Archive for February, 2006
Mike Gordon keyed a late charge as Binghamton came from behind to top Boston University next Saturday, March 4 at 2:30pm at the Events Center in Vestal, N.Y. The host Bearcats, the second seed, play seventh-seeded Maine in the quarterfinal opener at noon.
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“I’m proud of our effort but it was a very frustrating ending,†said Vermont coach Mike Lonergan. “The guys are trying very hard but we can’t seem to make the right decisions at the right time. The number of turnovers we make is mindboggling. I hope we can pick it up this week and play looser and with more confidence in the tournament.â€
Binghamton shot poorly for the game (38%) but forced 22 UVM turnovers, 13 in the deciding second half, while committing just seven. The Catamounts also outrebounded the Bearcats, 41-28.
Vermont held Binghamton to 24% from the floor in the first half en route to a 29-18 lead at the break. At one point the Bearcats missed 15 straight shots over a nine and a half minute span but closed out the period with a 7-0 run.
Binghamton opened the second half with another good run, outscoring the Cats, 13-5, to tie the game at 34-34 four minutes into the stanza. Vermont righted itself and led by as many as 15 points midway through the second half and had a 61-52 advantage with 3:23 to go.
On three straight Binghamton possessions, Gordon hit a layup off a steal, a three-pointer and a 10-foot jumper to cut the deficit to 61-59 with 1:27 left. Troy Hailey made a pair of free throws to tie the game and Chris Holm (Henderson, Nevada) hit one of two from the line to nudge the Cats ahead by one with 55 seconds left. On the next trip, Andre Heard hit a driving runner on the baseline with 38 seconds to go to give put the Bearcats back up. A layup bid by Martin Klimes (Prague, Czech Republic) was off the mark with four seconds left and Binghamton then closed out the game with four straight free throws.
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Heard led all scorers with 22 points but shot nine-of-22 from the floor. Gordon (5-for-15) added 13 and Hailey (3-for-10) chipped in with 12. The win was Binghamton’s first ever at Patrick Gym.
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Holm had his third double-double of the season with 14 points and a career-best 12 rebounds. Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn.) added 14 points and five assists for the Catamounts, who lost for the fourth straight time.
February 27th, 2006
Vermont travels to Boston, Mass. for its final regular season road trip of the year to take on Boston University in its lone game of the week. The Catamounts stand at 8-15 overall and 4-9 in America East. UVM has dropped seven of its last eight games and is coming off a 65-62 loss to Albany at Patrick Gym on Saturday. Boston University sits in a tie for second place in the league standings with a record of 15-8 overall and 8-4 in the conference. The Terriers are coming off a 72-64 win over Stony Brook, who they are tied with in the standings, on Saturday. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:00pm on Wednesday night and can be heard on WVMT-620 AM and on the Internet at SportsJuice.com.
February 21st, 2006
Albany’s Sheri Mikus scored eight of her career-high 23 points in the final 2:30 of the game to help the Great Danes hold off Vermont and come away with a 65-62 victory at Patrick Gymnasium. It is the first win for Albany over Vermont in the all-time series, ruining UVM’s perfect 9-0 record.With the win Albany earns its second conference victory to improve to 2-10 in league play and 6-17 overall. Vermont falls to 8-15 overall and 4-9 in America East.
The game was tightly contested in the opening 20 minutes, featuring seven ties and just a five-point advantage for Albany. The Great Danes shot 50% from the field, while Vermont hit 34.3% of its field goals in the first half, allowing Albany to take a 29-27 lead at the break.
In the second half, Albany put together an 13-2 run spanning three minutes to take a 14-point lead, 49-35, with 11:01 remaining in the game. Vermont responded with a 15-3 run of its own and a three-pointer by Ashleigh Cuncic (Carlisle, Ontario) cut the Albany lead to two, 52-50, with 4:32 on the clock. Vermont would get as close as one, 53-52, with 2:46 left, but could not overtake the Great Danes. Albany held on for the win by going 7-for-12 from the line, aided by Mikus’ 4-for-4 individual effort.
Mikus added seven rebounds, five assists and six steals in a solid all-around performance. Amanda Ward chipped in 18 points, matching her career-high, and six rebounds. Albany shot 57.1% from the field in the second half and 53.2% for the game. The Great Danes were 13-for-24 from the foul line in the game.
Alexis Castro (Chula Vista, Calif.) led Vermont with her fourth double-double of the season, posting 20 points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Senior Ashleigh Cuncic (Carlisle, Ontario) added 14 points, including four three-pointers, and grabbed five rebounds. The Catamounts shot 32.4% in the second half and 33% from the field in the game.
