One-Bid Wonders

(Albany, New York) – In basketball, as in life, at some point, everyone and every team gets knocked down – It’s what happens after the fall that counts.

The Vermont Catamounts have tripped, slipped and been flat-out floored several times this season.

Multiple times, the Catamounts have been knocked down for an eight count: There were the back-to-back December losses – on the road to a bad Rhode Island team and at home to Towson; a season-sweep on a pair of lackluster performances to arch-rival BU; a beat-down at the hands of first-place Stony Brook on the heels of their second loss to the Terriers; and an inexplicable no-show on their home court in their season finale against Hartford (a team with which they share no love-loss).

But every time Vermont has fallen, the Catamounts have picked themselves back up off the mat and come back fighting harder than before.

And that’s why, when the dust of the America East Tournament settled and top-seeded Stony Brook – the regular season runaway champion – and three-seed Hartford – the Tournament “dark horse” in the eyes of many – had been felled, the Catamounts were still standing. (more…)

Tommy Brenton, 6’5” 230 R-Sr., F, Stony Brook
Overall: 31.2 MPG, 8.9 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.6 SPG, 2.3 A/TO, 109.8 ORtg
Conference: 30.9 MPG, 10.1 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.4 APG, 112.1 ORtg
Brenton does everything for Stony Brook: The engine that powers the Seawolves, he is the heart and soul, leader, and toughest player. A point-forward, Brenton runs the Seawolves offense and ranks among the league leaders in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio, while also cleaning up the glass as one of the conference’s top rebounders. Add in a career high in scoring, and Brenton’s overall offensive package stands as one of the league’s most valuable. That is in addition to Brenton’s status as the league’s premier defender and enforcer. As impressive as his numbers are, they fall short of summarizing his overall impact. (more…)

Tommy Brenton, 6’5” 230 R-Sr., F, Stony Brook: The reigning America East (and OBW) Defensive Player of the Year, Brenton is the best defender on not only the league’s best defense, but one of the five best field goal percentage defenses in the nation. Capable of going “Revis Island” and locking down the best opposing scorer regardless of size and position, Brenton is fast, athletic, strong and super, super physical. (more…)

(Burlington, VT) – The saying goes that numbers don’t lie, but on a cold Sunday in The Green Mountain State, they did just that.

In nearly every statistical category, host Vermont pasted visiting Hartford: The Catamounts out-rebounded the Hawks by a staggering 20 boards, 34-14, while outscoring Hartford 28-10 in the paint and 27-18 off the bench. Vermont outshot Hartford from the floor (50 percent to 43.9 percent), outscored them in second-chance and fast-break points while taking seven more free throws than the Hawks, who were whistled for 10 more fouls.

But when sophomore forward Nate Sikma’s pick-and-pop three from the left corner found the bottom of the net as the final buzzer echoed off of the back wall of Patrick Gymnasium – a shot that survived the ensuing official review – it was Hartford who walked off the court the 61-58 winner.

Toughness, effort and energy – along with dead-eye sharpshooting from behind the arc – proved to be the great equalizer for the Hawks, who snapped a 15 game losing streak against the Catamounts with their first victory over Vermont since 2006.

“They flat out beat us tonight,” said Vermont forward Luke Apfeld, “They just came out and kind of took it to us on our home court.”

“If you have toughness and energy, if you have those two you can win a lot of games,” said third-year Hartford head coach John Gallagher, whose team improved to 17-10 on the season and 10-6 in conference play.

It wasn’t always pretty, but the Hawks simply played harder for longer than the comatose Catamounts, out-hustling Vermont to loose-balls, getting under the Catamounts’ skin in scrums and flustering and frustrating Vermont’s offense with frenetic D: The Catamounts committed 20 turnovers to just seven assists.

“They were tougher than us across the board today and the turnovers were a clear indicator of that,” said Apfeld.

