FINAL SCORE: Vermont 72, UMBC 70
BALTIMORE – Shamir Bogues' season-high 23 points fueled Vermont (19-6, 9-1 AE) to a thrilling 20-point comeback, defeating UMBC (7-18, 2-8 AE) 72-70 on the road Saturday at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score
Bogues' Game Winner
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• A cold start offensively had UVM down 9-3 at the first media timeout. TJ Hurley and TJ Long had the Cats' points, all three coming at the line. The Retrievers were 4-for-6 from the field with contributions from Max Lorca-Lloyd, Dion Brown, and Marcus Banks Jr.
• The Retrievers scored nine points out of the first media timeout to extend their lead to 18-3 with 12:24 remaining in the opening frame.
  Vermont made its first field goal after a 0-for-15 start when Nick Fiorillo posted up a UMBC defender and finished a layup at the rim to make the score 18-5 with 12:05 left in the half.
• UMBC's lead stretched to as many as 20 points when Dion Brown's jumper put the Retrievers up 25-5 with 9:46 remaining in the frame.
• The Catamounts countered with makes on their next four field goal attempts to cut the deficit to 25-14. Hurley's reverse layup sparked the 9-0 run, followed by seven straight points from Bogues.
• Brown ended the Vermont run with a pull-up jumper, followed by a make from Banks Jr. to take go up 29-14 with 5:58 left on the clock.
• UVM scored on three straight trips to the UMBC basket to pull back to within single digits. Points from Fiorillo, Hurley, and Roquemore made the score 29-21 with 4:26 remaining in the half.
• The conference rivals exchanged baskets for the remainder of the opening frame, with UMBC taking a 35-27 lead into the locker room.
• Brown's jumper 0:54 into the half made it a 10-point game, but UVM countered with field goals from Matt Veretto and Bogues to cut the deficit to 37-31 with 17:14 to go.
• Five straight points for the Retrievers extended their lead back to double digits, up 42-31 with 16:45 left.
• Ayo-Faleye sparked a 9-2 run for the Catamounts when he received a pass from Aaron Deloney and knocked down a three ball from the corner. The UVM forward bookended the run by throwing down a dunk with 11:43 left to cut the deficit to 44-40.
• A few possessions later, Franck Emmou hit a three pointer to give UMBC a 49-42 lead with 10:41 remaining.
• Long pulled the Catamounts back to within four points when he knocked down a stepback jumper from beyond the arc to make the score 51-47 with 8:19 left on the clock.
• Deloney and Roquemore converted at the rim on back-to-back possessions minutes later to cut the UMBC lead to one point with 6:11 remaining.
• The Retrievers responded with seven straight points to stretch their lead back up to eight points, 61-53 with 4:35 to go.
• Vermont continued to chip away at the UMBC lead and eventually pulled back to within one point when Bogues knocked down a corner trey to make the score 63-62 with 2:31 left.
• Bogues gave UVM its first lead of the afternoon when he finished a driving layup while getting fouled, and converted the and-one to go up 65-63 with 1:55 to go.
• Brown quickly tied the game with free throws on the following possession, but Long answered with a three pointer from just in front of the Vermont bench to give the Cats a 68-65 lead with 1:22 remaining.
• Brown and Hurley exchanged driving layups on the following possessions as UVM remained in front.
• Emmou drained a three pointer late in the shot clock with 0:21 left to tie the game at 70-70. UVM used a timeout to draw up the final play.
• Bogues began his charge towards the rim with about 0:05 left on the clock driving to his left hand. With speed, the guard was met at the blocks but finished through contact for the winning bucket.
• UMBC's last-second attempt at scoring was unsuccessful.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The 20-point comeback is UVM's fourth double-digit comeback this season.
• The victory was Becker's 299th at Vermont.
• UVM led for only 1:17 of gameplay, while UMBC was in front for 37:24.
• Bogues outscored the Retrievers 10-9 over the final four minutes to lift the Catamounts to victory.
• Bogues scored 12 of his 23 points in the second half. The Killeen, Texas native made 10-of-14 field goals, including a 2-for-3 clip from long range. Bogues also added two assists, had one steal, and one block.
• Hurley was also in double figures with 11 points. He also pulled in five rebounds.
• Long registered a career-high 11 rebounds – four more than his previous mark. The junior pulled in nine of his boards on the defensive end.
• With the win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to Vermont Children's Trust Foundation as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. Since its inauguration in 2017, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group has donated over $94,000 to local non-profits through the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative.

UP NEXT
Vermont returns home to Patrick Gym on Thursday (Feb. 15). when it hosts New Hampshire. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET. Tickets are available for purchase at UVMathletics.com/Tickets or by visiting the Patrick Gym Box Office on gameday.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday's conference matchup will broadcast live on ESPN+ with Rob Ryan and Bernie Cieplicki on the call. An international stream will also be available on AmericaEast.TV. Fans can listen to the game for free on the Vermont Sports Network, from Learfield on The Game, which will air on 97.1 FM in Burlington, 105.9 FM in Plattsburgh, and 960 AM around the rest of the region. The radio broadcast is also available via the Varsity Network App with Brian McLaughlin on the call.
 
McGee Automotive Family is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's basketball