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BURLINGTON, Vt. – Dre Wills scored 11 points and added nine rebounds and four assists as the Vermont Catamounts pulled out a 55-52 victory over visiting Dartmouth at Patrick Gymnasium in the final non-conference game of the year for UVM.
Vermont extends its win streak to three games and improves to 8-8, while Dartmouth falls to 6-8 on the year.
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Photo Gallery Hector Harold added a game-high 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting for Vermont.
Ethan O'Day and
Trae Bell-Haynes chipped in eight points each.
Connor Boehm and Alex Mitola were the leading scorers for the Big Green, netting 11 pointes each. Gabas Maldunas chipped in eight points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
Boehm gave Dartmouth a 23-21 lead on a layup at the 5:05 mark of the first half. Vermont responded with an 8-0 run to close the stanza and took a 29-23 advantage into halftime.
The Big Green rallied out of the locker room scoring nine straight points and used an 11-2 run to take a 34-31 lead with 14:59 remaining in the game.
UVM answered with a basket by
Ryan Pierson and a 3-pointer from Harold on back-to-back possessions to push back in front by two, 36-34. Dartmouth came back to tie the game up four times and a 3-pointer by Mitola with 7:06 remaining finally pushed the Big Green in front, 45-44.
Wills converted a layup and
Zach McRoberts hit an off balance 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 spurt by the Catamounts as UVM pulled in front, 51-45 with 5:24 left.
Mitola drained another 3-pointer to slice the lead to three, 51-48, at the five-minute mark, but Harold answered with a 3-pointer with 4:35 left to push Vermont's lead to six. That was the final field goal of the game for either team.
The Catamounts used a strong defensive effort in the closing minutes to pull out the victory. Malik Gill's last second 3-point attempt from 30 feet out to force overtime missed the mark.
Vermont moves back to America East play on Saturday (Jan. 17) when it faces UMBC in Baltimore, Maryland. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at the RAC. The game can be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM (online:
1013ESPN.com) with A.J. Kanell on the call. The game will also be streamed for free via
AmericaEast.tv.
NOTES: Neither team held more than a six-point lead in the contest … Wednesday was the 99th meeting between Vermont and Dartmouth in men's basketball … The two teams have met for 53 consecutive seasons … UVM extended its win streak to seven straight over the Big Green and have won 15 of the last 16 meetings … UVM improved to 6-2 on its home court.