FINAL SCORE: Vermont 76, Siena 60
ALBANY, N.Y. – Vermont redshirt senior forward Darren Payen scored a season-high 17 points to lead the Catamounts to a 76-60 win at Siena on Thursday night in the non-conference road finale. UVM had a balanced scoring attack as nine different players recorded a point.
 
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Vermont improves to 9-5 on the year and extends its winning streak against Siena to seven games. The Saints fall to 4-9 overall and suffer their fourth loss in the last five games.  
 
Payen reached his season-high on 7-of-9 shooting and made 3-of-4 attempts at the charity stripe while grabbing four rebounds off the glass. Trae Bell-Haynes followed as the second Catamount to notch double figures. The junior guard nearly matched Payen with 16 points. Kurt Steidl, Anthony Lamb and Dre Wills added eight points and six rebounds apiece for UVM.
 
Brett Bisping posted his fourth double-double of the season for Siena with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Nico Clareth matched Bisping with 10 points and recorded a pair of rebounds.  Javion Ogunyemi added nine points and Lavon Long contributed eight points for the Saints.
 
Vermont outscored Siena 42-28 in the paint and won the turnover (15-11) and rebounding battles (40-31) in the non-conference victory. The Catamounts shot 45.8% from the floor, including 48.0% (12-for-25) in the second half.
 
The Catamounts started 2-for-10 out of the gate, but the defensive unit forced four Siena turnovers in the first four minutes. After the two teams traded baskets and Siena took a 9-8 lead with 12:40 to go in the half, Cam Ward sank a 25-footer from beyond the arc and UVM never trailed again for the rest of the night.
 
Ward's three-pointer sparked an 11-2 run in a two-and a half minute span but the Saints came back to tie the game at 21-21 at the 6:44 mark. Vermont answered again by closing out the half on a 15-9 run and went into the locker room with a 36-30 lead.
 
In the first five minutes of the second half, Siena kept the game within reach at 47-42 but Vermont slowly started to pull away in the ensuing minutes. The green and gold mounted a 16-5 run and built a 15-point lead under the nine-minute mark of the final period.
 
Down the stretch, the Catamounts milked the clock with quality possessions including three straight possessions with an offensive rebound to secure the victory.  
 
Vermont returns home on Monday (Jan. 2) to host Harvard at 7 p.m. in the non-conference finale. Single game tickets are available at UVMathletics.com/Tickets or at the Patrick Gymnasium Box Office on gameday. 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. Free live video will be available in HD at AmericaEast.TV.
 
Canon Solutions America is the presenting sponsor of the 2016-17 men's basketball season