FINAL SCORE: Vermont 70, Bryant 66
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Matt Veretto matched a career-high 20 points to lead Vermont (19-10, 13-2 AE) in its 70-66 victory over Bryant (17-11, 8-7 AE) on Saturday afternoon at Chace Athletic Center. UVM's winning streak extended to 11 games with the victory, which is the fifth-longest streak under Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker.  
 
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COACH'S QUOTE
"Great win tonight in a really exciting atmosphere," Becker said. "I thought our guys were really, really tough and made the plays down the stretch. Matt Veretto might have had his best game as a Catamount, which was great to see. Finn was quiet offensively, but made a big three late. Robin did a great job on Timberlake limiting him to five points, and again, stuffing the stat sheet. That's three really gutsy wins in a row for the group, and it's a great way to finish out the road portion of our schedule. Looking forward to getting back up to Burlington for Senior Night this Tuesday. Hope to see a great crowd!"
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Sherif Gross-Bullock opened the game with a three-pointer for the Bulldogs, but the Catamounts responded with eight-straight points to take a five-point lead in the first 2:11. Kam Gibson scored Vermont's first basket of the afternoon, followed by triples from Finn Sullivan and Veretto.
• Gross-Bullock and Charles Pride put Bryant back in front with an 8-2 run to take an 11-10 lead with 15:13 left in the first half. Kvonn Cramer added a jumper shortly after to go up 13-10.
• Nick Fiorillo stopped the Bulldogs' run with his first basket since returning from injury. The redshirt-junior scored six of Vermont's next eight points to take an 18-16 lead before the under-12 media timeout. Robin Duncan soared for a dunk in the middle of UVM's 8-3 run.
• Pride put Bryant back in front with 9:36 remaining in the half when he sank a layup for a 22-20 lead. Doug Edert stretched the lead to four points with a pair of free throws on the following possession.
• Gibson notched his 1000th career point with 9:10 left in the half to begin a 9-0 run for the Catamounts. Dylan Penn's jumper capped off the UVM run that produced a 29-24 lead before the under-8 media timeout.
• Bryant briefly took the lead back in the late minutes of the opening frame, before a Veretto triple that put Vermont up 37-36 with 2:25 left on the clock. Duncan scooped up an offensive rebound on the following possession and finished the putback for a 39-36 lead. The Cats would take a 39-38 led into the break.
• Veretto helped grow the UVM lead to six points early in the second half. The graduate student scored six of Vermont's first eight points of the frame, including a three-pointer on the opening possession to put the Cats up 47-41 with 15:30 remaining.
• The Bulldogs began to chip away at the lead and eventually pulled in front of the Catamounts when Pride drilled a corner three to go up 52-50 with 11:57 left on the clock.
• The Cats retook the lead when Veretto cashed in an attempt from long range to go up 55-54. Penn added a driving layup shortly after to lead 57-54 before the under-8 media timeout.
• Vermont and Bryant exchanged leads twice over the next four minutes. Sullivan drained a three-pointer to put the Catamounts up 62-60 with 3:33 remaining. The triple marked the final lead change of the afternoon.
• UVM's defense forced a shot-clock violation on Bryant's ensuing possession, and stretched the lead to five points on back-to-back possessions, with Veretto sinking a layup for a 65-60 lead with 1:58 remaining.
• Gross-Bullock cut the Vermont lead to three points with 0:50 left on a layup. The Bulldogs forced a Catamount turnover with the fullcourt press, but Sullivan came up with a huge block on Gross-Bullock to maintain the 69-66 cushion. Dylan Penn knocked down a free throw for the final score of the game.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The matchup between the Catamounts and Bulldogs saw 13 lead changes. Vermont led for 25:56, including 15:14 in the second half.
• UVM made 48.2% (27-56) of its field goals and 39.1% (9-23) of its three-pointers.
• Veretto's 20 points matched a career-high set in 2018 while playing for Delaware. The graduate student converted 7-of-12 attempts from the field, and knocked down 4-of-6 attempts from long range.  
• Gibson reached the 1000-point milestone early in a 12-point outing for the Catamounts. The UVM guard was 4-for-5 from the floor and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.
• Duncan suited up in his 142nd game at Vermont, setting the program record for most games played. The Evansville, Ind. native recorded eight points, seven rebounds, and six assists
• 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 closes out the regular season on Tuesday (Feb. 28) when it hosts UAlbany at Patrick Gym. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. ET. Tickets are available for purchase at UVMathletics.com/Tickets or by visiting the Patrick Gym Box Office on gameday. Tuesday's game is Senior Day, presented by the UVM Alumni Association. The matchup between the Catamounts and Great Danes will broadcast live on ESPN+. International fans can watch the game live 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 Group is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's basketball