FINAL SCORE: Vermont 85, St. Michael's 56
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Ernie Duncan led three Catamounts in double figures with 17 points as Vermont rolled crosstown rival St. Michael's, 85-56, in men's basketball exhibition action at Patrick Gym. UVM wrapped up preseason play with the win and opens the regular season next Friday (Nov. 11) at Eastern Michigan.
 
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Duncan drilled five of his team's 10 3-pointers on the afternoon finishing 5-of-11 from beyond the arc and 6-of-12 overall from the floor. He also added four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
 
In the frontcourt, Darren Payen and Drew Urquhart each scored in double figures scoring 14 and 13 points respectively. The duo combined to shoot 12-of-16 from the floor and UVM as a team shot 51.6 percent in the game.
 
Duncan and Urquhart led a strong effort from the UVM bench as the Catamount reserves outscored their SMC counterparts, 48-16. Eight Vermont players scored at least six points in the victory.
 
Matt Bonds scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Purple Knights.
 
After the sloppy first few minutes, the Catamount bench got to work. Cam Ward, Urquhart and Duncan all buried triples to give Vermont an early 15-8 lead. Dre Wills scored all eight of his points during a six-minute stretch that saw UVM's lead balloon to 18 before its stretched to as many as 23 in the first half.
 
St. Michael's scored the first bucket after intermission – a David Sullivan layup – but Vermont held its neighboring rivals at bay offensively the rest of the way limiting the Purple Knights to 31.4 percent shooting in the second half and just 33.8 percent for the game.
 
Three-pointers from Ward, Duncan and Nate Rohrer fueled a 13-2 UVM spurt in the middle of the second half that gave Vermont a 33-point lead – its largest of the day – and put a stamp on the victory.
 
With preseason play now behind them, the Catamounts can look ahead to the first weekend of regular season play. The season-opening road trip features games at Eastern Michigan (Nov. 13) and No. 23 Purdue (Nov. 15). Both games can be seen on ESPN3 and be heard locally on your FM dial by tuning to 101.3 ESPN (online: 1013espn.com).