Courtesy Vermont Sports Information
HANOVER, N.H. – The Vermont Catamounts used a pair of 20-point performances from Trae Bell-Haynes and Payton Henson for a 91-78 win at Dartmouth on Wednesday night in the non-conference finale. UVM recorded its 10th straight victory over its twin state rival.
Vermont improves to 12-5 overall and matches a program record with 10 victories during the non-conference slate. Dartmouth suffers its third straight defeat and falls to 4-9 on the year.
Bell-Haynes finished one point shy of his career high with a game-high 27 points and the senior was a perfect 10-for-10 from the floor. He tallied five rebounds and dished out three assists. Henson followed with 20 points, four boards, and made two triples. Cam Ward racked up a season high 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting and handed out five assists.
Dartmouth had four players reach double figures. Taylor Johnson posted a team-high 17 points and sank 7-of-10 attempts from the field, including a pair from beyond the arc. Chris Knight added 14 points while Brendan Barry trailed with 13 points. Will Emery wrapped up the balanced scoring attack with 10 points.
The Green and Gold led for the entire game, but the Big Green kept the game close until the midway point of the first half. Leading 19-13 at the 10:39 mark, UVM began to find its stroke from downtown and built a double-digit lead after producing a 17-9 run over a seven-minute stretch. The twin state rivals traded baskets in the final minutes of the period and Vermont went into the recess leading 43-30.
In the second half, the Cats stretched their advantage to 60-43 through the first six minutes after Bell-Haynes went on a 13-point scoring spree. Dartmouth slowly began to crawl back into the game. With a 22-10 run, the Big Green cut the deficit to 70-65 with five and a half minutes left to play. UVM responded with a three-pointer from Ernie Duncan and Ward hit a step-back jumper to push the lead back to double digits.
After Knight hit a jumper of his own, Bell-Haynes banked a layup on the glass on the next trip down the floor and Vermont’s defense did not allow the Big Green to get any closer on the scoreboard for the non-conference win.
With the win, the Cats Win, Community Wins campaign and Vermont Mutual have donated another $100 to the Boys and Girls Club of Burlington, bringing this year’s total to 67 wins and $6,700 donated.
Vermont returns to conference play to host Stony Brook on Saturday (Jan.13). The opening tip is set for 2 p.m. Single game tickets are available atUVMathletics.com/Tickets or at the Patrick Gym Box Office on gameday. Fans can watch the America East matchup on ESPN3 and the watchESPN app by logging in with your television provider. All Vermont regular season games can be heard on 101.3 ESPN FM and online at 1013ESPN.com with Sam Hyman on the call.