FINAL SCORE: Vermont 74, Maine 65
BANGOR, Maine – Vermont (14-10, 8-2 AE) held off a late push from Maine (10-14, 4-7 AE) to secure a 74-65 victory on Wednesday night at Cross Insurance Arena. The Catamounts extend their winning streak to a season-high six games.
 
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COACH'S QUOTE
"Great road win to close out a two-game road trip," Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. "It was an important week for us. I thought our guys did a good job dealing with the start time moving back. Finn had another really good offensive game. Matt hit some big shots to start the second half for us. We need to shoot free throws better, but Dylan went 8-for-8 down the stretch to hold off a good Maine team."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Catamounts opened the game with makes on three of their first six shots to grab an 8-4 lead before the 16-minute mark. Finn Sullivan and Kam Gibson each drilled a three-pointer during the early run.
• Vermont's lead grew to seven points when the Cats answered a Maine triple with a quick 6-0 run to go up 14-7 with 12:04 remaining in the first half.
• The Black Bears countered with seven straight points to tie the game at 14-14 just after the midway point of the first frame. Ata Turgut and Kellen Tynes converted from beyond the arc on back-to-back possessions to draw even with the Catamounts.
• Sullivan helped fuel a 15-4 run over the next 6:19 to give Vermont a 29-18 lead with 3:24 left in the half. The senior had five points during the run, including a layup that capped off eight straight points for the Cats.
• UVM's largest lead of the half came on a three-pointer by Aaron Deloney that put the Catamounts up 36-24 with 15 seconds left. Maine had two late free throws to cut the lead to 36-26 before the break.
• Vermont made its first six shots of the second half to grab a 50-33 lead with 16:07 left in the game. Sullivan had eight of the Cats' 14 points during that stretch, scoring all four of his baskets from inside the paint. Matt Veretto knocked down a pair of triples to help UVM take its largest lead of the game.
• The Black Bears chipped away at the Catamounts' lead pulling to within 10 points with 9:10 remaining. Peter Filipovity had eight points over a span of 4:43 as Maine trailed 58-48. Ata Turgut pulled the Black Bears to within single digits when he threw down a dunk to make the score 62-54 with 4:36 left.
• Vermont sank all 12 free-throw attempts in the final four minutes to hold off Maine. Dylan Penn made UVM's final eight free throws to put the game away.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Sullivan recorded his first career double-double, tallying 21 points and 10 rebounds. The senior was 9-for-17 from the field, including a trio of three-pointers. Sullivan's 10 boards are a career-high.
• Veretto had 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting. The graduate student knocked down 4-of-10 attempts from beyond the arc.
• Penn tallied eight of his 14 points from the free throw line. The senior also pulled in four rebounds and dished out two assists. Deloney also reached double figures, scoring 11 points.
• Robin Duncan flirted with a double-double, posting nine rebounds and a season-high nine assists.
• The Catamounts recorded only three turnovers, tying a program record set on Mar. 10, 1990 against Boston University.
• 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 returns home on Saturday (Feb. 11) to host conference foe UMass Lowell at Patrick Gym. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. 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 Little Caesars. The matchup between the Catamounts and River Hawks will broadcast live on ESPN3 with Rob Ryan and Bernie Cieplicki on the call. 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