Men’s Hoops: Catamounts Erupt on 18-0 Second Half Run, Beating GW, 69-53

Posted on , updated on by George Commo

Courtesy of Vermont Sports Information

WASHINGTON D.C. –– With the score tied at 48-48 and 7:28 left in the game, Vermont used an 18-0 run to break free for a 69-53 win at George Washington on Wednesday night. The Catamounts improve to 4-3 while the Colonials drop to 1-6.

COACH’S QUOTE
“At the half, we had a 10-point lead but GW had 13 offensive boards and we gave them 15 second chance points which is something we emphasized at halftime,” Cioffi Men’s Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. “We did what we couldn’t do on Sunday and that was get our footing. We got enough stops until our offense came alive.”

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Catamounts drained three-pointers on their first two possessions and held a lead for the majority of the half. With four minutes left in the period, UVM had built a 14-point advantage but GW cut the deficit to single digits at the 1:04 mark. Isaiah Moll beat the buzzer with a mid-range jumper as the Cats led 38-28 at halftime.
The Colonials crawled back into the game to begin the second half and whittled UVM’s led to 38-36 with 17:36 left on the clock. The two foes traded baskets over the next six minutes until Vermont broke the game open.
The 18-0 run covered five-and-a-half minutes and started with four straight long balls. The Cats made six consecutive shots during the span and GW went 0-for-5 from the floor with three turnovers.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Anthony Lamb flirted with a double-double with a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds.
Ben Shungu set new career high with 13 points. He shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from long distance.
Stef Smith also narrowly recorded a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. He hit 2-of-3 attempts from beyond the arc and handed out two assists.
GW head coach Maurice Joseph is a UVM alum and played for the Catamounts from 2008-10.
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 107 wins and $10,700.
WHO’S NEXT
Vermont will head to Towson for the second part of a three-game road trip on Friday (Nov. 30). The opening tip is set for 7 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets at TicketMaster.com. Free live video will be available at StretchInternet.com/Towson. Fans can also listen to the game on 101.3 The Game and 1013TheGame.com with Jake Marsh on the call.