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Follow @UVMmbbBURLINGTON, Vt. – Behind a strong defensive effort and a career-high 14 points from sophomore
Dre Wills the Vermont Catamounts handed the Bryant Bulldogs a 73-47 loss in non-conference men's basketball action at Patrick Gymnasium on Wednesday night. Vermont improves to 3-2 overall, while Bryant falls to 1-2 on the year.
The Catamounts held Bryant to 29.1 percent shooting from the field for the game and scored 26 points off 16 Bulldog turnovers. Meanwhile, UVM shot 59 percent from the floor in the contest.
RELATED LINKSBox Score (.pdf)CatamounTV Highlights Wills added nine rebounds to his career-high scoring effort and was one of three Catamounts to reach double figures.
Hector Harold and
Ethan O'Day chipped in 12 points each, while Harold also grabbed seven boards.
Dyami Starks paced Bryant with 13 points and Shane Mclauglin added 11 points for the Bulldogs.
Vermont opened up an 11-2 lead in the first five minutes of the game and extended its lead to 12 at the 9:09 mark on a basket by
Ryan Pierson.
Bryant trimmed the lead to six, 18-12, behind an 8-2 spurt, with 6:47 left in the first half.
Vermont responded with a pair of three-point plays from
Trae Bell-Haynes and
Hector Harold to push its lead back to 12 with just under four minutes remaining. The Catamounts' lead grew to 20 with a 9-0 run to close the half.
Vermont went into the locker room up, 34-14. The Catamounts held Bryant to just four field goals and 20 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes. UVM shot 59 percent in the half, going 13-for-22 from the field.
The Bulldogs went 0-for-10 from the floor to start the second half, and Vermont extended its 9-0 spurt to close the first stanza to a 28-4 run to pull out to a 46-16 lead with 14:05 remaining in the contest.
The Catamounts cruised the rest of the way to improve to 2-0 at Patrick Gymnasium this season.
Vermont travels to Hamden, Connecticut to close out the first month of the season. The Catamounts take on Quinnipiac on Sunday (Nov. 30) at 1 p.m. The game can be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM (online:
1013ESPN.com) be streamed online via
QuinnipiacBobcats.com.
Following the game at Quinnipiac, the Catamounts will return to Burlington for a four-game homestand, the longest of the season. UVM opens the four-game stretch hosting Hartford in the first America East game of the year on December 3 at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at
UVMathletics.com, in person at the UVM Athletic Ticket Office located on the balcony in the Patrick Gymnasium Lobby (M-F: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.), via the phone at 802-656-4410, and in person one hour before tipoff in the Patrick Gymnasium Lobby.
NOTES: Vermont head coach
John Becker picked up his 70th career win, moving into fifth place among UVM's winningest coaches (70-37 – 107 games) ... Vermont held a 24-2 advantage over the Bulldogs in points in the paint in the first half and out scored Bryant 38-14 overall … The Catamounts are 30-1 since 2012-13 when holding opponents under 60 points, 2-0 this season … UVM has shot better than 40 percent from the field in seven of 10 halves this season … Vermont out rebounded Bryant 39-25 overall, 32-15 on the defensive glass.