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BURLINGTON, Vt. – Trae Bell-Haynes led four Catamounts in double figures with a game-high 17 points as Vermont posted a 78-71 win over visiting Radford in the quarterfinal round of the CBI Tournament. The game, which drew 2,252 fans, marked the first home postseason contest in UVM men's basketball history.
Bell-Haynes was 5-for-7 from the field and 7-for-10 from the foul line and grabbed five rebounds.
Ethan O'Day added 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting and hauled in seven boards.
Kurt Steidl scored 12 points with six rebounds and
Dre Wills chipped in 11 points and led Vermont on the boards with eight rebounds.
Javonte Green led all scorers with 24 points and 15 rebounds. He was 10-for-18 from the field. R.J. Price added 13 points to round out the double-digit scorers for Radford.
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CatamounTV Postgame Reaction The first half was tightly contested as the lead change hands 11 times and the game knotted up eight times. With 2:11 showing on the clock in the first half and the game tied up 30-30, Vermont closed the half with a 7-4 run, including four free throws from Bell-Haynes to take a 37-34 advantage in the break.
The Catamounts scored the first seven points of the second half and opened the stanza with an 11-3 run to push out to an 11-point lead at the 15:26 mark. The Catamounts extended their to 16, 63-47, behind a 15-6 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Steidl.
Radford answered with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to single digits, 63-54, with 6:23 remaining. The Catamounts pushed their lead back to 11 on a free throw from Will with 3:43 left, but the Highlanders put together one last run, cutting the lead to five on a 3-pointer by Green with 44 seconds left.
Brandon Hatton went 3-for-4 from the foul line and
Kurt Steidl added a basket to help Vermont secure its fifth postseason win in program history.
After shooting 43.8 percent in the first half, the Highlanders were held to 37.1 percent shooting in the second stanza. Vermont finished the game shooting 51.9 percent from the floor for the game.
Vermont improves to 20-13 overall, while Radford ends its season at 22-12. The Catamounts extend their 20-win streak to seven straight seasons, the longest 20-win streak by a Division I team in New England.
The Catamounts advance to the semifinals of the CBI Tournament and will travel to Monroe, Louisiana to face the Louisana-Monroe Warhawks on Wednesday (March 25) at 8 p.m. (EST) at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. ULM erased a 20-point deficit to win at Mercer, 71-69, on Monday night to move on to the semifinal round.
NOTES: Vermont has won 20-games for the seventh straight season ... Head coach
John Becker has posted 20-wins in each of his four years at Vermont … He is the only coach in UVM and America East history to lead his team to four straight 20-win seasons in their first four years … UVM is the only Division I school in New England with current streak of seven straight 20-win seasons … With the win, Becker has most postseason wins in UVM history (3) - 2012 NCAA win over Lamar; 2015 CBI wins over Hofstra & Radford … UVM ties school record for most wins at home (13) ... The Catamounts went 13-4 at Patrick this season … The victory was the fifth postseason win in program history … Vermont improves to 3-2 in the CBI Tournament … UVM matches Boston U as farthest an America East team has advanced in CBI ... BU went to semifinals in 2010, lost to eventual champ VCU.