FINAL SCORE: Bucknell 81, Vermont 77
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Catamounts had their six-game winning streak snapped by Bucknell with an 81-77 loss on Saturday night after nearly overcoming a double-digit deficit in the final minutes. Vermont falls to 6-2 on the year while Bucknell improves to 4-5.
 
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Anthony Lamb registered a team-high 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Payton Henson followed with 15 points while Trae Bell-Haynes added 15 points and five rebounds. Ernie Duncan rounded out four Catamounts in double figures with 12 points.
 
Bucknell also had four players tally double digits in the scoring column. Zach Thomas was a rebound shy of a double-double with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-9 shooting and made five attempts from beyond the arc. Stephen Brown netted 17 points and dealt six assists. Nana Foulland posted 14 points and Nate Sestina charted 10 points.
 
The Catamounts overcame at least a six-point deficit three times in the first half before knotting the score up at 33-33 with under three minutes left in the period. UVM gained a two-point lead with two minutes remaining after Henson hit a pair at the charity stripe. The Bison went into intermission with a 37-35 advantage after making four free throws in the final 33 seconds of the half.
 
The Bison opened the final frame with a 13-7 run in a six-minute stretch. Vermont answered by producing a 16-8 run of its own and tied the game up at 58-58 with eight and a half minutes left to play.
 
In the final minutes, Bucknell started to heat up from outside and built a 74-64 with 2:29 remaining on the clock after Nate Sestina and Thomas nailed three combined triples.
 
The Green and Gold mounted a furious comeback after Duncan connected from long rang and Henson scored three points the old-fashioned way with a layup in traffic and sinking a free throw. Bell-Haynes converted an and-one opportunity of his own with 34 seconds left on the clock. On UVM's next offensive trip, Bell-Haynes banked in a layup and trimmed the deficit to 77-75.
 
After the layup by Bell-Haynes, the Cats' defense forced a turnover with full-court pressure. Bell-Haynes drove into the paint, dished a pass to a cutting Everett Duncan on the baseline, who kicked a feed out to Henson standing on the three-point line. Henson fired a long-distance attempt and came within inches of giving UVM the lead, but the ball hit back iron and Bucknell came down with the defense rebound to seal the win.  
 
Vermont will revisit the site of last year's NCAA Tournament game, the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to face Big East power Marquette on Tuesday (Dec. 5). The opening tip is set for 7 p.m. EST. The showdown will be nationally televised on FS1 and fans can purchase at GoMarquette.com/Tickets. All Vermont regular season games can be heard on 101.3 ESPN FM and online at 1013ESPN.com with Sam Hyman on the call.
 
Canon Solutions America is the presenting sponsor of the 2017-18 Vermont men's basketball season.