Playing the majority of the game without star forward and go-to scorer Mark Nwakamma, the Hawks buried 12 three’s while shooting a blistering 48 percent from behind the arc (12-of-25).

“We have toughness; we find ways to win,” said Gallagher. “We’re a program now – we’re much more than just one player.” (more…)

By Matt Whitrock and Sam Perkins

(Stony Brook, NY) – Jameel Warney is a force in America East unlike anything we’ve seen in years.

After turning down scholarships from the likes of Iowa, Penn State and Charlotte, the 6’8” 250 pound bruiser from Plainfield, New Jersey had amassed a hype even larger than his massive frame.

“He’s the best big man that will ever play here, absolutely,” Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said at the time.

Over the course of his first season of college ball, Warney has not only lived up to the lofty expectations, but exceeded them.

Through 25 games, Warney currently ranks fifth in the conference in rebounding at 7.6 boards per game, 10th in scoring at 12 points per game, while leading the league in field goal percentage (62.4 percent) and blocked shots (1.6 per game). In conference play, Warney has been even better, averaging 12.6 points per game (8th), 8.3 rebounds (4th) and 1.6 blocks (1st), while shooting an insane 65.9 percent from the floor.

“It’s unbelievable; he has the best hands I’ve ever seen,” raved fifth-year senior Tommy Brenton, the team’s captain and emotional leader. “He makes me look good, honestly, I’ll just throw it up there sometimes [and] he catches it.”

His raw numbers become all the more impressive when considering the defensive attention already being paid to the Seawolves workhorse.

“In high school he would have five guys on him,” said Steve Pikiell following the Seawolves dominating 65-48 win over conference rival Vermont. Warney shrugged off double and triple teams to post 12 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting to go with 10 rebounds to help the Seawolves secure a resounding win and two game cushion in the conference standings.

Simply put, Warney is already the runaway Rookie of the Year. But he’s more – much more – and much better than his raw numbers. When looking at his advanced statistics, Warney is not only the most efficient offensive player in the conference, but the most impactful rookie to come through the America East in more than half a decade. (more…)

(Stony Brook, NY) – Only time will tell if this was the “Statement Win” that has long eluded Stony Brook Men’s basketball in its quest for America East supremacy, but the Seawolves sure made a statement Friday night, stomping Vermont.

Squaring off against their bitter-rival – and the team that dashed their NCAA tournament dreams a year ago – before a packed house partisan fans, Stony Brook rose to the occasion, crushing the Catamounts 65-48 in a game no where near as close as the final score. In doing so the Seawolves grabbed a stranglehold of first place in the standings, entrenching themselves on the inside track in the race for a regular season title and the coveted top-seed in the conference tournament.

“We played a real good basketball team in Vermont and we played really well,” said Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell.

“They out toughed us; they out-played us; they out-shot us; they kicked us all over,” said Vermont head coach John Becker.

They say revenge is a dish best served cold, and against a Catamount squad that had bested them in three straight games – including last year’s Championship Game – the Seawolves did just that, holding Vermont to an icy 36.7 percent shooting from the floor (18-of-49) and 26.3 percent from behind the arc (5-of-19). Stony Brook forced 13 Catamounts’ turnovers, turning them into 26 points, and held Vermont to a season-low in scoring.

“Defensively they gave up their bodies,” said Pikiell of his team. “We swarmed today, this was the kind of defense we need to play.”

On offense, the Seawolves used a first-half three-point barrage to space the floor and open up a lead in the first half, before bulldozing the Catamounts in the paint after the intermission.

Freshman center Jameel Warney shrugged off double – and many times, triple – teams in the post to notch a double-double, scoring 12 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting to go with 10 rebounds. Warney scored all but two of his points after the intermission and poured in eight points in the opening five minutes of the second half to turn a six point lead into a 14 point runaway.

“Give credit to Vermont in the first half for playing tough defense: They wouldn’t let me get the ball. But you start to see chances open up, and we knew we had to attack,” said Warney, who added a blocked shot and altered several more on the defensive end.

