| Follow @UVMmbb
STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Ethan O'Day scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to spark Vermont as the Catamounts erased a 17-point deficit to post a 57-48 victory over Stony Brook at Island Federal Credit Union Arena in America East men's basketball action on Saturday evening.
Vermont improves to 14-10 and 9-2 in league play. The Catamounts have won three straight and four of their last five games. UVM has held its last five opponents to 50 points or less. Stony Brook falls to 15-10 overall and 6-4 in America East.
RELATED LINKS
Box Score (.pdf)
CatamounTV HighlightsVermont struggled offensively in the first half, making just four field goals in the first 20 minutes and shooting 14.8 (4-for-27) from the floor. The Catamounts held Stony Brook to 31.6 percent shooting in the first stanza but the Seawolves led 29-15 at the break.
A basket by Tyler Sturdivant at the 14:30 mark of the second half gave Stony Brook a 17-point lead, 38-21.
Dre Wills and
Cam Ward converted back-to-back three-point plays to spark the Catamounts' furious comeback effort and cut the lead to 11 with 12:09 remaining.
A 3-pointer by freshman
Brandon Hatton sliced the Stony Brook lead to one, 42-41, and a jumper by O'Day shoved Vermont in front for the first time in the game, 43-42, with 5:44 remaining to cap a 22-4 run by Vermont.
O'Day scored eight straight points for the Catamounts to push UVM's lead to three, 49-46, with 1:44 left. Hatton drained another 3-pointer with 57 seconds remaining to give Vermont a six-point cushion.
UVM sealed the comeback by making five of six free throws in the final 37 seconds.
Vermont finished the game out scoring Stony Brook 36-10 over the final 14 minutes of the contest. After making just four field goals in the first half, the Catamounts shot a sizzling 72.7 percent (16-for-22) from the floor in the second stanza. UVM's stingy defense limited the Seawolves to eight field goals and 29.6 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes.
Hatton finished the game with a career-high 12 points for Vermont. Ward added seven points and three assists, while Wills chipped in eight points, four rebounds and three steals.
Jameel Warney, the national leader in double-doubles, added to his season total with 14 points and 15 rebounds to lead Stony Brook. He was held to six points and four rebounds in the second half. Carson Puriefoy added 15 points and Rayshaun McGrew grabbed nine rebounds.
Vermont will play a pair of games at Patrick Gymnasium this week. The Catamounts host UMass Lowell on Wednesday (Feb. 11) at 7 p.m. and UMBC on Saturday (Feb. 14) at 2 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased online at UVMathletics.com, in person at the UVM Athletic Ticket Office (M-F: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.) in Patrick Gymnasium, via the phone at 802-656-4410, or in person one hour before tipoff in the Patrick Gymnasium Lobby.
Both games can be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM (online:
1013ESPN.com) with A.J. Kanell on the call. The games will also be streamed online for free in HD via
CatamounTV.com.
NOTES: The Catamounts sweep the regular season series from Stony Brook for the first time since 2011 … This was the biggest comeback overall since Vermont beat Illinois State last year in San Francisco (11/27/13) ... UVM was down by 18 in the first half and came back to win 87-76 … Saturday was the biggest comeback in conference play since 1/20/14 versus New Hampshire at Patrick Gym ... UVM was down 12 and came back to win 57-40 … Vermont ranks 16th in the country in scoring defense (58.0 ppg) and is 23rd in the nation in field goal percentage defense (38.1%).