Men’s Hoops: Vermont Makes It 12 in a Row, Wins at Stony Brook 63-54

Posted on by George Commo

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

STONY BROOK, NY. –– A late run in the second half led by Everett Duncan helped Vermont (22-6, 12-1 AE) defeat Stony Brook (17-10, 8-4 AE) 63-54 on Thursday night at Island Federal Arena. The Catamounts extended their winning streak to 12 games and can clinch the conference’s outright regular season title with one more win.

COACH’S QUOTE
“It was an exciting game tonight with us finishing really strong,” said Cioffi Men’s Basketball Head Coach John Becker. “Everett Duncan came up huge with the threes he hit late. We stuck with our defense and rebounding and eventually made those late shots to get a great road victory.”

HOW IT HAPPENED
Ben Shungu led the Catamounts early with six quick points to grab a 16-14 lead at the midway point. Andrew Garcia had eight points in the opening 10 minutes to lead the Seawolves. UVM continued to stay in front with consecutive threes from Isaiah Powell.
Ryan Davis put the Vermont up 24-18 with 7:36 left in the first half for its largest lead of the frame. Stony Brook narrowed the gap with a 9-7 run in the final minutes of the opening period. Anthony Lamb hit a corner three to send the Cats into the locker room with a 31-27 lead.
In a slow starting second half, Stony Brook tied the game at 31-31 before Mouhamadou Gueye gave the Seawolves their first lead of the night. Makale Foreman added a triple to give SBU a 38-33 lead with 13:01 left in regulation.
Bailey Patella stopped the Seawolves’ 10-0 run and Powell eventually hit the tying basket to knot the game at 45-45. Shungu hit a crucial bucket to take back the lead for UVM with 6:09 remaining.
Vermont held Stony Brook scoreless for 4:31 en route to the lead. In the final minutes, Everett Duncan hit three consecutive treys to distance the Catamounts from the Seawolves.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Shungu paced the UVM offense with a career-high 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting. The redshirt junior was one rebound shy of a double-double, matching a career-high nine boards.
Everett Duncan registered his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The captain was 4-for-6 from the field and 3-for-5 from deep.
Davis was close to a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. The forward was 4-for-8 from the field and registered one block.
Powell and Stef Smith also tallied nine points. Powell hit 2-of-3 triples for a season-high scoring. Smith was 4-for-6 from the field and dished out three assists.
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 28 wins totaling $2,800. A special thank you to Vermont Mutual Insurance for their support, protecting Vermonters since 1828.

WHO’S NEXT
Vermont returns home to host UMBC on Saturday (Feb. 22). The opening tip is slated for 7 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase at UVMathletics.com/Tickets or at the Patrick Gym Box Office on gameday. Fans can catch all of the action on ESPN+. 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.