FINAL SCORE: Vermont 78, Ball State 73
NASSAU, Bahamas – Aaron Deloney and Kam Gibson combined for 39 points, and the bench contributed another 32 points as Vermont (2-5) snapped its five-game skid with a 78-73 victory over Ball State (3-2) on Friday in the Nassau Championship. The Catamounts advance to the tournament's semifinals with the victory.
 
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COACH'S QUOTE
"Hard-fought win today against a really big, physical Ball State team," Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. "I thought we had a couple of times to control the game and, you know, just kind of made mistakes that we've been making this year that let teams back into the game, but we didn't break today and we got huge performances from Aaron Deloney and Kam Gibson. Dylan Penn, I thought, played well, and I thought Finn Sullivan played a really good core game in the second half. I'm really happy for the guys to get back on the winning side and, you know, really grind out the game today."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Catamounts and Cardinals exchanged early baskets with Dylan Penn sinking a three-pointer before the shot clock expired to get UVM on the board. Kam Gibson added his first triple shortly after to put Vermont in front 6-4 for its first lead of the afternoon. Ball State briefly tied the game a minute later on a jumper by Jaylin Sellers.
• Deloney put the Cats in front 9-6 with 14:21 left in the half when he finished a driving layup through contact and drew a foul. The senior converted his free throw for his first of a pair of three-point plays in the opening half. Deloney helped the UVM lead grow to seven-points with his second three-point play minutes later that put the Cats up 20-13 with 10:48 left on the clock.
• Ball State briefly pulled back to within a possession, but Vermont would then push away with a 12-4 run to take a 34-21 lead with 5:14 remaining in the half. The Cardinals answered with an 8-0 run down the stretch to cut the deficit to two points with 2:27 left. Deloney would stop the BSU surge with a layup that gave UVM a 36-32 lead heading into the break.
• The Cardinals opened the half on a 9-2 run to tie the game for the first time since the 14:22 mark of the first frame. UVM countered with triples on three consecutive possessions to pull back ahead. Nick Fiorillo kickstarted the run with a long three from the top of the key to put Vermont up 44-41 with 16:46 remaining. Gibson and Deloney sank the following threes to take a 50-41 lead with 15:26 to go.
• The UVM lead reached double digits again with 12:08 remaining. The Catamounts scored on three-straight possessions, including Matt Veretto's layup that put Vermont up 59-48.
• Ball State chipped away and made it a two-possession game with 5:34 remaining. Jalen Windham drilled a trey that cut the UVM lead down to 65-61. Finn Sullivan made a crucial three-pointer later on to put Vermont ahead by seven with 4:20 remaining.
• The Catamounts held off the push by the Cardinals in the final minutes of the afternoon. Gibson sank a trio of free throws in the final 19 seconds to secure the win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Deloney made six field goals in his 20-point outing, and converted 6-of-7 attempts at the free throw line. The senior also sank two triples on the day. Deloney pulled in a career-high seven rebounds, with five boards coming in the second half.
• Gibson was an efficient 6-for-9 from the field, 3-for-6 from deep, and 4-for-5 from the line to score 19 points, his most as a Catamount.   
• Penn was also in double figures, scoring 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting. The UVM guard dished out two assists and pulled in three rebounds.
• The Catamounts shot 52.8% (28-for-53) from the field. Vermont sank 9-of-22 (40.9%) three-point attempts.
• UVM's 33 bench points are its most this season.
• With today's win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to COTS, the Committee on Temporary Shelter, as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. Since the campaigns inauguration in 2017, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group has donated over $72,000 to local non-profits.

UP NEXT
The Nassau Championships continues on Saturday (Nov. 26) with the Catamounts face UNCW in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. ET. The matchup will broadcast live on FloHoops with Sam Hyman and Ashlee Jones on the call. Fans can listen to the action for free on the Vermont Sports Network, from Learfield on The Game, which will air on 97.1 FM in Burlington, 105.9 FM in Plattsburgh, and 960 AM around the rest of the region. The radio broadcast is also available via the Varsity Network App with Brian McLaughlin on the call.
 
McGee Automotive Group is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's basketball