Courtesy Vermont Sports Information
BURLINGTON — Vermont (21-6, 11-1 AE) has earned at least one home playoff game in the upcoming America East Tournament after beating Binghamton (8-17, 2-10 AE) 76-48 on Saturday afternoon. The Catamounts are the only team in the league to host a home quarterfinal game in each of the last six years under the current format.
COACH’S QUOTE
“It was a fun game today in front of a sold-out crowd,” Cioffi Men’s Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. “We did a good job controlling the game in the first half, but played much sharper in the second. We took care of the ball today and generated a lot of good shots.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
The two foes went back-and-forth in the early minutes of the game but the Catamounts started to gain separation near the 12-minute media timeout. Leading 10-8, the home team produced a quick 13-2 run in a four-minute stretch.
UVM’s lead grew to as large as 28-14 with seven minutes left in the period, but Binghamton clawed back into the game. The Bearcats scored eight of the game’s next 12 points and trimmed the deficit to 32-26 at the 2:29 mark.
The Cats answered with the final seven points of the half and went into the break leading 39-26, thanks to an off-balance buzzer-beating triple from Bailey Patella.
Binghamton scored the first two buckets of the second half but Vermont pulled away from there. The Green and Gold stretched the advantage to 20 points with a 17-6 surge in a six-minute span.
In the last 10 minutes of the game, the Bearcats drew within 16 points twice but the Cats did not allow their conference foe to cut into the lead any more.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Anthony Lamb poured in a game-high 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds. He shot 7-of-12 from the floor with one steal, one assist, and one block.
Stef Smith followed with 18 points and hit 7-of-10 attempts from the field, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc.
Ryan Davis hit the double-figure mark for the fifth straight game with 13 points and six boards. He gathered two offensive rebounds and dished out two assists.
Patella was tenacious on the glass with a career-high 10 rebounds and netted seven points.
UVM extended its winning streak to 11 games.
With the victory, the Cats Win, Community Wins campaign and Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to a Vermont charity, bringing the 2020 total to 27 wins totaling $2,700. A special thank you to Vermont Mutual Insurance for their support, protecting Vermonters since 1828.
WHO’S NEXT
Vermont will travel to Long Island to play Stony Brook on Thursday (Feb. 20) The opening tip is set for 7 p.m. The matchup will be nationally televised on ESPNU. ESPNU is located on DirecTV channel 208, DirecTV Video on Demand channel 1208, and Dish Network channel 141. For local Xfinity users, ESPNU can be found on channel 293 SD and channel 822 HD. The game will also be available on the ESPN app by logging in with your television provider.
Tickets are available for purchase at StonyBrookAthletics.com. Fans can also listen live on the Vermont Sports Network, from Learfield IMG College, on 101.3 The Game or online at Catamounts All-Access with Jake Marsh on the call.
AMERICA EAST QUARTERFINAL TICKET INFORMATION
Pricing and ticket information for Vermont’s America East Quarterfinal Game will be announced next week. Visit UVMathletics.com for more information.