FINAL SCORE: Vermont 82, Eastern Michigan 74
BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Catamounts capped off a three-game home stand with an 82-74 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday afternoon and avenged last year's season-opening loss to the Eagles. UVM secured the victory with career-highs from Anthony Lamb and Drew Urquhart as Lamb led all scorers with 25 points and Urquhart eclipsed his career-best with 14 points.  
 
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Vermont improves to 8-4 overall and continues its hottest start under head coach John Becker. Over the past two seasons, the Cats are 7-3 in games decided by single digits. Eastern Michigan drops to 6-4 and the loss snaps a four-game winning streak.
 
EMU came into the game ranked second in the nation in steals per game (12.3) and forced the third-most turnovers per game (22.3), but UVM was not phased. The green and gold only committed seven turnovers, while forcing eight by Eastern Michigan, and held the Eagles to only four steals.  
 
Vermont had three players record double figures as Ernie Duncan added 16 points to the offensive tandem of Lamb and Urquhart. Lamb posted his new career total on 12-of-18 shooting and finished two rebounds shy of a double-double. The freshman came up big on the offensive glass with a team-high seven rebounds. Duncan shot 4-of-7 from long range and made all four trips to the line. Urquhart was 5-of-8 from the floor and charted five rebounds to go along with his 14 points. Trae Bell-Haynes and Kurt Steidl also notched seven points apiece for the Catamounts. Bell-Haynes matched a game-high with five assists and Steidl finished second on the team with seven rebounds. 
 
Eastern Michigan had four players post double digits with a team-high 18 points coming from Willie Mangum IV. Tim Bond scored 15 points while Jordan Nobles added 14 points off the bench. James Thompson IV tallied a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 21 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive side of the court.
 
In the first half, Duncan did not waste any time heating up from long distance. The redshirt sophomore knocked down his first three attempts from beyond the arc and Lamb banked a reverse layup to give the Catamounts an early 11-4 lead in the opening three and a half minutes.
 
The green and gold led for most of the first half until the Eagles went on a 9-0 run at the 7:12 mark to take a 34-30 advantage. The Cats countered with a run of their own by closing out the half on an 18-11 run and held a 48-45 lead at the break.
 
Vermont opened the second half on a 14-3 run to build a 62-48 advantage at the 14:39 mark, the largest lead of the day by either team. Eastern Michigan would not go away quietly after mounting a 20-6 run and tied the game at 68-68 with under five and a half minutes to play.
 
The two squads traded baskets for the next two minutes until the Catamounts took control of the contest for good. In the final 3:44, UVM closed the door on EMU with a 12-4 run as six points came from Lamb's mid-range jumpers.   
 
Vermont travels to 18th-ranked Butler on Wednesday at 7 p.m. for a pre-holiday showdown. All UVM men's basketball games can be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM and online at 1013ESPN.com with Sam Hyman on the call. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Networks. Visit UVMathletics.com for specific coverage details which will be released early next week.
 
Canon Solutions America is the presenting sponsor of the 2016-17 men's basketball season.