats made a baker’s dozen 13 three-pointers – the most since hitting 14 triples against Houston in the Gulf Coast Showcase Championship Game on Nov. 23, 2016.
UVM claims its third straight win over Yale and improves to 17-13 in the all-time series.
With the victory, the Cats Win, Community Wins campaign and Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate another $100 to the Boys and Girls Club of Burlington, bringing this year’s total to 103 wins and $10,300.
WHO’S NEXT
Vermont will close out its two-game homestand against Patriot League power Bucknell on Sunday (Nov. 25). The opening tip is set for 2 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets at UVMathletics.com/Tickets or at the Patrick Gym Box Office on gameday. The UVM Athletics Ticket Office will have revised hours this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The office will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and Friday (Nov. 23). The game will be streamed on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app by logging in with your television provider. Fans can also listen to the contest on 101.3 The Game and 1013TheGame.com with Jake Marsh on the call.