Cats Comeback Bid Falls Short In Men's Basketball Season Opener

By Bruce Bosley, UVM Athletic Communications Office

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Brian Cusworth had 17 points and 10 rebounds as Harvard held off Vermont, 65-57, in men's college basketball Saturday afternoon at Lavietes Pavilion. The game was the season opener for both schools.

The Catamounts trailed by 11 points, 50-39, with just under 12 minutes to play, and used the combination of a change in defenses and solid three-point shooting to take a one-point lead with two minutes left. The lead was brief, as Vermont would not score the rest of the way.

"Being down the way we were, I am happy how we battled back," said coach Mike Lonergan after his first game at Vermont. "Our guys played hard and did not quit."

Ryan Schneider (Yorktown Heights, N.Y) led the UVM comeback hitting four of his career-high six three-pointers in the second half. His final trey gave the Catamounts a 57-56 edge with 2:03 left before Harvard's Jim Goffredo answered from beyond the arc only 16 seconds later. Schneider led all scorers with 19 points, another career-high, and had a team-high seven rebounds.

In addition to Lonergan and his staff, five players made their Catamount debut in the contest. Freshman point guard Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn.) had a hot start in his first collegiate game hitting his first five shots en route to 12 first half points. The two teams exchanged the lead six times and had three ties in the opening 20 minutes before two free throws by Matt Stehle gave Harvard a 33-31 halftime lead.

Cusworth had a pair of buckets and a three-pointer by Goffredo propelled the Crimson after the break before Vermont adjusted on offense and on defense. UVM switched to a zone defense from its traditional man-to-man, and the change flustered Harvard for a 10-minute stretch allowing the Catamounts back into the game.

In addition to Schneider, Trimboli finished with 17 points and six assists while freshman forward Colin McIntosh (Milton, Mass.) had eight points, five rebounds and three steals. Kyle Cieplicki (Shelburne, Vt.) played a solid floor game adding four boards and three assists. Also, sophomore Chad Powlovich (Jericho, Vt.) came off the bench to lend a big boost with four points and two rebounds in 11 minutes.

Goffredo had 15 points and Drew Housman finished with 13 for Harvard while Stehle chipped in with nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Crimson won the battle of the boards outrebounding Vermont, 41-33. Harvard also shot 37% from the field compared to 33% for the Catamounts. Schneider went six-for-12 from three-point range as UVM made nine three-pointers in 23 attempts (37%).