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ST. LOUIS – Ethan O'Day and
Trae Bell-Haynes combined or 35 points for the Vermont Catamounts, but the Saint Louis Billikens used a 10-4 run late in the game and held on to post a 58-55 victory at Chaifetz Arena in non-conference men's basketball action on Sunday.
Saint Louis improves to 8-4, while Vermont falls to 5-6 on the year. UVM has lost back-to-back games, for the first time this season, by a total of four points.
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Box Score (.pdf) O'Day went 8-for-11 from the field and finished the game with 18 points, 10 in the first half, two shy of his season-high. Bell-Haynes added 17 points, 12 in the second half, to match his career-high. Bell-Haynes went 6-for-8 from the field and 5-for-6 from the foul line.
Zach McRoberts collected a team-high seven rebounds in his third straight start.
Milik Yarbrough lead the Billikens with 10 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Ash Yacoubou chipped in 10 points and seven boards.
Vermont trailed 12-5 at the 12:50 mark of the first half, but back-to-back 3-pointers from
Brandon Hatton ignited a 12-2 run and a pair of free throws by
Ethan O'Day gave UVM a 17-14 lead with 5:32 remaining in the half.
Austin McBroom led a Billikens' rally to close out the half. He scored seven of the team's final nine points to give Saint Louis a 25-24 lead at the break.
The game remained tightly contested in the second half. Saint Louis pulled out to a six-point lead on a 3-pointer by Davell Roby at the 7:11 mark, but a basket by Bell-Haynes kept Vermont within four, 46-42, with 4:55 remaining in the game.
Roby converted two free throws on the next possession for Saint Louis to spark a 10-2 run that allowed the Billikens to push out to a 12 point advantage, 56-44, with 49 seconds to play.
The Catamounts kept fighting, scoring 11 points in the final 36 seconds, including six from Bell-Haynes, but UVM ran out of time, falling 58-55.
Vermont breaks for the holiday and returns to action with a two-game swing through southern California. The Catamounts face USC on December 30 and UC Santa Barbara on January 2.
The USC game tips off at 11:30 p.m. (EST) and can be seen on the Pac-12 Network (
click here to find the channel on your cable/satellite system). The game on January 2 at UC Santa Barbara begins at 10 p.m. (EST). Both games can also be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM (online:
1013ESPN.com) with A.J. Kanell on the call.
NOTES: Head coach
John Becker used his sixth different starting lineup through 11 games … He gave
Ryan Pierson, a native of St. Louis, his first career start as a Catamount … UVM was without
Hector Harold (foot) and
Brendan Kilpatrick (head) … Harold, UVM's leading scorer, missed his third straight game … Saint Louis out rebounded Vermont 36-22 overall and 14-3 on the offensive glass …
Ethan O'Day picked up two blocks in the game to become the sixth Catamount to record 100 career blocks in the program's history and is sixth among the all-time leaders … UVM finished the game shooting 48.8 percent from the floor … The Catamounts lead America East in field goal percentage and rank 64th in the country.