FINAL SCORE: Vermont 65, Maine 58
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Vermont (11-5, 1-0 AE) came out victorious in its first America East matchup of the season with a hard fought 65-58 win over Maine (8-8, 0-1 AE) on Saturday night at Patrick Gym.
 
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COACH'S QUOTE
"Good hard-fought win tonight to open up league play against a really tough Maine team," Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. "Our defense kind of bailed us out. I thought Ileri was terrific. You know, career high tonight, it's two games in a row where he's been assertive offensively. And then I thought Jace Roquemore kind of bailed us out tonight you know, with Shamir going down. The guards struggled tonight for whatever reason, so we'll take the win, obviously still have a lot to work on and get better with."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Catamounts gave up the first basket of the game but quickly stormed back with an 11-0 run, taking the early 11-2 lead. Shamir Bogues led the charge for Vermont, converting four points in that 11-point scoring run.
• UVM took its first timeout after Peter Filipovity scored a layup plus a foul, cutting Vermont's lead down to 11-7.
• Nick Fiorillo subbed into the game making an impact immediately scoring four consecutive points for the Cats, bringing the lead to 15-10.
• With 7:47 remaining in the first half, Matt Veretto kept the pressure on the Black Bears scoring his second three pointer of the game, putting Vermont up 22-14.
• Following a media timeout, Maine battled back going on a 7-0 scoring run, trimming the Catamount lead down to 24-21. The Black Bears' offense continued, capitalizing on several UVM turnovers to go on a second consecutive 7-0 scoring run.
• Kellen Tynes gave Maine its first lead of the game after scoring an easy layup. Ja'shonte Wright-McLeish cashed a three pointer, forcing Vermont to call a timeout down 24-28.
• Ileri Ayo-Faleye finished the half for the Catamounts registering his second block of the game, keeping Vermont down four at the break trailing 30-26.
• Maine opened the second half with a three pointer from Jaden Clayton, extending the lead to 26-33.
• Ayo-Faleye scored seven straight points for the Catamounts as they slowly started to claw their way back. TJ Long brought UVM within three points after successfully scoring his second basket of the game.
• Vermont regained the lead 41-40 thanks to an emphatic dunk from Veretto. Both teams traded a pair of buckets before a timeout was called with Vermont leading 43-42 with just under 11 minutes remaining of the game.  
• Vermont came out of the timeout on fire. Ayo-Faleye scored a layup in addition to getting fouled, where he made the extra free throw, followed by Fiorillo draining a three to extend the Catamount lead to 49-42 with 8:30 remaining.
• Brenton Mills and Roquemore each recorded buckets to cap off a 12-0 scoring run by Vermont and make the lead 53-42.
• Filipovity scored six of the Black Bears' next eight points making the score 55-51 with 3:00 remaining of gametime.
• Fiorillo recorded a clutch block with 1:29 remaining, along with a massive basket that forced Maine to take a timeout.
• Roquemore and Long each made late free throws to put Vermont up 61-53 with 44.5 seconds left of gametime.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Catamounts got the better field goal percentage shooting 43.9% (25-57) from the field while Maine shot 42.1% (24-57) from the field.
• Ayo-Faleye scored a career high and team-high 14 points for the Catamounts on 5-11 shooting from the field. Ayo- Faleye also added two steals and 2 blocks for Vermont.
• Long led all players with a game-high in plus/minus, earning +19 along with leading the Catamounts in minutes played, recording 28:27.
• Fiorillo and Veretto were the only Catamounts able to register three pointers throughout the game. Fiorillo finished with 13 total points and Veretto with 12 total points.
• Vermont dominated scoring in the paint, earning 44 points to Maine's 28.
• The Catamounts also controlled the time with the lead having led for 27:15 minutes to Maine's 10:46.

UP NEXT
Vermont's three-game home stand continues on Thursday (Jan. 11) as ESPNU comes to town to broadcast the matchup with America East foe UMBC. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET at Patrick Gym. Tickets are available for purchase at UVMathletics.com/Tickets or by visiting the Patrick Gym Box Office on gameday. The game is presented by Little Caesar's.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The matchup between the Catamounts and Retrievers will be nationally televised on ESPNU with Robert Lee and Terrence Oglesby on the call. The broadcast will also be available for streaming 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