Vermont Downs Wagner, Lonergan Notches First Division I Victory

By Bruce Bosley, UVM Athletic Communications Office

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Martin Klimes (Prague, Czech Republic) scored 22 points to lead four players in double figures as Vermont held off Wagner, 71-67, in men's college basketball at Patrick Gym Saturday afternoon.

The win was the first of the season for the Catamounts (1-3) and the first at Vermont for new head coach Mike Lonergan.

"This was a great team win,” said Lonergan. “I was worried we would come up short at the end since we have worked so hard as a team that we did not deserve to come up empty once again. But the guys, especially Martin, Mike (Trimboli) and Kyle (Cieplicki), hit some key shots in the second half and our defense made a big stop when we needed it. We also made all of our free throws down the stretch and Chris (Holm) gave us a big boost inside.

The hard-fought game featured nine ties and eight lead changes before a pair of free throws by Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn.) with 55 seconds left gave UVM a 67-65 lead. After a miss by Wagner's Durell Vinson, Klimes got a big rebound in traffic and then Trimboli hit four straight from the line to ice the win.

The teams were tied at 31-31 at halftime before Vermont opened the second stanza with a 6-0 run. Wagner battled back and the Seahawks took their biggest lead of the game, 50-46, with 8:33 left. The Catamounts would come alive from three-point range to climb back and a layup by Klimes gave UVM its biggest advantage, 61-55, with 3:06 to play. Strong defense by Wagner forced three Vermont turnovers and twice the Seahawks, on a 3-pointer by Matt Vitale and two free throws by Mark Porter, tied the game before UVM pulled ahead down the stretch.

After starting the game 1-for-9 from beyond the arc, Vermont hit five straight 3-point attempts in the second half. Kyle Cieplicki (Shelburne, Vt.) made three straight treys en route to a season-high 11 points.

Trimboli finished with 13 points and had a game-high eight assists while Ryan Schneider (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) chipped in with 10 points. Chris Holm (Henderson, Nevada) had a solid effort with eight points and a career-high eight rebounds.

Klimes went 8-for-10 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free throw stripe for his second straight game of 20 or more points. Vermont shot 51 percent from the floor for the game and out-rebounded the Seahawks, 29-27. Paced by Trimboli’s 6-for-6 effort, the Catamounts went 9-for-11 from the line in the second half.

Wagner (2-1) was led by Porter with 16 points and five assists. Vinson scored 13 points and had nine boards, and Vitale went 4-for-5 from the floor to end up with 13 points.