MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK The Vermont men's basketball teams looks to make it four straight on Saturday afternoon when America East preseason favorite Stony Brook rolls into town. Tipoff between the Catamounts and Seawolves is set for 2:02 p.m. from Patrick Gym.
The game will be carried on ESPN3 and on the ESPN App with Chris Villani (play-by-play) and Frank Sullivan (analyst) calling all of the action while local radio coverage on ESPN 101.3 FM begins at 1:30.
RELATED LINKSVermont Game Notes (.pdf)
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CatamounTV Highlights Promotions: Xfinity Rally Towel Giveaway – The first 500 fans that arrive to the game will receive a rally towel courtesy of Xfinity. TD Bank Banner Giveaway – The first 150 students that arrive to the game will receive a Go Cats Go banner courtesy of TD Bank.Last Time Out at New Hampshire: The Vermont men's basketball team turned in its best defensive performance of the season holding New Hampshire to 23.7% shooting and
John Becker earned his 100th win at UVM leading his Catamounts to a 66-50 win over the Wildcats in Durham.
Ethan O'Day led all scorers with 19 points (13 in the first half) on 8-of-12 shooting.
Kurt Steidl chipped in with 13 points and seven rebounds. In total five Catamounts scored at least eight points. The Catamounts bolted out of the locker room to start the second half on a 15-5 run. UNH made just one field goal during the first seven minutes of the half going 1-for-11 from the field. At the other end,
Trae Bell-Haynes finished a driving layup and
Kurt Steidl capped the run with a huge trifecta to put the Cats up 17 (46-29) with 13:13 to go in the game. Steidl hit a fadeaway jumper in the corner plus a foul to push the lead to 20 at the 6:40 mark.
Dre Wills bullied his way into the paint all second half and collected his third second-half bucket with 5:33 remaining to keep the lead at 20.
About Stony Brook: Picked to finish first in the America East preseason coaches' poll, Stony Brook enters Saturday's matchup having won twelve straight games (last loss was to Northeastern on Dec. 12) and leading the America East in 19 statistical categories. Stony Brook was last in action on Monday when it defeated Maine, 81-54 on Long Island. Carson Puriefoy scored 24 points while Jameel Warney posted another double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds. Warney leads the league in both scoring (18.0 ppg) and rebounding (10.5 rpg) and ranks seventh nationally with 13 double-doubles. Puriefoy scores at a 14.4 points per game clip, as well. Stony ranks in the top-10 nationally in both scoring margin and scoring defense. Head Coach Steve Pikiell is in his 11th season at Stony Brook and is a three-time America East Coach of the Year.
Series History: Vermont leads the all-time series with Stony Brook, which dates back to 2002, 23-9. The Catamounts have won three of four against the Seawolves.
John Becker is 6-4 in his career vs. Stony Brook. At Patrick Gym, Vermont holds a commanding edge in the head-to-head-matchups winning 13 of 15 games played at Patrick Gym.
Last Season vs. Stony Brook: In the first meeting,
Ethan O'Day scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Vermont past Stony Brook, 71-57, in Burlington. On Long Island, the Catamounts erased a 17-point second half deficit and stunned Stony Brook, 57-48. Vermont finished the game outscoring Stony Brook 36-10 over the final 14 minutes after making just four field goals in the first half. In the America East Semifinals, Jameel Warney posted 24 points and 14 rebounds to lead Stony Brook to a 79-77 win over the Catamounts. Stony Brook hit 9-of-13 shots to start the second half and take control.
Top Cats in America East: Since the start of the 2002-2003 season, Vermont has 190 America East wins. That is the most in the league and 65 more than the next team (Albany - 125).
Cats in January: Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Vermont has gone 35-9 in the month of January. The Cats were 7-3 last season and 8-1 in 2013-14.
The Big Cheese Unleashed:
Ethan O'Day, after failing to reach double figures in five straight games from Dec. 8-Dec. 29, has averaged 14.1 points per game in conference games and has averaged close to a double-double grabbing 6.6 rebounds per game, as well.
Live Free and Win: John Becker has picked up two career milestones in the state of New Hampshire. His first career win was at Dartmouth (Hanover, N.H) in 2011 and his 100th career win came last time out at UNH (Durham, N.H.). Becker reached 100 wins in 158 games at Vermont, which ties Mike Lonergan for the fastest to reach 100 wins on the UVM bench.
Captain Kurt: Over the last three games,
Kurt Steidl is averaging 15.3 points and 5.3 rebounds. He's shot 13-of-23 (.565) from the field and 9-of-17 (.529) from long range. He has also gone 11-for-12 (.917) from the free throw line in three Catamount wins.
Tickets to Saturday's game can be purchased online at UVMathletics.com, in person at the Athletic Ticket Office located on the balcony in Patrick Gymnasium (Mon - Fri; 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.), over the phone during office hours at 802-656-4410, or one hour before game time in the lobby of Patrick Gymnasium.
