FINAL SCORE: Vermont 75, Marist 67 | Box Score | Photos | Highlights | Postgame
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Freshman
Brian Voelkel recorded new career-highs with 23 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Vermont men's basketball team to a 75-67 victory over Marist at home on Sunday afternoon. Five Catamounts reached double figures as they improve to 7-2 for the first time since the 1963-64 season.
With the game tied 55-55 with 8:02 to go, Vermont scored nine straight to go on top for good. After struggling from the line in the first half, the Cats connected on 22-of-24 of their attempts in the second to seal the win. Voelkel led all scorers as he went 6-for-10 from the floor and 10-for-11 from the line, while adding five steals and three assists.
Brendan Bald (12),
Matt Glass (11),
Evan Fjeld (10) and
Joey Accaoui (10) all reached double figures for the Catamounts, marking the first time they have had five in double digits since they topped UMBC 77-65 on February 17, 2009. Vermont also almost doubled Marist (2-9) up on the boards, holding a 49-25 advantage.
“I am happy that we won the game, I thought it was an important game going into exam week,” said Vermont head coach
Mike Lonergan. “We wanted to bounce back from the BYU loss and get back on track with a win. That game showed you the importance of free throws. The intensity just picked up in the second half and even if we were missing shots, we were following them up and getting our own rebounds.”
The Catamounts jumped out to an 11-2 lead in a quick-paced start to the contest that saw both teams come out pressing full court. Voelkel led Vermont early on, scoring nine of the team's first 20 points which matched his career high in only the first 5:29 of play. Five straight by Voelkel extended UVM's lead to 27-20 with 7:32 left in the frame, but Marist used a 10-2 run to take its first lead of the game at 30-29 with 4:40 to go.
Vermont struggled in the first half from the line, making only six of its 14 attempts and it turned the ball over nine times. R.J. Hall hit a jumper with 26 seconds left to send the Red Foxes into the half with a 35-34 lead. Voelkel paced the Cats with 14 points in the first 20 minutes of play.
In the second half the Cats trailed 39-36, but used a 9-1 run over a span of 3:07 to take a 45-40 lead. Of the nine points, seven came at the free throw line as UVM hit its first 11 attempts from the stripe in the second half.
Vermont broke open a 55-55 tie with a 9-0 spurt that made it 64-55, as Accaoui netted five in the push and Glass the other four. With the Catamounts on top 68-59, the Red Foxes scored five straight to make it 68-64 with 2:28 remaining, but that would be as close as they would get as Vermont countered with five in a row of its own to push it back to a nine-point margin.
For the second straight game the Cats struggled from the floor, making only 36.7 of their attempts on the afternoon. Fjeld fought off foul trouble to add seven rebounds for Vermont, while
Garrett Kissel grabbed six off the bench. Sam Prescott led Marist with 14 points, while Hall added 13 and a game-high nine assists.
“I thought
Brian Voelkel was a man throughout that game, he kept us in it at halftime,” added Lonergan. “Hopefully this gives him the confidence to know that we want him to pass because he is the best passer that I have probably ever coached, but I also don't want him to turn down three-footers or layups just to kick it out to guys.”
The Cats are now off until December 20 when they will travel to face Fairfield starting at 7:30 p.m. The game can be heard live on Champ 101.3 FM, The Zone 960 AM and on the Internet at www.UVMathletics.com with the audio stream provided by SportsJuice.com.
NOTES: The Cats hold an 8-6 edge in the all-time series … Vermont is 5-0 at home this year and has won 29 of its last 34 overall at Patrick Gym … UVM is 3-0 against teams from the MAAC this season ... Its next two games are also against MAAC foes with road trips to Fairfield and Iona … Voelkel's 16 rebounds were the most for a Catamount since
Marqus Blakely pulled down 18 in the America East Championship Game vs. Boston U last season … Voelkel's previous career-highs entering Sunday were nine points at Siena and 13 rebounds vs. Dartmouth ... Bald has reached double figures in each of the last three games and is averaging 13.3 points per game over the stretch … Voelkel was named the America East Player of the Game.