Box Score FINAL SCORE: Vermont 68, NJIT 64
BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Vermont men's basketball team took a win in Patrick Gym against NJIT on Thursday night. Ileri Ayo-Faleye led the Catamounts in scoring with a career-high 27 points and 9 rebounds. Shamir Bogues recorded his first double-double of his career contributing 14 points and 11 rebounds for UVM.

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Highlights
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"Hard fought win tonight without TJ Hurley who has been our best offensive player and good on both sides of the ball this year. The guys really dug in and found a way to win tonight. Defensively I thought we were good. We made free throws at the end although we didn't make them for most of the game. We missed a lot of layups, which was frustrating, but we still came out with 68 points. I thought Ileri had a career night tonight and was awesome and Shamir recorded his first double-double."


HOW IT HAPPENED

• Jace Roquemore started the game scoring with a reverse layup in the first few minutes of the game.
• After securing a defensive rebound, Shamir Bouges drove down the court and scored a layup in the 18^th minute. Only 32 seconds later, Bouges received the ball from Roquemore, hitting a three.
• With 15:46 remaining in the first half, Shamir Bouges scored his second layup of the night. This marked 7 straight points for Bouges. This bucket left Vermont leading NJIT 9-8.
• At the 14th-minute mark, Ileri Ayo-Faleye secured his first points of the night, scoring a three from outside the arc. This shot extended the Catamounts' lead to 12-8.
• Shortly after subbing into the game, Sean Blake forced a key turnover by NJIT at the 9:51 mark. After repossessing the ball, Ileri Ayo-Faleye scored his second three-pointer of the game, stretching Vermont's lead to 20-11.
• At the 7:14 mark, Jace Roquemore hit a three from a Bouges' pass. This pass marked Bouges third assist of the game.
• With 5:16 remaining in the first half, Sean Blake scored a mid-range jumper, extending the Catamounts' lead to 27-14.  At this point, NJIT had been scoreless for over 2 minutes.
• Following the 3rd-minute media timeout, NJIT slowly began to chip away the Catamounts' lead. With 1:59 remaining in the half, Ileri Ayo-Faleye responds by hitting his third three-pointer of the night, quickly followed by a layup at the 1:31 mark. With Ayo-Faleye's 5-point push, NJIT trailed Vermont 34-18.
• At the end of the first half, Ileri Ayo-Faleye led the Catamounts with 11 points. Shamir Bouges tallied 4 assists. UVM went into halftime up 34-20.
• Sam Alamutu opens the Catamounts' scoring in the first minute of the second half after stealing the ball in the defensive end, driving toward the net, and finishing a right-handed layup.
• With 18:49 remaining in the game, Shamir Bouges steals the ball and drives toward the net, eventually being fouled in the paint. Bouges scored Vermont's first free throw of the night, going 1 for 2. UVM continue their lead to 37-22.
• At the 15:29 mark, Ileri Ayo-Faleye threw down a dunk off a Sean Blake defensive rebound.
• At the 12^th-minute media timeout, the Highlanders slowly crawled their way back trailing Vermont by 10 with a score of 43-33.
• Ileri Ayo-Faleye responded to NJIT's comeback attempt, scoring his fourth three-pointer of the night with 11:21 remaining in the game.
• Shortly after Ayo-Faleye's three, Seth Joba scored his first three points of the night from the left corner. The Catamounts led 51-40.
• At the 8^th-minute media timeout, NJIT trailed Vermont by 5. UVM led 52-47.
• With 6:27 remaining in the game, Ileri Ayo-Faleye made two free throws, going 2 for 2. This extended Vermont's lead to 56-50.
• At the 4-minute media timeout, only 2 points separated the Catamounts and Highlanders with a score of 58-56.
• Following the media timeout, Ileri Ayo-Faleye knocked down a mid-range jumper. He stretched the Catamount lead to 60-56.
• With just 57 seconds remaining in the game, Ileri Ayo-Faleye extended the Catamount lead by 5 making both of his free throws. UVM led 65-60.
• NJIT pressed in the last minute of the game, but Vermont withstood their lead thanks to two Nick Fiorillo free throws.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Ileri Ayo-Faleye finished with a career-high 27 points and 9 rebounds. Ayo-Faleye shot (7-9) from the field and (4-5) from three.
• Shamir Bogues recorded his first double-double of his career. He contributed 14 points and had a team-high 11 rebounds for UVM.
• UVM had 16 points off NJIT's 10 turnovers.
• Sean Blake had seven points and five rebounds coming off the bench.
• Shamir Bogues also had a team-high three steals.
• Tariq Francis finished with a team-high 21 points for NJIT.

The Catamounts won tonight which means that Vermont Mutual Insurance will be donating $100 to the Lund Center. A special thank you to Vermont Mutual Insurance for their support. Vermont Mutual Insurance, protecting Vermonters since 1828.
 
UP NEXT
UVM will continue their homestand and face-off against UMBC on Saturday, January 26^th. That game will tip off at 1 p.m. ET and it will be on ESPN+. The radio broadcast is also available via the Varsity Network App with Brian McLaughlin on the call.