Catamounts Hang Tough Before Falling at Providence

By Bruce Bosley, UVM Athletic Communications Office

Monday, November 21, 2005

Randall Hanke scored a game-high 23 points as Providence held off Vermont, 87-77, in men’s college basketball at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Monday night.

The loss was the second straight for the Catamounts (0-2), who opened the season Saturday with a loss at Harvard. For the second game in a row, Vermont had a furious second half rally but fell short. UVM trailed by 19 points, 75-56, with 4:27 to go before closing the gap to 78-72 in less than three minutes later. The Friars (1-0) would go seven-for-eight from the foul line to close out the game.

“It was frustrating that we were right in this game but didn’t shoot the ball very well,” said Vermont coach Mike Lonergan. “We had a lot of real good looks early on that we did not knock down. We also made too many careless turnovers to beat a team at this level.”

Freshman Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn.), named America East Rookie of the Week earlier in the day, scored 18 of his team-high 20 points in the first half as the two teams exchanged the lead eight times. Vermont made just two-of-15 three-point attempts and shot 33% overall in the first stanza yet trailed Providence by just five, 35-30, at halftime.

Hanke scored six points in an 8-0 run after the break as the Friars seized control of the lead. In the second half, the 6-foot-11 center went six-for-six from the floor and three-for-four from the line as the margin swelled for Providence. Vermont never quit as Ryan Schneider (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) and Martin Klimes (Prague, Czech Republic) brought the Catamounts back into the game. Schneider scored all 16 of his points in the second half while Klimes had 10 of his 14 after halftime.

Vermont’s late spurt- it shot 58% in the second half- allowed it to finish the game shooting 46% from the field. But the Cats were hurt by committing 22 turnovers after forcing the more veteran Friars into 17. Providence shot 45% for the game and also out-rebounded UVM, 40-38.

In addition to Trimboli, Klimes and Schneider, Chris Holm (Henderson, Nevada) added eight points and seven rebounds and Timothy McCrory (Pascagoula, Miss.) chipped in with eight points and five boards. Trimboli had six assists for the second straight game while Schneider grabbed seven rebounds.

Hanke, who finished at 10-for-11 from the floor and had nine rebounds, was joined in double figures by Weyinmi Efejuku with 16, Donnie McGrath with 15 and Geoff McDermott with 13 points and nine boards.

Vermont returns to Burlington to open a three-game homestand at Patrick Gym. In its regular season home opener, UVM hosts WAC power Nevada Wednesday night at 7:00pm (Radio: WXZO 96.7 FM, WEAV 960 AM, WCVR 102.1 FM; Internet: www.sportsjuice.com) before returning home. The Wolf Pack, like the Catamounts, advanced to the second round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament and are ranked 22nd in the latest AP National Top 25. Prior to Wednesday’s game, UVM will unfurl its 2005 championship banner. General admission tickets are available for all Vermont regular season home games at the UVM Athletic Ticket Office by calling 1-866-4-CAT-TIX. Tickets are also available on line at www.uvmathletics.com.