MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
The Vermont men's basketball team, fresh off a three-game road trip, returns to Patrick Gym for its home opener Saturday afternoon when Lyndon State visits Patrick Gym. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and all the action can be seen for free in HD on AmericaEast.Tv while local radio coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. on 101.3 ESPN with Sam Hyman on the call.
Saturday's matchup will serve as UVM's opening round game of the Gulf Coast Showcase. The Catamounts will then head south to Estero, Fla. starting Monday for the tournament portion of the holiday tournament.
RELATED LINKS
Lyndon State: Video | Live Stats | Audio | Tickets
Marist Flashback:
Recap | CatamounTV Highlights
PROMOTIONS
The first 1,500 fans at Saturday's game will receive a schedule magnet courtesy of Vermont Mutual Insurance Group. Also, stick around after the game for Poster Day presented by the UPS Store and pick up your free poster to have signed by the team.
LAST TIME OUT VS. MARIST
Wednesday night in Poughkeepsie, Vermont scored eight of the game's final ten points to hold off Marist, 76-72. The Catamounts dominated inside outscoring the Red Foxes 42-26 in the paint while shooting 52.7-percent for the game.
Payton Henson paced a balance UVM attack with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Anthony Lamb chipped in with 13 points and seven boards while
Dre Wills added 11 off the bench and
Kurt Steidl finished with ten. After Vermont built a 12-point second-half lead, Marist came all the way back to take a 69-68 lead with 2:28 to play. Just a minute later, however, layups by Henson and
Drew Urquhart pushed the Cats back in front for good. The Cats have now won eight in a row against Marist.
ABOUT LYNDON
The Hornets come into Saturday's matchup with a 1-0 record after defeating MCLA, 92-70, in its home and season opener on Tuesday. Darnay Gray scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead the way. Lyndon was picked to finish sixth in the North Atlantic Conference preseason coaches' poll following a 2015-16 season that ended in the NAC quarterfinals. A veteran squad featuring just one freshman and 11 juniors and seniors, Lyndon boasts top returning scorer Raymond Monroe who averaged just under eight points per game a year ago.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the second all-time meeting between UVM and Lyndon. Vermont won the only other game between the two schools back during the 2013-14 season, 88-48. Hector Harold led four Catamounts in double figures with 18 points while current Catamounts
Dre Wills (13 points) and
Kurt Steidl (nine points) both contributed off the bench.
CATS IN HOME OPENERS
Since 1960, Vermont is 38-17 in home openers at Patrick Gym. Last season UVM defeated Quinnipiac 83-70 in front of the home fans and overall, the Cats have won five of the last six home openers.
LAMB TABBED ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Following a sparkling collegiate debut against Quinnipiac,
Anthony Lamb collected America East Rookie of the Week honors on Monday. The freshman from Rochester, N.Y. scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds against the Bobcats to start his Catamount career. His 23 points were the most scored in a Vermont season opener since Marqus Blakely scored 26 against Loyola (Md.) in 2009.
DISHING OUT HELPERS
Trae Bell-Haynes currently leads the America East with 6.7 assists per game through three games and ranks second nationally with 20 total assists. Bell-Haynes led Vermont is assists a year ago and is just the sixth player in program history to lead the team in both total assists and points.
STILL DRE
Dre Wills is back to his old ways wreaking havoc on the defensive end. The senior captain currently leads the league in steals with seven (20th nationally) while Vermont as a team ranks 2nd in the league with 7.0 steals per game. Wills, a two-time America East All-Defensive Team selection, led the conference in steals in 2014-15.
THE AE ON ESPN3
The America East Conference and ESPN announced last week an 11-year rights agreement that will result in an unprecedented number of basketball games being carried on ESPN3/WatchESPN. 'The AE on ESPN3' will include all America East men's and women's basketball games this season. Broadcast infrastructure at UVM is still under construction. For the time being all UVM home games will continue to be streamed live at AmericaEast.TV. A complete schedule of Vermont men's and women's basketball games to be broadcast on ESPN3 will be released at a later date.
