FINAL SCORE: Vermont 64, Dartmouth 53
BURLINGTON, Vt. – A 15-0 second-half run powered Vermont (6-2) to a 64-53 victory over Dartmouth (1-4) on Wednesday night at Patrick Gym. With the victory, the Catamounts extended their winning streak over Dartmouth to 15 games.
 
RELATED LINKS
CatamounTV Highlights
Box Score
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"A good win tonight, thanks again to Catamount fans for showing out, making it loud, and really helping us win," Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. "Credit to Dartmouth. I thought they had a great game plan, were really physical and you know, we struggled again offensively in the first half. We are a work in progress. We had some good wins early in the season, but sometimes that can be fool's gold a little bit as far as where you're at. We feel very optimistic and confident about this team, but it's a process and it takes time. It's good to grind a win out and come from behind tonight, so we'll enjoy this one and look forward to another home game on Saturday."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The non-conference foes traded early baskets in the first half before a 9-0 UVM run that put the Cats up 11-4 with 15:27 left on the clock. Four different Catamounts contributed to the run, led by a trey from Matt Veretto.
• The Big Green countered with 11 straight points to pull back in front, up 15-11 with 10:46 remaining in the opening frame. Dusan Neskovic fueled the offense, scoring seven of Dartmouth's points.
• Dartmouth's lead grew to six points a little over a minute later on a three pointer from Jayden Williams. The Catamounts then chipped away and pulled back to within one point on an Aaron Deloney trey that made the score 20-19 with 6:58 left in the half.  
• Neskovic and Brandon Mitchell-Day answered with baskets to grow the Dartmouth lead, but Vermont clawed back with a 9-3 run to tie the game at 28-28. TJ Hurley's first triple of the night gave the Cats the equalizer with 1:53 left in the half. Neskovic would knock down his third three pointer of the frame to give Dartmouth a 31-28 lead heading into the break.
• Vermont's offense began to click in the second half, draining four of its first six attempts from long range to take a 42-41 lead with 14:29 remaining. TJ Long drilled a trio of three pointers in the first 4:56 of the frame, and Hurley put the Cats in front with his second trey of the night.
• The TJs led a run of 15 straight points for UVM who was up 51-41 before the midway point of the second frame.
• Romeo Mythil brought the Big Green back to within single digits with a three pointer that stopped the UVM run. The Big Green stayed within single digits until a 7-0 run for the Catamounts that was capped off by a four-point play from Hurley. While getting fouled, the sophomore knocked down a trey before the end of the shot clock and sank his free throw to put Vermont up 60-46 with 3:54 to go.
• UVM and Dartmouth traded baskets in the final minutes as the Catamounts closed out the win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Catamounts have now won 15 straight games at Patrick Gym, which is currently the seventh longest home winning streak in the country.
• Long produced a game-high 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field. The UVM guard sank 3-of-5 attempts from long range and pulled in three rebounds.
• Hurley also reached double figures, scoring 12 points on 3-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc.
• Vermont's defense held Neskovic (17 points) scoreless in the second half, and limited the Big Green to just 37.9% shooting from the floor.
• Prior to tip-off, UVM Athletics honored longtime PA announcer, Steve Gentile, whose voice has boomed through Patrick Gym for over 25 seasons.
• 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
The Catamounts return to action on Saturday (Dec. 2) when they host Yale in a battle of New England's premier mid-major teams. 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. Saturday's game is presented by TD Bank.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The matchup between the Catamounts and Bulldogs will broadcast live on ESPN+ with Brian McLaughlin 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 Ryan Zimmerman on the call.
 
McGee Automotive Family is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's basketball