First-Place Binghamton Outlasts Vermont in Double Overtime

By Bruce Bosley, UVM Athletic Communications Office

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

VESTAL, N.Y. -- Sebastian Hermanier scored a game-high 17 points, all from the free throw line, as Binghamton held off a gritty Vermont effort to defeat the Catamounts, 61-60, in double overtime at the Events Center Wednesday night.

Vermont falls to 4-4 in America East and 8-10 overall. All four of UVM’s conference losses, all away from home, have been decided by a total of nine points and none by more than three points.

"I am proud of how hard our guys worked and hustled," said Vermont coach Mike Lonergan. "We created several opportunities to win but we didn't make the plays necessary to come away with a big road victory. We did a great job on the boards after being dominated there in our last game."

The hard-fought game, Vermont's second overtime affair in its last four contests, was tied 11 times and had 11 lead changes. The score was even at 19-19 at the half, 47-47 at the end of regulation and 52-52 at the end of the first extra session before the first place Bearcats (9-9, 6-1 America East) outscored UVM, 9-8, in the final period.

The Catamounts used a 10-2 run over the first four and a half minutes of the second half to take a 31-21 lead. Binghamton came back with a 11-0 spurt later in the half to go up 41-36 with 7:10 left but saw its lead quickly evaporate as UVM countered with a 7-1 run over the next four minutes. In the last three minutes of regulation, the teams traded the lead four times before a driving layup by Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn.) with 21 seconds left tied the game. A long 3-point attempt by Andre Heard with two seconds to go was off the mark at the second-half buzzer.

A 3-pointer by Colin McIntosh (Milton, Mass.) opened the first overtime for the Catamounts who had a lead until Hermenier nailed two free throws with 1:10 left. Vermont had a chance to win with three seconds to go but Ryan Schneider (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) missed a layup in the lane.

Binghamton took control on the opening possession of the second overtime on a three-pointer by Heard. Despite two missed foul shots by Heard with 14 seconds left, the Bearcats held off the Catamounts down the stretch.

Solid defense by both teams saw the Bearcats shoot 28 percent from the floor and 15 percent (4-for-27) from three-point range while UVM shot 32 percent overall and 16 percent (3-for-19) from beyond the arc. Binghamton, led by Hermanier going 17-for-20, went 74 percent from the line (23-for-31) compared to Vermont's 59 percent (13-for-22). The Catamounts also were hurt by committing 18 turnovers, while forcing only nine.

Martin Klimes (Prague, Czech Republic) led the Catamounts with 12 points going a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and Chris Holm (Henderson, Nev.) tallied 11. MacIntosh, a freshman, added season-highs of 10 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Trimboli had five assists and also had a career-high 10 boards as Vermont outrebounded the Bearcars by an astonishing 61-37 margin.

For Binghamton, Heard scored 15 points on 7-for-22 shooting and had a team-high seven rebounds. Mike Gordon added 10 points and four assists while Duane James gave them a boost off the bench with 10 points, all after halftime.

Vermont concludes its stretch of five out of six games away from home at New Hampshire Saturday at 4 p.m. in the nightcap of doubleheader at Lundholm Gym (Radio: WXZO 96.7 FM, WEAV 960 AM and WCVR 102.1 FM; Internet: www.sportsjuice.com). The UVM and UNH women's teams open the twinbill at 1:00pm (Radio: WVMT 620 AM).

Vermont’s next home game is Saturday, Feb. 4 when the Cats host Hartford. General admission tickets are available for all Vermont regular season home games at the UVM Athletic Ticket Office at 1-866-4-CAT-TIX or 802-656-4410, and they are also available on line at www.uvmathletics.com. Fans attending the Hartford game will receive a set of 2005-06 Vermont Basketball Trading Cards courtesy of L.Brown and Sons Printing.

Box Score: http://www.uvm.edu/athletics/mens_basketball/boxscores/012506.htm