Vermont returns to action on Wednesday, February 22 when it makes its final road trip of the regular season to Boston. The Catamounts face Boston University at 7:00pm at Case Gymnasium. The game can be heard on WVMT-620 AM and on the Internet at SportsJuice.com.
February 20th, 2006
The University of Vermont swept Maine in a pair of basketball games on Wednesday evening. The UVM men’s team used a balanced attack to roll past the Black Bears, 79-48, at Patrick Gymnasium in the America East Game of the Week. In women’s action, senior Chrissy Battram scored 14 of her season-high 19 points in the second half, including the go-ahead layup with 61 seconds left to lift Vermont to a 68-65 comeback victory in Orono.The men’s team improves to 11-12 overall and 7-6 in America East and sits in a tie for third place with Hartford in the league standings. The women snapped a six-game losing streak with the win to move to 8-14 overall and 4-8 in the standings.
Both teams return to action on Saturday, February 18. The men travel to former America East foe Drexel in the ESPN Bracket Buster game (5:00pm), while the women host Albany at 1:00pm at Patrick Gym. The first 1,000 fans to the women’s game will receive a free set of trading cards courtesy of L. Brown & Sons.
February 17th, 2006
With a career-high 24 points, Jerrell Dinkins led five players in double figures as UMBC topped Vermont, 86-73, in America East men’s basketball at RAC Arena Saturday afternoon.The Catamounts (10-12, 6-6 America East) came into the game as the conference leader in field goal percentage defense (39.8%) but saw the Retrievers (9-14, 5-7), who are now 8-3 at home, shoot a blistering 65% in the first half and 55% for the game. UVM had allowed only two opponents in 21 games to shoot 50% or better prior to UMBC’s effort Saturday. The 87 points also were the most allowed this season by Vermont.
Brian Hodges had 13 and Dinkins 11 points, and the Retrievers forced 10 Vermont turnovers to take a 48-30 lead at the break. Midway through the second half, UMBC used a 9-0 run to make the margin 24 points, 65-41, with just under 12 minutes to play. UVM would claw back and make a late charge using a 11-2 run of its own to cut the deficit to 10, 81-71, but less than a minute remained in the contest.
“We knew UMBC would be much better at home than on the road,” said Vermont coach Mike Lonergan. “Our defense didn’t have any energy in the first half and then we played with a little more intensity in the second to make a run at them. It’s real hard to come back from 18 points down at halftime.”
Chris Holm (Henderson, Nevada) scored 13 points in the second half on six-for-eight shooting to pace the Vermont comeback bid. Holm finished with a team-high 24 to equal his career-high set earlier this season at Maine. Martin Klimes (Prague, Czech Republic) added 12 points, with nine in the second stanza, while Josh Duell (Scotia, N.Y.) and Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn.) each scored 11.
The Catamounts shot 44% from the floor but hit only seven-of-21 three-point attempts. Led by Holm’s seven boards, Vermont outrebounded UMBC, 36-33.
In addition to Dinkins, who went 10-for-16 from the floor and had a game-high eight rebounds, Hodges (3-for-6 3-pt FGs) and John Zito each talled 16. UMBC’s starting backcourt of Jay Greene and Chris Pugh each added 13 points as the Retrievers won for the first time in seven tries against Vermont. The Catamounts had won the first meeting of the season, 68-53, back on January 8.
Vermont returns home to host Maine Wednesday at 7:00pm in a game televised on NESN (Radio: WXZO 96.7 FM, WEAV 960 AM and WCVR 102.1 FM; Internet: www.sportsjuice.com). General admission tickets are available for all Vermont regular season home games at the UVM Athletic The NCAA mascot, J.J. Jumper, will appear at the Maine game and fans can sample free ice cream by Ben and Jerry’s at halftime.
February 16th, 2006
Josh Duell, who finished with 13 points, gave Vermont (9-10, 5-4 America East) a 54-45 lead with 6:12 to play.The Wildcats pulled within a point on Tyrece gibbs’ free throw with 4:36 to play, but never took the lead. Jamaal Caterina led New Hampshure (7-13, 4-5) with 13 and Gibbs finished with 12.
The Wildcats opened the game on a 9-0 run, but the Catamounts came back and took their first lead on Kyle Cieplicki’s jumper with 16:49 left in the first half. Vermont led 29-24 at halftime.
February 2nd, 2006