FINAL SCORE: Vermont 71, New Hampshire 59
DURHAM, N.H. –  The Catamounts held off a strong second-half push by the Wildcats and secured a 71-59 America East win on Monday afternoon at Lundholm Gym. Vermont reached the win column for the seventh straight time with the victory.
 
RELATED LINKS
Highlights
Box Score (Web) | Box Score (.pdf)
 
Vermont improves to 15-5 overall and stays unbeaten in conference play at 5-0. New Hampshire drops to 11-7 overall and evens its league mark at 2-2.
 
The Catamounts shot 54.7% (29-of-53) from the field and 45.5% (5-of-11) from long range. The Wildcats were the victims of the league's second-best defense as the green and gold held the navy and white to only 39.6% (19-for-48) from the floor and 21.1% (4-for-19) from three-point land. Vermont won the points in the paint battle, 36-26, and UVM's reinforcements outscored UNH's bench 17-0. 
 
Trae Bell-Haynes scored a season-high 22 points to lead three Catamounts in double figures. The junior guard shot 8-of-10 from the floor with a pair of steals, rebounds, and assists. Anthony Lamb posted 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting for his eighth double-digit outing of the season. Kurt Steidl rounded out the scoring trio with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting with a pair of triples.  
 
Daniel Dion charted a game-high 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting and grabbed three rebounds. Tanner Leissner followed with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting and made all six attempts at the charity stripe. Iba Camara finished the afternoon a rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine boards.
 
UNH held the lead three separate times in the opening minutes but UVM took control and gained separation with a 13-4 run over an eight-minute span. The Wildcats cut the Catamounts' lead down to 24-17 with 4:40 left in the first period, but the green and gold responded by closing out the half with an 11-5 run for a 35-22 advantage at the break.
 
In the first half, Vermont's defense held New Hampshire to 34.8% (8-for-23) from the floor and 11.1% (1-for-9) from long distance. The Catamounts shot 53.8% (14-of-26) in the opening period and drained four attempts from beyond the arc. 
 
New Hampshire came out of the locker room with a quick 5-0 run and trimmed UVM's lead back to single digits. The green and gold answered by mounting a 14-8 run and held a 15-point lead with 12 and a half minutes left in the contest.
 
The Wildcats did not go away quietly by producing an 18-9 run over a seven-minute stretch and only trailed 58-52 with five minutes remaining. 
 
Down the stretch, Bell-Haynes and the Catamounts closed out the game on a 13-7 run. Bell-Haynes scored seven points in the final four minutes to help UVM land its fifth conference victory.
 
Vermont returns home on Thursday (Jan. 18) to host UMass Lowell at 7 p.m. Single game tickets are available at UVMathletics.com/Tickets or at the Patrick Gym Box Office on game day. All UVM men's basketball games can be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM and online at 1013ESPN.com with Sam Hyman on the call. The game will be streamed live and for free in HD via AmericaEast.TV.

Canon Solutions America is the presenting sponsor of the 2016-17 men's basketball season