PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The University of Vermont backed up its reputations as Comeback Kids by rallying in dramatic fashion to earn another men’s basketball victory Tuesday.
The Catamounts trailed by as many as 17 points before battlling back to match a program-best 10 non-conference wins with a 71-70 victory over Brown at Pizzitola Sports Center. The last time UVM secured 10 non-conference wins was during the 2019-20 campaign.
The Catamounts (10-3) trailed for over 37 minutes of their non-conference finale against the Bears (4-11). A 9-0 run at the end of the first half was Vermont’s largest run of the night and played a huge role in getting UVM back in contention following a sluggish start.
Matt Veretto led the Cats with 16 points during less than 23 minutes of game action. The graduate student was 7 of 13 from the field. TJ Long and Ileri Ayo-Faleye each had 11 points in the winning effort. Long knocked down 2 of 6 attempts from beyond the arc, while Ayo-Faleye was 4 of 6 from the field.
TJ Hurley rounded out the Catamounts in double figures with 10 points. The sophomore scored all of his points in the second half, going 4 of 7 from the field.
“Hard-fought win tonight and I’m really proud of our guys’ resiliency,” UVM coach John Becker said. “We came out slow and I thought Brown played a lot harder and a lot tougher than us and we were on our heels. We’ve got to figure some stuff out. It’s been a couple games in a row here where this has been the trend. And so we found a way, which is important.”
The Bears made four of their first five field goal attempts to take a quick 9-2 lead 2:33 into the game. Kalu Anya led the early attack with four points. UVM countered with a 7-2 run that was sparked by a 3-pointer from Long. Aaron Deloney cashed in on a 3-point attempt on the following possession and Veretto converted a layup to cut the deficit to 11-9 with 14:39 left in the half.
Brown’s offense caught fire in the middle part of the frame when it hit 8 of 10 field goal attempts to take a 32-17 lead with 8:20 on the clock. Kino Lilly Jr. led a balanced attack as seven Bears contributed to the 21-8 run. Vermont was 2 of 10 from the field during that stretch.
The non-conference foes exchanged baskets over the late minutes of the first half until Vermont’s 9-0 run cut the UVM deficit to 42-34 before the break. Veretto scored six points in the final 3:10 of the half. Teammate Sam Alamutu registered a key block and converted a three-point play on the other end to help shift momentum for the Cats.
Hurley scored Vermont’s first seven points coming out of the locker room as the Cats traded buckets with the Bears. Veretto pulled UVM to within six points on a layup that made the score 49-43 with 16:55 left to play. Brown’s lead stretched back to double digits minutes later when Felix Kloman knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing to extend the lead to 55-45 with 13:53 left in the second half.
Vermont chipped away at the deficit and eventually pulled to within four points on a Nick Fiorillo 3-pointer from the corner that made the score 60-56 with 8:06 remaining. Ayo-Faleye knocked down two free throws shortly afterwards to put the Cats within a possession for the first time since there ws 14:15 left in the first half.
Hurley tied the game at 61-61 on a 3-pointer with 5:51 remaining. The score had not been tied since the opening seconds of the contest. The Cats and Bears traded free throws before five straight points allowed Brown to take a 68-63 lead with 3:15 remaining.
Ayo-Faleye erased the five-point deficit on back-to-back possessions, knocking down a 3-pointer and sinking a jumper to tie the game at 68-68 before the two-minute mark. The Bears pulled back in front on the following possession when Aaron Coooley sank a jumper with 1:53 on the clock.
Long drained the go-ahead bucket with 1:21 remaining when he made his second 3-pointer of the night to give UVM a 71-70 lead. The long-range shot was Long’s lone field goal of the second half and pushed Vermont in front for the first time of the night. Ayo-Faleye made a huge block for the Catamounts on the following possession, denying Lilly Jr. late in the shot clock to eventually force a violation.
Brown had the ball in the final seconds and missed multiple opportunities to retake the lead. Lilly Jr. missed a pull-up jumper with a few seconds remaining, but the Bears regained possession after the UVM defense knocked the ball out of bounds. With less than three seconds left, the Catamounts denied Nana Owusu-Anane and Anya at the rim to seal the victory.
The reigning America East champions will begin league play when they host Maine at 2 p.m. Saturday. The conference opener will broadcast live on ESPN+ with Rob Ryan and Bernie Cieplicki on the call.
VERMONT 71, BROWN 70
VERMONT (10-5)
Ayo-Faleye 4-6 2-2 11, Veretto 7-13 2-2 16, Deloney 1-4 0-0 3, Hurley 4-10 0-1 10, Long 3-10 3-4 11, Fiorillo 3-5 2-2 9, Mills 0-4 0-0 0, Roquemore 1-3 4-4 6, Alamutu 2-4 1-1 5, Skipper 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-59 14-16 71.
