Courtesy Vermont Sports Information
NEW HAVEN, CT – UVM matched its best start under head coach John Becker and extended its winning streak to five games after holding off Ivy League rival Yale with a 79-73 victory on Saturday afternoon. The Catamounts improve to 5-1 overall while the Bulldogs fall to 3-4 on the year.
Anthony Lamb recorded his second 20-point outing of the season with 22 points on 10-of-18 shooting. The sophomore grabbed seven rebounds, dished out two assists, and swatted away a pair of shots. Payton Henson tallied a season-high 19 points with four rebounds. Ernie Duncanreached double figures with 12 points after draining a pair of attempts from long range. Trae Bell-Haynes matched a career-high with 10 assists in the win.
Yale’s Miye Oni scored a game-high 26 points after connecting on 8-of-16 attempts from the floor. Oni hit five three-pointers, gathered seven rebounds, and handed out four assists. Alex Copeland also charted double digits with 17 points and three assists.
The two rivals played a tight first half with 10 lead changes. Late in the period, the scoreboard read 29-29 until the Bulldogs went on a small 5-0 run in less than a minute. The Catamounts rallied and tied the game with five unanswered points after Drew Urquhart banked a layup off the glass, then Skyler Nash buried a three-pointer in front of Yale’s bench. Vermont went into the break with a slim 37-36 lead.
In the second half, the Cats and Bulldogs kept the score close until UVM gained some breathing room. Urquhart hit a tough layup in the paint and gave the Green and Gold a six-point advantage. Yale responded and took its first lead of the final period with a 10-2 run at the 9:03 mark.
The Catamounts roared back once again and produced a 12-4 run over a five-minute stretch for a 69-63 advantage at the four-minute media timeout. With a minute and change remaining in the contest, Duncan pump-faked his defender, took a step back, and iced the game with shot from beyond the arc on the left wing.
Vermont will play game two of its five-game road trip at Richmond on Wednesday (Nov. 29). The opening tip is set for 7 p.m. Fans in the Washington D.C. regional television market can watch the game on NBC Sports Washington+. The contest will also be streamed on SpiderTV, a part of the A-10 Network, with a pay-per-view subscription. All Vermont regular season games can be heard on 101.3 ESPN FM and online at 1013ESPN.com with Sam Hyman on the call.