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BURLINGTON, Vt. – Trae Bell-Haynes scored a career-high 21 points and Vermont used a stifling defensive effort in the second half to post a 64-49 victory over visiting New Hampshire on "Senior Night" in America East men's basketball action at Patrick Gymnasium on Wednesday. The Catamounts clinch the No. 2 seed in the America East Playoffs. Vermont improved to 17-11 overall and 12-3 in America East, while UNH fell to 17-11 on the year and 10-5 in league play.
Bell-Haynes, who scored 13 of his 21 points in the second stanza, went 11-for-15 from the foul line in the game and 4-for-6 from the floor.
Dre Wills chipped in 16 points, 10 after halftime, on 8-for-11 shooting and
Cam Ward added 11 points and a team-high five rebounds off the bench.
Jacoby Armstrong led New Hampshire with 20 point sand five rebounds. No other Wildcat reached double figures in the scoring column.
RELATED LINKS
Box Score (.pdf)
CatamounTV Highlights
Photo GalleryThe Catamounts led 31-23 after the first 20 minutes of action. New Hampshire opened the second half with a 17-6 spurt, fueled by nine points from Armstrong, to take a 40-37 lead with 14:57 remaining in the contest. The layup by Armstrong to cap the run at the 14:57 mark, was the last field goal the Wildcats would make the rest of the way.
Vermont, which entered the game ranked 12th in the country in both scoring defense (57.1 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (37.9%), limited New Hampshire to 12 free throws over the final 13 minutes. The Wildcats missed their next 17 field goals and finished the stanza shooting 28 percent from the floor (7-for-25).
While the Catamounts were shutting down the Wildcats on defense, a dunk by
Zach McRoberts ignited a 14-0 run for Vermont. UVM opened up an 11-point cushion and never looked back to pick up its 11th victory at Patrick Gymnasium this season.
Vermont closes out the regular season at Albany on Saturday (Feb. 28). Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. from SEFCU Arena. The game can be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM (online:
1013ESPN.com) with A.J. Kanell calling the action. The game will also be broadcast online via
ESPN3.com.
NOTES: Prior to the game Vermont honored its senior class of
Hector Harold and
Ryan Pierson ... The Catamounts clinched the No. 2 seed in the America East Playoffs and are the No. 2 seed or better for the 12th time in 14 years … Vermont held UNH, the top scoring offense in the league (68.0 ppg) to 49 points … The Catamounts have held their last 14 opponents under 60 points … UVM has limited America East opponents to 60 points or less in 14 of 15 conference games … Vermont is 42-5 since 2012-13 when holding opponents under 60 points … UVM is 12-3 when
Dre Wills scores 10 or more points … Wednesday was the 143rd meeting between the two teams … The Wildcats are UVM's longest standing opponent … The victory was Vermont's 95th over UNH and its 16th straight win over the Wildcats at Patrick Gymnasium … New Hampshire's last victory over Vermont at Patrick Gymnasium was 1/8/00 … The Catamounts are 29-3 in regular season league games at Patrick Gymnasium under head coach
John Becker.
AMERICA EAST MEN'S BASKETBALL QUARTERFINAL TICKET INFORMATIONThe University of Vermont is the No. 2 seed in the America East Playoffs and will host an America East Men's Basketball Quarterfinal Game on Wednesday, March 4th. The game will begin no earlier than 7:00 p.m. The Catamounts will play the No. 7 seed which will be either UMBC or Maine depending on the results of Saturday's regular season finale for both teams.
RESERVED SEAT SEASON TICKET HOLDERS AND SPONSORS:Vermont reserved seat season ticket holders who chose not to pre-order their seats can purchase the seats they held during the regular season on
Friday (February 27) and
Monday (March 2). Tickets will be held in the season ticket holders name until close of business on Monday. The UVM Athletic Ticket Office in Patrick Gymnasium will be open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. on Friday and Monday.
Tickets need to be picked up in person. If you are unable to pick up your tickets in person and would like someone else to pick up for you, please notify the ticket office in advance via email at
athletic.tickets@uvm.edu. Additional tickets will not be available for purchase during this period.
** If seats were pre-ordered, tickets can be picked up during the UVM Athletic Ticket Office hours (8 a.m.-6 p.m.) or at Will Call before the game. VICTORY CLUB MEMBERS: Victory Club members at the Catamount level ($1000+) and above can request tickets
Friday (February 27) and
Monday (March 2) by contacting the
Victory Club Office via phone: 802-656-0956 or email:
victory.club@uvm.edu. All requests will be filled based on established Victory Club priority and availability.
UVM STUDENTS: A limited number of FREE student tickets will be made available to UVM students beginning on
Friday (February 27) at 9 a.m. at the UVM Athletic Ticket Office in Patrick Gymnasium. Tickets are limited to one (1) ticket per UVM ID, students must present their own UVM ID at the ticket window, no other ID's will be accepted.
UVM FACULTY/STAFF: Faculty/Staff with valid UVM ID (or spouse with valid UVM spouse ID) may purchase up to four (4) tickets on
Friday (February 27) and
Monday (March 2) in person only at the UVM Athletic Ticket Office in Patrick Gymnasium. Tickets are for personal use only.
GENERAL PUBLIC: A public sale will begin on
Tuesday (March 3) &
Wednesday (March 4) in person at the UVM Athletic Ticket Office in Patrick Gymnasium or online at
UVMathletics.com. There is a limit of four (4) tickets per person. Ticket office hours will be 8 a.m.–6 p.m.
TICKET PRICES (ALL SEATS ARE RESERVED):$15 – reserved seats
Free - UVM students