BROWN (4-11)
Anya 4-10 3-7 11, Owusu-Anane 5-12 5-6 16, Ferrari 1-4 0-0 3, Lilly 7-12 0-0 18, Cooley 3-5 0-0 8, Kloman 2-2 5-6 10, Ndur 1-3 0-0 2, Lewis 1-2 0-0 2, Erold 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 13-19 70. Halftime_Brown 42-34. 3-Point Goals_Vermont 7-22 (Hurley 2-3, Long 2-6, Fiorillo 1-1, Ayo-Faleye 1-2, Deloney 1-2, Mills 0-4, Veretto 0-4), Brown 9-15 (Lilly 4-4, Cooley 2-2, Kloman 1-1, Owusu-Anane 1-2, Ferrari 1-4, Anya 0-1, Ndur 0-1). Rebounds_Vermont 22 (Long 5), Brown 33 (Anya 12). Assists_Vermont 14 (Hurley 3), Brown 11 (Lilly 6). Total Fouls_Vermont 15, Brown 14. A_623 (2,800).
WOMEN’S HOCKEY
Vermont 6, Saint Michael 0
BURLINGTON – Five Catamounts found the back of the night Tuesday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse to lift UVM past the winless Purple Knights.
Evelyne Blais-Savoie (two goals, one assist) and Natálie Mlýnková (one goal, two assists) each tallied three-point games for Vermont, which moves to 9-8-1 on the season.
“Credit to Saint Michael’s for a very hard-fought game,” UVM coach Jim Plumer said. “Obviously it’s great to kick off the new year with a win, but we are going to have to play better in all aspects of the game if we expect to have success in the second half. Credit to Ellie Simmons for the shutout and her first career win. I’m looking forward to a much better performance this weekend at RPI.”
Mlýnková ignited the scoring by netting the first goal 15:32 into the opening period. From behind the net, Blais-Savoie located Mlýnková just outside the crease. Mlýnková proceeded to tuck home the score. Hailey Eikos notched the secondary assist.
Vermont struck again less than a minute later to extend its lead to 2-0. Sara Levesque received a pass from McKenzie Cerrato and fired a wrist shot from the slot that deflected off the far post. Maddy Skelton corralled the rebound and put away her fourth goal of the season.
UVM added a third goal on a power-play goal 9:51 into the second frame. Blais-Savoie gathered a pass from Mlýnková before dekeing her way into the slot. She drove a shot toward the far side for her sixth goal of the year. Lily Humphrey recorded the secondary assist on the tally.
After retrieving a rebound from a Lara Beecher shot, Rose-Marie Brochu located Kaylee Lewis diving into the low slot. Lewis handled the pass and lifted the puck into the top right corner to give Vermont a 4-0 lead 13:34 into the second period.
The Catamounts extended their lead to 5-0 with 4:34 remaining in the third period. Anna Podein found Hailey Burns, who quickly delivered a pass across the ice. Ezra Oien one-timed Burns’ pass into the net for her second career goal.
Blais-Savoie added another goal less than 30 seconds later to make it 6-0. Alaina Tanski connected to Mlýnková, who shoveled a pass set up Blais-Savoie for a shot from the right faceoff circle that flew past Saint Michael’s Annika Lavender (47 saves).
Vermont recorded a season-high 53 shots, highlighted by eight from Beecher. Vermont had a strong performance in the faceoff circle, winning 39 of their 53 draws. Simmons recorded her first career shutout for the Catamounts while finishing with nine saves.
The Catamounts will travel to play RPI at 3 p.m. Friday to kick off a two-game series.
Amherst 3, Castleton 0
AMHERST, Mass. — The Amherst College women’s hockey team entered the New Year as the third-ranked team in the nation.
The Mammoths put that elite play on display, beating Vermont State University Castleton 3-0 Tuesday afternoon.
The Spartans held Amherst scoreless in the opening period, but couldn’t say the same for the second, allowing a power play goal to Natalie Fu, assisted by Emily Hohmann and Ellie DeCarlo.
The Mammoths tacked on a pair of insurance tallies in the third period, with Rylee Glennon scoring on a power play, off an assist from Carlisle Brush and Alyssa Xu, and DeCarlo scoring on an assist from Anna Baxter and Kelsey Stewart.
Kirsten DiCicco had a busy day in goal for the Spartans, making 44 saves.
Amherst controlled the face-off circle with only Meg Aiken having a positive differential for Castleton.
The Spartans (5-7-1) has another tough challenge on Friday, hosting nationally-ranked Elmira College.
