FINAL SCORE: Vermont 73, College of Charleston 64
CONWAY, S.C. – Vermont (3-0) erased a 15-point deficit to defeat College of Charleston (1-2) 73-64 in a thrilling opening round matchup of the Myrtle Beach Invitational on Thursday (Nov. 16) at the HTC Center.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score
Highlights
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"A great win today and credit to College of Charleston, they're a really good program," Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. "It was between two programs that have been to the [NCAA] tournament a bunch recently and are picked to win their leagues this year.  I thought it was a really good matchup. I thought they were really good defensively. Their switching bothered us in the first half. We struggled to score and we really struggled to score the whole game, but we found something at the end there and were able to just kind of chop away at it. I thought 'Mattie' [Forward Matt Veretto] was great all night. [Guard] Shamir Bogues was great all night and we just struggled to score. I thought [Forward] Illeri [Ayo-Faleye] made a couple of huge plays for us, the offensive rebound on the missed free throw, and-1. Then [Guard] TJ Hurley, who's a really good young player for us that has not been shooting it well so far this season, made a huge shot. We were able to push the lead out and get some stops and make enough free throws."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• TJ Long opened the scoring with a three-pointer from the wing, but the Cougars answered with seven straight points to take the lead. Veretto stopped the Charleston run with a basket from the post as the Cats trailed 7-5 with 15:40 left in the opening frame.
• A layup from Bryce Butler was countered with seven straight points for UVM who quickly took a 12-9 lead. Butler added a free throw and Long converted on a layup as Vermont led 14-10 – its largest lead of the half – with 13:53 remaining.
• A 16-4 run for the College of Charleston opened up a double-digit lead as the Cougars led 28-18 with 5:38 remaining. Kahlil London sank two free throws minutes later to help Charleston go up 34-19. The 15-point lead was the Cougars' largest lead of the day.
• Vermont closed the opening half on a 7-2 run to cut the Charleston lead to single digits. Bogues and Brenton Mills each recorded three points during the run. Bogues also forced a block in the final seconds to trail 36-27 at the break.
• The Catamounts began to chip away at the Cougars' lead in the in second half, opening the frame on an 11-6 run. Long sank two free throws to make it a two-possession game, down 43-38 with 13:46 remaining.
• Charleston's lead stretched back to nine points minutes later on a pair of free throws from Frankie Policelli, but Mills answered with back-to-back three-pointers to cut the deficit to 51-48 with 7:55 remaining.
• Aaron Deloney tied the game for Vermont when he drained a three-pointer to make the score 53-53 with 6:04 left.
• The Catamounts finally took the lead with 3:07 remaining when Ileri Ayo-Faleye swallowed up an offensive rebound on a missed free throw and finished the putback while getting fouled to draw the and-one to go up 61-60.
• Long and TJ Hurley drained key three-pointers down the finishing stretch as the Catamounts outscored the Cougars 12-4 to seal the win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Veretto recorded a game-high 18 points on 5-for-9 shooting. The graduate student sank 2-of-5 attempts from long range and knocked down 6-of-8 free throws.
• Long tallied 15 points and recorded seven rebounds for the Catamounts. The UVM guard was 3-for-8 from beyond the arc. Long also registered two steals on the defensive end.
• Bogues also reached double figures, recording 11 points on 4-for-10 shooting. The two-time WAC All-Defensive selection also registered three steals and two blocks.
• Ayo Faleye had nine points on the day, with seven of them coming in the second half.
• 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 will face Saint Louis in the semifinal round of the Myrtle Beach Invitational on Friday (Nov. 17) at HTC Center. Tip-off is slated for 12 p.m. ET.  
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The matchup between the Catamounts and Billikens will be televised nationally on ESPN 2 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.

MILITARY APPRECIATION JERSEY AUCTION
Don't forget to bid on game-worn jerseys from Vermont's Military Appreciation Night presented by Milton CAT. The jerseys are available for auction online, with the auction closing at 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 18. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Josh Pallotta Fund.
 
McGee Automotive Family is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's basketball