FINAL SCORE: Vermont 68, New Hampshire 64
DURHAM, N.H. – Sam Alamutu poured in a career-high 23 points as Vermont (25-6, 15-1 AE) capped off the regular season with a 68-64 victory over New Hampshire (15-14, 7-9 AE) on Tuesday night at Lundholm Gym. The 2023-24 Catamounts are the fourth team in program history to record at least 25 wins in the regular season.
 
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Box Score
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"Great win to close out the regular season. 15-1 is an incredible record and speaks to the consistency of this group," Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. "We were shorthanded again tonight and had some great performances by some of our young guys. Sammy with his career high in points and minutes and has continued to play well down the stretch. Skip also had his career high in points and minutes, and made some huge shots late in the game. Seth for the second game in a row played meaningful minutes and showed his talent and competitiveness. It's a testament to these guys staying ready and stepping up when the team needed them. I'm really proud and happy for them."

HOW IT HAPPENED                                                                                  

• The Catamounts and Wildcats traded three pointers on opening possessions, with Aaron Deloney canning Vermont's first triple of the evening.
• Ahmad Robinson scored four of New Hampshire's first nine points as the Wildcats took a 9-5 lead into the first media timeout.
• Vermont scored seven straight points coming out of the first media timeout to take a 12-9 lead with 8:38 left in the opening half. Alamutu sparked the run with baskets on back-to-back possessions, followed by a trey from Seth Joba.
• Clarence Daniels answered for the Wildcats with a pair of free throws to make the score 12-11 with 7:33 left in the half.
• Jackson Skipper checked in and knocked down a three pointer from the top of the key to ignite an 11-2 run for Vermont. Jace Roquemore and Deloney also drained three pointers in the run as the Catamounts led 23-13 with 3:38 remaining in the opening frame.  
• New Hampshire closed out the half on an 11-2 run to cut the UVM lead to 25-24 through 20 minutes of play. Ahmad Robinson scored five points as the Wildcats hit all four field goals in the final 2:19 of the frame.
• TJ Long's driving layup that banked high off the glass and in, got the scoring started in the second half. Daniels answered with a three pointer to tie the game at 27-27, 1:00 into the frame.
• Robinson put the Wildcats in the lead with a driving layup on the following possession.
• Alamutu led the Catamounts on a 7-0 run, scoring five of Vermont's points to take a 34-29 lead with 16:42 left.
• Back-to-back layups from Robinson and Daniels pulled New Hampshire back to within a point, down 34-33 with 15:18 remaining, but Vermont answered with six straight points to lead 40-33 with 12:36 to go.
• An 8-1 run for the Wildcats tied the game at 41-41 with 10:08 left. Daniels and Robinson each scored four points in the run.
• Alamutu continued to have an impact on the Vermont attack, scoring four of the next seven points as the Cats took a 48-41 lead with 8:11 remaining. Skipper knocked down a timely three pointer for the seven-point lead.
• New Hampshire would not go away, scoring 10 of the next 14 points between the conference foes to cut the UVM lead to 52-51 with 5:37 left.
• After sinking a free throw, Alamutu cashed in a triple on the following possession, converting on a pick-and-pop with Deloney that made the score 56-51 with 4:59 to go.
• Once again, UNH chipped away and pulled back to within one point with 3:15 left.
• Alamutu made another free throw and Skipper sank his third trey of the night to put Vermont up 60-55 with 2:23 to go.  
• Long drained a three pointer from deep with 1:40 remaining to give the Catamounts a 63-57 lead.
• The Wildcats continued to fight back and pulled to within a possession when Daniels sank a three pointer while getting fouled, making the score 66-64 with 0:13 left. Daniels intentionally missed the free throw and committed a lane violation, giving the Catamounts the ball back.
• Long made two free throws on the following possession to secure the win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The 2023-24 Catamounts join the 2017-18 and 2021-22 teams at 25 regular season wins. Only the 2016-17 team won more games in the regular season (26).
• Alamutu's 23-point outing came on a career-high eight field goals, and a 6-for-10 clip from the line. The redshirt-sophomore had seven rebounds and played a team-high 32 minutes.
• Long also reached double figures, scoring 12 points and posting a team-high nine rebounds. The UVM guard also recorded a career-high three blocks.
• Skipper joined Alamutu in recording a career-high in scoring, posting 11 points on an efficient 4-for-5 shooting night. The redshirt-first year was 3-for-4 from deep while playing a career-high 23 minutes.
• 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
Top-seeded Vermont will host No. 8 UAlbany in the quarterfinal round of the 2024 Jersey Mike's America East Playoffs on Saturday (Mar. 9) at Patrick Gym. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. ET. The matchup between the Catamounts and Great Danes will broadcast live on ESPN+ with Rob Ryan and Bernie Cieplicki on the call. International fans can watch the game live 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.
 
AMERICA EAST QUARTERFINAL TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets will be made available for the general public on Wednesday (Mar. 6) at 1 p.m. and can be purchased in person at the Patrick Gymnasium Ticket Office, or online by visiting UVMathletics.com/Tickets.
 
McGee Automotive Family is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's basketball