While Warney finished off the Catamounts, it was reserve guard Marcus Rouse who started the romp, scoring a team high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. Rouse took advantage of the defensive attention being paid to Warney in the paint to drill 4-of-5 shots from the perimeter. (more…)

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(West Hartford, CT) – When you live by the three you die by it a lot more.

With 11:37 remaining in the second half, the Hartford Hawks had the ball, a 36-32 lead over visiting Vermont, the momentum, and what looked like a straight-line path to a big upset win.

Hartford didn’t relinquish the ball for the next 1:37 of playing time, ripping down six offensive rebounds during that stretch. But the Hawks didn’t put a single point on the board, clanking all seven of their shots from the floor – including five hastily heaved shots from behind the arc – during the stretch.

“You have certain possessions that are key possessions in a game, because it was four at that time, if one of those goes down it’s seven, the momentum comes back to us,” said Hartford head coach John Gallagher.

After Vermont finally wrestling the ball away from the Hawks, forward Clancy Rugg buried a three at the other end. After the Hawks misfired on another salvo from deep, Forward Brian Voelkel converted two free-throws, giving Vermont the lead and the Catamounts never looked back, pulling away for a 49-43 win.

“Feel fortunate to get a win tonight in all honesty. I thought Hartford was the aggressor tonight for most of the game and we were playing on our heels and I give them a lot of credit,” said Vermont head coach John Becker. “We found a way tonight: this was a game, similar to the Boston University and Maine games on the road where we couldn’t find a way [to win] and tonight we did.”

Hartford held the Vermont to 13 points below their season scoring average and nearly 15 points below their average in conference play. But the Hawks squandered a stellar defensive effort by shooting themselves in the foot and out of the game, building a brick house of three-point bombs, shooting just 5-of-29 from downtown.

“For us right now, defense isn’t the issue; it’s offense,” said Gallagher. (more…)

(Boston, MA) – They say that an animal is the most dangerous when it is wounded – the adrenaline is flowing and the instinct to survive at all costs is the strongest. The same is true in Basketball: when a team’s back is up against the wall, the chips are down and its season is on the brink, it is usually the most dangerous.

Facing a fight or flight scenario, with its already depleted roster further decimated by injuries and its season likely hanging in the balance, the Boston University Terriers chose to fight – with furious vengeance.

Boston University overcame the loss of two starters to injury, a decided height disadvantage, the shortest bench in the league and an early 10 point deficit to knock off defending America East Champion Vermont 63-53.

“It was a great character win – there’s no doubt,” said Terriers head coach Joe Jones. “You just saw some guys out there just battling and able to use their quickness and their athletic ability to our advantage: That’s what a BU team should look like.”

The out-gunned and out-manned Terriers relied on guts and guile, and flat out played harder than the heavily favored Catamounts – out-hustling and out-working the bigger and deeper Catamounts for 40 minutes, while imposing their will on Vermont’s vaunted offense. Catamount starters Brian Voelkel, Luke Apfeld and Candon Rusin combined to shoot 0-for-18 from the floor, while Voelkel committed an uncharacteristic five turnovers.

“We were just sloppy with the ball and our best players were throwing the ball all over the gym. Instead of trying to make simple plays, they were trying to make great plays,” said Vermont head coach John Becker.

Undersized forward Dom Morris, the Terriers’ lone low-post threat, chopped down the Catamounts’ trees in the low post, scoring 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting while ripping down 10 rebounds. Guard D.J. Irving scored a game-high 20 points, taking Catamounts defenders off the dribble at will, while dishing out four assists.

“We battled today: It felt like this was the first game that we battled for 40 minutes,” said Morris. (more…)

(Durham, NH) – The University of New Hampshire Wildcats may have been a thorn in the side of the Vermont Catamounts during previous seasons, but in Wednesday night’s America East opener, they offered up little resistance against the defending America East champs.

