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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Ethan O'Day led three Catamounts in double figures with 11 points, but the UCSB Gauchos out scored UVM 10-3 over the final 3:41 of the contest to pull out a 64-57 victory at the Thunderdome in non-conference men's basketball action on Friday night. UC Santa Barbara improves to 6-7 overall, while Vermont falls to 5-8 on the year.
A 3-pointer by
Brandon Hatton at the 11:35 mark of the second half gave Vermont its biggest lead of the game, 39-44. The Gauchos used an 11-2 spurt, capped by a basket from Alan Williams, to push past the Catamounts, 50-46, with 7:30 remaining in the contest.
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Box Score (.pdf)CatamounTV Highlights The two teams traded baskets over the next two minutes. A layup by
Kurt Steidl with 4:24 left gave UVM a two-point lead, but Williams made a pair of free throws on the next possession for UCSB to knot the game up at 54. Eric Childress added a bucket and John Green drained a 3-pointer to push the Gauchos lead to four, 59-55, with 3:09 remaining.
A layup by
Dre Wills sliced the lead to two at the 2:45 mark, but the Catamounts went scoreless over the final two minutes and UCSB secured the win by making three of four free throws in the final 48 seconds.
The first half was an evenly played game throughout. Zalmico Harmon's 40-foot shot beat the halftime horn to give the Gauchos a 32-28 lead at the break.
Hector Harold and
Dre Wills added 10 points each for the Catamounts and combined for eight rebounds. Vermont shot 45.1 percent from the floor in the game and was 5-for-8 from 3-point range in the first half alone.
Williams, who ranks third in the country in rebounding, posted a double-double with game-highs of 19 points and 11 boards. Green chipped in 18 points off the bench and Michael Bryson added 12 points to round out the leading scorers for UCSB.
Vermont, which is 1-0 in America East action after defeating Hartford 81-69 back on December 3, begins conference play in earnest on Wednesday (Jan. 7) when the Catamounts travel to Maine. The game will be played in Portland, Maine at the Portland Expo. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game can be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM (online:
1013ESPN.com) with A.J. Kanell calling the action and will also be streamed for free via the America East Digital Network at
AmericaEast.tv.