BOSTON, MA – David Hehn made an off-balance three-pointer over two defenders as time expired on the shot clock to give Vermont a 78-77 lead with just 23 seconds left, and then hit two free throws to lift the Catamounts an 80-77 win over Northeastern in an America East men's basketball game at Solomon Court on Monday night. NU's Jermaine Hancock had the ball knocked out of his hands and out of bounds with 1.6 seconds left, and Jean Bain's desperation three-pointer failed to hit the rim as time ran out.
Vermont, which overcame a 17-point first-half deficit, improved to 11-3 and 4-0 in America East play. The Catamounts have won nine straight for the first time since 1947. The Huskies dropped to 3-11 and 1-2 in the conference.
Freshman Taylor Coppenrath had 18 points, 14 in the second half, to lead five UVM players in double figures. Trevor Gaines added 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Grant Anderson netted 14, T.J. Sorrentine 13 and Hehn 12. Freshman Aaron Davis led the Huskies with 18 points, while teammate Sylbrin Robinson had a season-high 17 points and Jamaar Walker a season-high 16. Bain finished with 11 points.
Walker made a pair of free throws with 1:59 left to give the Huskies a 77-73 edge. Sorrentine missed a three-pointer for UVM at the other end, but Gaines grabbed his fifth offensive rebound and scored to make it 77-75. Toby Brittian missed a three-pointer for the Huskies, and Hehn grabbed the defensive rebound with 1:01 left, setting the stage for his dramatic lefthanded shot as Bain was draped all over him. Hehn continued his heroics, grabbing the rebound of a Bain miss and then sinking a pair of free throws for the game's final points.
Trailing 42-30 at the half, Vermont opened up the second half on a 7-2 run to cut NU's lead to seven, 44-37, with 17:48 to go in the game. The Huskies reeled off 7-2 run of their own, including five unanswered points, to push their margin back to 12, at 51-39. Walker had a hand in all seven of the Huskies' points, scoring five and assisting on the other two to Tim West.
The Catamounts would once again answer the NU challenge with a 10-2 run to cut NU's lead to four, 53-49, with 14:36 remaining. UVM's Coppenrath and Sorrentine combined for 14 of the Catamounts' first 21 second half points.
UVM battled all the way back to tie the game at 61-61 with 9:33 left on a Gaines layup. Sorrentine's layup with 6:22 left gave the Cats a 67-66 lead, their first edge since 4-2 at 18:36 of the first half. It was the first of six lead changes down the stretch.
The Huskies started off the game on fire, hitting nine of their first 11 field goal attempts and jumping out to an early 17-point lead, 23-6, at the 12:44 mark. Robinson was the catalyst of NU's quick start as his three-pointer at 9:14 gave him 13 points to go along with two assists, two rebounds, one block and one steal. Robinson was a perfect 5-5 from the field, 2-2 from the line and 1-1 from beyond the arc in the first half alone.
Despite Robinson's spectacular first-half play, Vermont battled back to cut the NU lead to six, 32-26, with 5:19 remaining. The Huskies responded back with a 10-4 run to close out the half up 12, 42-30.
Robinson led all first half scorers with 13, while teammate Davis added 11. The Huskies outshot the Catamounts 64.0 percent (16-25) to 43.3 percent (13-30).
VISITORS: Vermont 11-3, 4-0 AE
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
No. N A M E FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
11 Sorrentine, T.J. * 5-15 0-6 3-4 1 1 2 3 13 5 2 0 1 37
15 Anderson, Andre * 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 2 17
22 Coppenrath, Taylor * 5-7 0-0 8-10 1 0 1 4 18 1 5 1 2 30
42 Anderson, Grant * 6-7 1-1 1-5 3 4 7 3 14 3 3 0 2 37
45 Gaines, Trevor * 7-11 0-1 1-2 5 8 13 4 15 2 3 0 0 29
24 Hehn, David 3-7 2-4 4-4 1 5 6 0 12 2 0 0 2 26
32 Njila, Germain 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 3
40 Goia, Mike 0-3 0-3 0-0 1 1 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 9
50 McLaughlin, Corry 2-5 0-0 0-1 2 1 3 2 4 1 0 0 0 12
TEAM ........................................ 2 1 3
TOTALS 30-58 3-16 17-26 17 21 38 17 80 17 17 1 10 200
TOT-FG 1stH: 13-30 43.3% 2ndH: 17-28 60.7% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 51.7% Deadbl
3pt-FG 1stH: 1-10 10.0% 2ndH: 2-6 33.3% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 18.8% Rebs
FThrow 1stH: 3-8 37.5% 2ndH: 14-18 77.8% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 65.4% 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Northeastern 3-11, 1-2 AE
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
No. N A M E FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
03 Nlandu, Lunzaya * 3-4 0-0 0-2 0 3 3 4 6 0 4 1 1 19
05 Bain, Jean * 4-11 3-6 0-0 0 2 2 2 11 0 2 0 2 34
14 Brittian, Toby * 3-6 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 4 6 3 0 0 1 19
20 Walker, Jamaar * 4-6 0-1 8-8 3 2 5 4 16 6 0 0 1 28
33 Robinson, Sylbrin * 7-9 1-1 2-2 1 2 3 2 17 3 3 1 2 34
01 Hancock, Jermaine 0-4 0-4 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 5 4 0 0 14
04 West, Tim 1-1 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 1 3 0 0 2 0 11
12 Davis, Aaron 7-13 3-5 1-4 3 1 4 2 18 0 2 0 0 21
21 Johnson, Antonio 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4
22 Cranford, Ricky 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6
25 Randall, Q 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 6
32 Dunn, Jesse 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+
42 Burke-Bennett,Meshak 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 0 3 1 0 4
TEAM ........................................ 2 2 4
TOTALS 29-55 7-19 12-18 10 17 27 25 77 19 19 5 7 200
TOT-FG 1stH: 16-25 64.0% 2ndH: 13-30 43.3% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 52.7% Deadbl
3pt-FG 1stH: 3-9 33.3% 2ndH: 4-10 40.0% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 36.8% Rebs
FThrow 1stH: 7-12 58.3% 2ndH: 5-6 83.3% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 66.7% 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICIALS: John Hughes, Fran Connolly, Paul Faia
TECHNICAL FOULS:
Vermont - none
Northeastern - none
ATTENDANCE: 714
SCORE BY PERIODS: 1st 2nd OT1 OT2 OT3 OT4 TOTAL
Vermont 30 50 80
Northeastern 42 35 77
PTS IN THE PAINT: Vermont - 44 Northeastern - 34
PTS OFF TURNOVERS: Vermont - 29 Northeastern - 15
2ND CHANCE POINTS: Vermont - 17 Northeastern - 13
FAST BREAK POINTS: Vermont - 08 Northeastern - 14
