FINAL SCORE: Vermont 74, St. Michael's 79
BURLINGTON, Vt. –  The Vermont men's basketball team fell to St. Michael's at home Saturday night in their first exhibition game. TJ Long led the Catamounts in scoring with 29 points.

RELATED LINKS
Box Score
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"Obviously disappointing result, but I have to give St. Michael's credit. I thought they played harder and tougher than us. They deserved to win tonight. Between the injuries we had this Fall and the fact that we are a young team, it will take us a while. Our defense tonight was horrendous. We are going to keep working with our guys and hopefully we can quickly improve on that end of the court."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Vermont's first offensive possession resulted in a slam dunk from David Simon, and at the 16-minute media timeout, the Catamounts held a 6-4 lead over the Purple Knights.
• St. Michael's proceeded to go on an 11-5 run to the 12:47 mark when Vermont called a timeout.
• Out of the timeout, TJ Long hit back-to-back threes, allowing Vermont to retake a 19-15 lead at the 12-minute media timeout.
• At the 8-minute mark, Vermont still led 25-19.
• The Catamounts would go scoreless for the next four minutes, which gave Saint Michael's the chance to tie it up at 25 at the 4-minute media timeout.
• Saint Michael's led at the half, 32-27.
• Starting the second half, David Simon threw down another dunk and TJ Long connected on a three, but Vermont still trailed 39-34 at the 16-minute media timeout.
• At the 12-minute media timeout, St. Michael's extended their lead 50-41.
• A Sean Blake layup and a Momo Nkugwa three closed the deficit, but the Catamounts still trailed 58-51 at the 8-minute media timeout.
• At the 4-minute media timeout, St. Michael's still led 67-58.
• Vermont closed the gap with two TJ Long threes, narrowing the deficit to 73-69 with one minute left.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TJ Long recorded a team-high 29 points while shooting (10-16) from the field and (8-12) from three.
• Three different Catamounts were in double-digit scoring against St. Michael's. TJ Long (29), David Simon (16), and Sean Blake (13) contributed for UVM.
• Jackson Skipper and TJ Long each had a team-high five rebounds.
• Sean Blake recorded a team-high four assists.
• Vermont outshot St. Michael's from the field (48.1%) to (46.6%). The Catamounts also outshot the Purple Knights from three (47.6%) to (40.9%). 

UP NEXT
UVM will next play in another exhibition against St. Anselm on Wednesday, October 29. That game will tip off at 7 p.m. ET. The radio broadcast will available via the Varsity Network App with Brian McLaughlin on the call.