By tip-off Wednesday night, temperatures in Durham dipped to the low-end of single-digits, inside Ludholm Gymnasium, the Wildcats offense and internal fire weren’t burning much warmer. Vermont rolled to a 64-51 road win in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score.

“We executed our defensive game-plan as well as we have all year, as far as doing it for 40 minutes and doing all the little things that we expect of the guys,” said Vermont head coach John Becker.

“They deserved to win, they outplayed us, and it started from the beginning,” said New Hampshire head coach Bill Herrion. “First home conference game, against the defending league champions, I thought we’d put up a much better fight: we kind of went away quietly in the second half.”

Vermont used timely shooting, effort and intensity on the glass and defensive end, and a patient and diverse offense to handle the lethargic Wildcats. Nine different players scored for the Catamounts.

“Hopefully we can continue to get production from nine guys so that we can use a nine-man rotation,” said Becker.

Do-everything forward Brian Voelkel keyed Vermont, ripping down 13 rebounds to go with six assists and five points.

“Brian set the tone for us all night – being vocal and his energy on both ends of the court,” said Becker. “He is our leader, and when he does that, guys follow.”

With Forwards Luke Apfeld and Clancy Rugg struggling through ineffective nights, a trio of unusual suspects packed Vermont’s scoring punch in freshman forward Ethan O’Day, first-year transfer Candon Rusin and reserve center Ben Crenca.

O’Day, who had struggled for nearly a month after a hot start to the season, paced Catamounts out of the gate, scoring eight of his 11 points in the early going.

“I thought Ethan O’Day was just all over the offensive glass,” said Becker. (more…)

(Allston, MA) – Just start calling the Vermont Catamounts “The Road-Warriors” and point guard Sandro Carissimo “Big Game.”

Carissimo poured in a career-high 25 points, once again making the biggest play in the game’s biggest moment, and was the engine that powered the Catamounts to a resounding 85-78 road win over the defending Ivy League champion Harvard Crimson.

“Obviously, Sandro was incredible,” said Vermont head coach John Becker. “It was a really good Harvard team, on the road; we’re really excited about this win.”

The Catamounts shot a blistering 59.6 percent from the floor, including an unconscious 73 percent in the first half, and put on an offensive clinic against a Crimson squad that has reigned as one of the best defensive teams in the nation, and remained calm under pressure and cool under fire, to weather every Crimson offensive charge down the stretch.

“It was a really good effort, especially offensively tonight. We finally executed our offense,” Vermont head coach John Becker said. “We were aggressive, took good ones, and made the extra pass.”

Carissimo led the way, shooting 8-of-11 from the field and 4-of-5 from downtown, including the biggest shot of the night – a three-point dagger from the left-corner with 1:16 remaining in the game – dished out six assists to just one turnover, and continued to run the Catamount’s show with ice-water in his veins.

“He’s become our closer,” said Becker of Carissimo. “He just wants the ball at the end of the game. Coaches have confidence in him, players have confidence in him, and he’s got confidence in himself, obviously – he’s unbelievable.”

Forward Clancy Rugg scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, and forward Luke Apfeld battled his way to 13 points despite being limited to 18 minutes of action before fouling out, scoring on several extremely hard-fought buckets around the hoop. Point-forward Brian Voelkel continued his nightly battled in the trenches, making all the hustle plays that don’t show up in the box score while playing lock-down defense. Guards Candon Rusin and Trey Blue added seven points, apiece, and eight different Catamounts scored four points or more.

“Clancy was really good on the inside, Luke got 13,” said Becker. “This group, we’ve been through a lot, and they understand what it takes to win games and win games on the road.”

Prior to tip-off, Tuesday night’s game appeared to be a case-study in what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. The Crimson entered the game 30-1 since February of 2010 when playing at home in the cozy-confines of Lavietes Pavilion, while the Catamounts had won 39 road contests since the start of the 2009-2010 season. (more…)