FINAL SCORE: Liberty 71, Vermont 61
CONWAY, S.C. – Vermont (4-1) suffered its first loss of the season, falling to Liberty (5-0) 71-61 in the championship game of the Myrtle Beach Invitational on Sunday (Nov. 19) at the HTC Center. The title game saw a total of nine lead changes.
 
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Box Score
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"Really hard-fought loss tonight to a really good Liberty team that deserves all the credit," Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. "I thought our guys battled. They [Liberty] just made the plays down the stretch and they were great defensively and got timely scoring. [Zach] Cleveland was really good. [Brody] Peebles made some shots and [Kaden] Metheny made a big driving layup late. It's early and this is why we play in this tournament. It's been a great experience this week, I'm really proud of our team. I'd like to thank the Myrtle Beach people and ESPN for inviting us to this event. It's really been great for us and our fans. We'll walk out of here heads held high with a lot to learn. That's why we play in these types of tournaments, why we play this type of non-conference schedule. It's to learn about ourselves and we learned a lot about ourselves and what we need to get better at."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Catamounts took a quick 6-0 lead with Aaron Deloney and TJ Long cashing in three pointers in the first 1:12. Liberty chipped away at the UVM lead and eventually trailed two points, down 8-6 with 15:44 left in the first half.
• TJ Hurley scored four of Vermont's next eight points as the Catamounts took a double-digit lead, up 16-6 before the 11-minute mark.
• Brody Peebles snapped the 8-0 run with a trey seconds before the midway point of the opening half, which sparked a 17-6 run that put the Flames in front 23-22. Kyle Rode sank a pair of three pointers at the end of the run to give Liberty its first lead of the night.
• Shamir Bogues retook the lead for the Catamounts with baskets on consecutive possessions, and Hurley sank a triple to go up 29-25 with 2:57 remaining in the half.
• Liberty closed the first half on an 8-4 run to enter the break with a 35-33 lead. Peebles' jumper gave the Flames the lead with 1:14 to go and Kaden Matheny added a triple to stretch their lead.
• Veretto quickly put Vermont back in front 32 seconds into the second half when he drained his first trey of the evening. The Catamounts lead grew as big as five points when Sam Alamutu knocked down a three pointer to put UVM up 46-41 with 13:31 to go.
• The Flames answered with a 14-4 run to pull back in front, 55-50 with 8:44 left in the game. Peebles led the Liberty attack with eight points during that stretch, including a pair of three pointers.
• UVM cut the deficit to just one point with 4:05 remaining on Alamutu's second trey of the game that made the score 61-60, but Liberty closed with a 10-1 run.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Vermont was 25-for-59 (42.4%) from the field.
• Bogues flirted with a double-double, posting a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds. The UVM guard recorded two steals on the defensive end.
• Deloney had 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting and registered two assists.  
• Hurley (11 points) and Long (10 points) rounded out the Catamounts in double figures.

UP NEXT
The Catamounts return home on Wednesday (Nov. 22) to host VTSU Johnson on Vermont Night, presented by Vermont Federal Credit Union. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET at Patrick Gym. Tickets are available for purchase at UVMathletics.com/Tickets or by visiting the Patrick Gym Box Office on gameday.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The matchup between the Catamounts and Badgers will broadcast live on ESPN+ with Rob Ryan and Bernie Cieplicki on the call. An international stream will also be available on AmericaEast.TV. 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