FINAL SCORE: Vermont 87, UAlbany 68
TROY, N.Y. – Five Catamounts reached double figures as Vermont (13-10, 7-2 AE) defeated UAlbany (6-19, 1-9 AE) 87-68 on a season-high shooting day Saturday afternoon at McDonough Sports Complex.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score
Photos
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"Great road win today coming off our bye week," Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. "We got a lot of great offensive efforts today. Matt Veretto with 16 points and six rebounds, Finn shot it well, and Aaron Deloney off the bench with 14. I thought Dylan did a great job establishing pace for us in transition, and Kam had some big buckets, especially to start the second half as we pushed the lead out. Defensively, I thought we were a great. I thought at the beginning of the second half we were trading threes, but then we kind of tightened our belts there and then kind of cruised to victory and were able to play the entire bench. So, great road win and especially coming off a bye week."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Catamounts jumped out of the gates and grabbed a 17-2 lead in the first 5:48 of the afternoon. Vermont made its first three field goals of the game, and made 6-of-8 attempts in the early run. Dylan Penn and Matt Veretto led the Cats with six points apiece.
• UAlbany briefly cut the UVM lead to 12 points on a triple from Gerald Drumgoole Jr., but Ileri Ayo-Faleye threw down a dunk on the following possession to regrow the lead. Ayo-Faleye added a layup with 11:55 left in the half to give the Catamounts a 23-7 lead.
• Vermont distanced itself from UAlbany with a 10-0 run late in the first half. The Catamounts hit all four attempts from the field, including a pair of treys to take a 40-17 lead with 4:43 left on the clock. Penn sank a corner three to cap off the run and give UVM its largest lead of the half. The Cats would take a 44-25 lead into the break.
• UVM's lights-out shooting continued in the second half with the Cats making five of their first seven shots coming out of the locker room. Finn Sullivan opened the half with a dunk, and Vermont knocked down a trio of three-pointers to take a 55-32 lead with 17:10 remaining.
• A 12-0 lead before the under-12 media timeout gave the Catamounts their first 30-point lead of the day. Sullivan had six of the 12 points as Vermont went up 70-39 with 11:56 left.
• UVM's largest lead of the afternoon came with 9:21 left in the game on a layup by Veretto that made the score 77-43. Vermont led by 30-points with 4:13 remaining, but UAlbany chipped away in the final minutes and cut the deficit to 19 points.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Catamounts were a season-high 60.7% (34-for-56) from the field, and knocked down 46.4% (13-for-28) of its attempts from beyond the arc.
• Sullivan had a team-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. All 19 of the UVM guard's points came in the second half. Sullivan was 3-for-7 from deep, 4-for-5 from the line, and added five rebounds and five assists.
• Penn was a very efficient 7-for-8 from the field and en route to a 17-point outing. The fifth-year guard was a perfect 6-for-6 shooting in the first half. Penn also recorded five assists on the afternoon.
• Veretto made 6-of-8 attempts from the field, including 4-of-6 from long range to tally 16 points. The forward came down with a team-high six rebounds and dished out two assists.
• Aaron Deloney (14 points) and Kam Gibson (13 points) rounded out the Catamounts in double figures. Deloney was 6-for-11 from the floor. Gibson knocked down 5-of-9 field goal attempts, including a 3-for-6 clip from deep
• With the win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to King Street Youth 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 caps off its two-game road stretch on Wednesday (Feb. 8) at Maine. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at Cross Insurance Arena in Bangor, Maine. The matchup between the Catamounts and Black Bears will broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans can listen to the action 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