FINAL SCORE: Vermont 86, Toledo 60
TOLEDO, Ohio – Vermont (9-4) snapped its two-game losing streak with a dominant 86-60 victory over Toledo (6-5) on Wednesday night at Savage Arena. Four Catamounts reached double figures in the win.
 
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Box Score
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"Really impressive bounce-back win today by our guys coming off the Virginia Tech game and maybe even a little bit of the Colgate game," Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. "I thought tonight we were really, really tough from the jump and executed the game playing really, really well – especially defensively by doubling their post and taking away Maddox, their best three-point shooter.  I thought the two TJs were really good – unfortunately got in a little bit of foul trouble. I thought AD was awesome running the point again, just like at Northeastern with Shamir out. I thought he did a great job leading and running the team. Matt had a great bounce back game. I really challenged him after the Virginia Tech game and he responded big time. It was great team win and payback for last year when Toledo got us at our place, so we're really proud of the guys."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Catamounts made five of their first eight field goals to take an early 11-6 lead. TJ Long led the Cats with seven points including a triple that gave Vermont its five-point cushion with 15:07 left in the opening half.
• Ra'Heim Moss and Tyler Cochran cut the UVM lead to 13-10 with 12:26 to go, but UVM countered with six straight points to extend its lead. Nick Fiorillo drilled a wide-open three pointer from the top of the arc to fuel the Vermont run.
• Aaron Deloney and Matt Veretto drained back-to-back treys minutes later to put the Cats up 29-18 for their first double-digit lead of the night. The graduate students' triples sparked a 12-0 run for Vermont who made four of six field goals – all three pointers – to take a 35-18 lead with 4:13 remaining in the frame.
• The Catamounts and Rockets traded baskets over the final minutes of the first half. Fiorillo drained two free throws with 0:11 to go to put Vermont up 42-24 heading into the break.
• Toledo opened the second half with a 7-2 run led by an opening-possession trey by Dante Maddox Jr.
• Vermont countered with a 14-2 run to stretch the lead back to 25 points. TJ Hurley sparked the run with seven straight points as the Catamounts made six of eight field goal attempts. Veretto capped off the run with a free throw to take a 58-33 lead with 14:25 remaining.
• The Rockets cut the Catamounts' lead to 17 points with a 12-4 run before the midway point of the second half. Javan Simmons had four points to lead Toledo who trailed 62-45 with 10:22 to go.
• UVM's lead climbed over the 20-point mark once again when Ileri Ayo-Faleye collected a pass from Fiorillo in the paint and threw down a dunk through contact to take a 66-45 lead. The lead was over 20 points for the remainder of the game with Jace Roquemore canning a three pointer in the final seconds to put Vermont up 86-58 for a 28-point margin – its largest of the night.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Catamounts dominated on both sides of the ball shooting 54.1% (33-61) from the field while holding Toledo to a 31.3% (21-67) field goal percentage.
• Vermont drained 10 of 27 (37.0%) of its attempts from long range.
• Long scored a game-high 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field. The junior canned one trey and picked up four rebounds.
• Veretto had 16 points on an efficient 5-for-6 night from the floor. He knocked down 3-of-4 attempts from long range and pulled in five boards.
• Hurley posted a season-high 14 points in the win. The sophomore was 5-for-7 from the field and made a pair of triples.
• Deloney rounded out the Catamounts in double figures with 11 points.
• 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's three-game road trip comes to an end on Friday (Dec. 22) when it visits Miami (OH) in Oxford, Ohio. The opening tip is set for 1 p.m. ET at Millett Hall. Tickets are available at MiamiRedHawks.com.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Friday's game will broadcast live 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