FINAL SCORE: Iona 83, Vermont 78
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Vermont (8-6) took a four-point lead into halftime over the Gaels on Saturday evening, but it was Iona (9-4, 1-1 MAAC) that got the better of the Catamounts in the second half, walking away with the 83-78 victory over UVM from Patrick Gymnasium.
 
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COACH'S QUOTE
"Tough loss today. A game I thought we should have won, and we did a lot of really good things. They basically ran the same play over and over again, and I didn't have an answer for it and that's on me. It sucks going into the break and sitting on the loss for 10 days, but I thought we have showed a lot of improvement throughout the first part of the season. A well-deserved break for the guys and looking forward to pick things back up against Princeton."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Noah Barnett got scoring started 1:12 into the game making his first layup attempt, sparking the Catamounts' offense to a 6-5 lead by the first media timeout with 15:53 left to play in the opening frame. Gus Yalden and Sean Blake also added a basket in the paint during Vermont's opening run.
• Denver Anglin and Lamin Sabally carried Iona on an 8-2 scoring run to take a 13-8 lead with 13:46 remaining in the first half, but Blake anchored Vermont back to within one, 13-12, making layups on back-to-back possessions for UVM with 12:49 to go in the opening frame.
• By the second media timeout with 6:51 left in the first half, Iona was able to pull away with a nine-point lead, 27-18, orchestrating a 14-6 scoring run throughout the next six minutes led by seven points from Keshawn Williams. For the Catamounts, Ben Johsnon earned his first basket of the game while Barnett collected four more points, including two made free-throws.
• Coming out of that timeout, Ben Michaels got on the scoreboard making his first layup attempt of the game, igniting a 15-7 scoring run from UVM to come back within one point, 34-33, with 3:02 remaining in the first half. Yalden had seven points in the Vermont scoring run, making two layups and one hook shot while executing the and-one opportunity on one of his layups after getting fouled. TJ Hurley added three points to the run, making a mid-range shot while getting fouled, cashing in on the extra free-throw for the Catamounts. 
• Vermont re-gained the lead with just over one minute remaining in the first half, seeing Hurley knock down his mid-range shot, kissing the ball off the glass with a bank shot, earning UVM the 37-36 advantage.
• Hurley sank his first three-pointer of the game with eight seconds left in the first frame, getting Patrick Gymnasium on their feet as Vermont took a 40-36 lead heading into halftime.
• To begin the second half, both teams were going back-and-forth trading baskets, seeing Yalden cash a three-pointer and a layup for UVM while Iona had three different scorers amidst an even 5-5 scoring run 2:14 into the final half. Vermont maintained the lead, 45-43.
• Following a couple minutes of no baskets from either team, Barnett ended the scoring drought making his third bucket of the game, muscling his way through multiple Iona defenders to get his layup to fall, bringing Vermont to a 47-43 advantage with 15:54 of gametime remaining.
• After Blake proceeded to score four consecutive points to put UVM ahead 51-45, Trey Woodyard scored his first basket as a Catamount drilling a three pointer in front of the Vermont bench, earning UVM a 54-47 lead with 14:13 left to play.
• By the third media timeout of the second half with 10:35 left to play, Vermont held a 59-53 lead, getting a three-pointer from TJ Long and a layup from Blake to stay ahead of Iona by six points.
• Toby Harris scored the next eight points for Iona as they orchestrated an 8-5 scoring run, but a three-pointer from Johnson and a mid-range jumper from Lucas Mari allowed UVM to hold onto the lead, 64-61, with 8:07 left in regulation.
• Iona regained the lead with just over six minutes remaining, seeing Williams make a mid-range jump shot to give the Gaels a 67-65 advantage.
• At the media timeout with 4:28 remaining in regulation, the Gaels got out to a 72-68 lead seeing Harris explode offensively, scoring five straight points for Iona to take control of the lead. Hurley was able to cut into the Harris offensive surge, making a mid-range jump shot while getting fouled, cashing his free-throw and then making his second three-pointer of the game with 4:08 left of gametime to bring Vermont within one, 72-71.
• Yalden scored seven more points for Vermont down the stretch including a three-pointer with 11 seconds left to cut the deficit to three, 81-78, but it was Iona that finished the game on an 11-7 scoring run to end the second half, walking away with the 83-78 road victory on Saturday evening from Patrick Gymnasium.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Yalden scored a team high 24 points against Iona, scoring 20 or more points for the fourth time this season. Yalden also added seven rebounds, knotting a season high for the fourth time.
• Hurley tallied 16 points while corralling a career high nine rebounds against Iona, also a game high.
• Blake recorded a game high four assists to go along with 12 points and four rebounds.
• Woodyard played in his first game as a Catamount on Saturday, knocking down one three-pointer to go along with one steal.
• UVM had 10 offensive rebounds to Iona's five.

 
UP NEXT
The Catamounts get the holiday break and 10 days to prepare for their next contest on the road in Princeton, NJ. set for Tuesday (Dec. 30) against Princeton, meeting for the second time this season. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The radio broadcast will available via the Varsity Network App with Brian McLaughlin on the call.
 
Vermont Federal Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of 2025-26 Vermont Men's Basketball Season