University of Vermont Athletics

FINAL SCORE: Vermont 92, Plattsburgh State 41
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Ten different Catamounts contributed to the offense as Vermont (2-0) defeated Plattsburgh State (0-2) 92-41 in the Military Appreciation Game presented by Milton CAT on Saturday night at Patrick Gym. TJ Long led the UVM attack with a game-high 20 points.
 
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COACH'S QUOTE
"It was a great night with Military Appreciation Night, so thanks to all the fans who came out tonight," Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. "It was a great crowd Saturday night here and I thought we played really well tonight. I thought Plattsburgh played hard the whole game. They ran a lot of actions that were good for us to have to try and guard. I thought everyone that played, played hard, played the right way. And, and we saw a lot of good things out there tonight."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Matt Veretto threw down a slam dunk on UVM's first possession to take the lead. The Catamounts opened the game on a 12-5 run before the under-16 timeout. Ileri Ayo-Faleye recorded an early five points for Vermont.
• Long caught fire over the next 2:51, scoring eight of Vermont's 14 points as the Cats' lead extended to 26-8 with 12:53 left in the half. Long drained two of his three first-half treys during UVM's 14-3 run.
• Franklin Infante's layup ended a Plattsburgh State scoring drought, but Vermont countered with 15 straight points to open up 41-10 lead with 5:13 left in the opening frame.
• Michel Ndayishimiye checked in and drained a pair of three-pointers in the late minutes of the first half as the Catamounts took a 51-16 lead into the locker room.
• Shamir Bogues leaped up and cashed in a slam dunk in the opening seconds of the second half to begin a 9-1 run for the Catamounts. The junior added another dunk minutes later to give Vermont a 62-20 lead with 16:34 remaining.
• Ayo-Faleye reached double figures with a layup that put the Catamounts up 72-22 with 13:13 left in the game.
• Ndayishimiye reached double figures for the first time in his career when he sank a jumper with 3:39 left to grow the UVM lead to 88-36.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Long's 20 points came on an impressive 7-for-8 shooting night. The junior's lone miss came from beyond the arc as he knocked down 6-of-7 attempts from long range.
• Sam Alamutu registered his first career double-double, producing career-highs in points (13) and rebounds (10). The redshirt sophomore was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field.
• Ndayishimiye tallied a career-high 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting. The Burlington, Vt. native was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, and tallied two steals on the defensive end.
• Ayo-Faleye rounded out the Catamounts in double figures with 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting. The 6-8 forward pulled in a career-high eight rebounds and recorded two blocks.
• With the win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to King Street Center as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. Since its inauguration in 2017, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group has donated over $80,000 to local non-profits through the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative.

UP NEXT
Vermont heads to The Palmetto State on Thursday (Nov. 16) for the start of the Myrtle Beach Invitational at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C. The Catamounts will open the tournament against the College of Charleston at 11:30 a.m. Tickets for the Myrtle Beach Invitational are available at MyrtleBeachInvite.com.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The Myrtle Beach Invitational will broadcast live on the ESPN Family of Networks. Vermont's game against College of Charleston will be televised nationally on ESPNU with Robert Lee and Randolph Childress on the call. The broadcast will also be available for streaming on ESPN+. Fans can listen to the game 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 Family is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's basketball