FINAL SCORE: Vermont 82, Binghamton 62
VESTAL, N.Y. – A balanced attack led Vermont (14-5, 4-0 AE) to an 82-62 victory over Binghamton (8-8, 0-3 AE) on Thursday night at Binghamton's Events Center. Four Catamounts reached double figures in their nation-best 19th-straight league win.
 
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Box Score
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"Yeah, great team win tonight," Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. "Really got contributions from a lot of guys and you know, I thought our defense was really spectacular again tonight. And then you know, Sammy Alamutu, played a great game, made a couple threes and really I thought in the first half he kind of bailed us out getting to the rim. And I thought Ileri and Jace really helped us get off to a great start in the second half. AD continues to play well, it was great to get Shamir back in, Nick and Matt continue to do what they do and so just an overall team effort."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Catamounts and Bearcats each hit three of their first field goal attempts to tie 6-6 in the first five minutes of the game. Sam Alamutu put UVM up 8-6 before the under-16 media timeout with a dunk. The redshirt-sophomore was initially blocked at the rim, but the Cats recovered the ball and Alamutu drove once again for the slam.
• Matt Veretto's hook shot out of the post sparked a brief 7-3 run for Vermont coming out of the media timeout. Shamir Bogues recorded a steal and a score to put the Catamounts up 12-6 in his first minutes since returning from injury. Bogues later added a driving layup that answered a Binghamton triple to give UVM a 15-9 lead with 9:16 left in the half.
• Symir Torrence countered with a triple on the following possession to cut the BU deficit to three points. The Catamounts and Bearcats traded baskets over the next few minutes with Vermont taking a 20-16 lead with 6:49 to go in the opening frame.
• UVM and Binghamton traded three treys each over the next 4:31 with TJ Long knocking down Vermont's first three pointer of the night. Chris Walker hit two triples for the Bearcats during the stretch. Nick Fiorillo and Alamutu had the remaining three pointers for the Catamounts, and Gavin Walsh knocked down the final Binghamton three pointer of the stretch as UVM led 29-25 with 2:18 left in the half.
• Tymu Chenery's layup with 1:46 on the clock cut the Vermont lead to 29-27. Aaron Deloney answered with free throws in the final seconds to give the Catamounts a 31-27 lead heading in to the break.
• UVM made seven of its first nine field goal attempts coming out of the half, outscoring Binghamton 16-4 to take a 47-31 lead with 14:19 remaining. Jace Roquemore led the Catamounts with seven points during the run.
• Nehemiah Benson's turnaround jumper cut the UVM lead to 14 points, but Vermont countered with a 7-2 run to lead 54-35 with 11:49 to go. Fiorillo capped off the run with a corner three on a feed from Deloney.
• Binghamton answered with six straight points to cut the lead to 13 points. Walker finished the 6-0 run with a dunk that forced UVM to use a timeout up 54-41 with 10:26 left.
• Four different Catamounts contributed to a 10-3 run as Vermont hit four of its next five field goals coming out of the timeout to take a 64-44 lead. TJ Hurley knocked down a three pointer from the wing to give UVM its first 20-point lead of the evening.
• Vermont maintained its sizable lead over Binghamton, which grew to as large as 23 points when Fiorillo's turnaround jumper made the score 75-52 with 3:29 to go.
• Brenton Mills recorded a layup at the rim with 0:31 left for the final basket of the night.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Catamounts begin league play with four straight wins for the first time since the 2021-22 season. It is the fifth time over the last eight seasons that Vermont has started 4-0 against America East opponents.
• Vermont scored a season-high 44 bench points to Binghamton's 21.
• All 10 Catamounts that checked into the game made at least one field goal.
• Alamutu matched a career-high 13 points to lead all Catamounts. The redshirt-sophomore was an efficient 5-for-7 from the field and a perfect 2-for-2 from deep.
• Long scored 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field and a 2-for-5 clip from beyond the arc. He also registered a career-high four steals.
• Fiorillo also recorded 12 points, making 4-of-6 field goal attempts. The graduate student knocked down 2-of-3 attempts from long range.
• With the win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to Vermont Children's Trust Foundation as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. Since its inauguration in 2017, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group has donated over $94,000 to local non-profits through the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative.

UP NEXT
The Catamounts return to action on Thursday (Jan. 25) when they visit UMass Lowell for a rematch of the 2023 America East Championship Game at in Lowell, Mass. The opening tip is set for 6:30 p.m. ET at Costello Athletic Center. Tickets are available at GoRiverHawks.com.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday's game will broadcast live on ESPN+. 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 Brian McLaughlin on the call.
 
McGee Automotive Family is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's basketball