The University of Vermont has it. Not just the best record in the America East, 12-0, or the best player, Taylor Coppenrath. They have it. They have that unidentifiable intangible that makes great teams great, and on Saturday in front of their ninth-straight sellout, they showed the Northeastern men’s basketball team what it looks like in an impressive 72-64 win.
The game was a lot closer than the final score illustrates, with the Huskies within one point with 3:12 remaining in the second half. But that’s when it showed up. After a 30-second timeout, UVM point guard T.J. Sorrentine missed a three-point attempt, but the Cats were able to snag the offensive rebound on what would end up being the most important play of the game. With a man in his face, Vermont senior David Hehn hit a tough three that started an 11-2 game-ending run.
“[Vermont] is a big time basketball team. They have three fifth-year seniors and five seniors overall,” said NU coach Ron Everhart. “Those guys have been through a lot together.”
The Catamounts used a balanced attack, led by reigning AE Player of the Year Coppenrath’s 27 points and 10 rebounds to pull out the win in Burlington.
Jose Juan Barea was as lethal as ever, dropping 28 points to lead NU, but he was the only player in double figures for the Dogs for the second straight game.
“It always concerns me when [Barea] is the only player in double figures,” Everhart said. “But on the same token we got some good contributions from a lot of the guys, especially on defense.”
Freshman forward Shawn James had five points on 2-for-2 shooting, seven rebounds and five blocks in the losing effort. Junior Aaron Davis added seven points from the bench, however shot just 1-for-7 from the floor.
“Despite not having consistent shooting from the wings, we still had our chances,” Everhart said. “Anytime you go into a place like that and have a chance to win, it’s a good sign.”
Although the Huskies weren’t able to hold their first half lead against UVM on Saturday, their roles were reversed on Wednesday when they fought back from a double-digit deficit against the University of New Hampshire with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Despite coming one-point short of tying his career high by dropping 36 points, Barea had one of his best games in Husky red and black. With his team down by eight after the first half, Barea stepped up his game in the second half and scored 25 of his 36 points.
The Dogs will be back on Huntington Wednesday night when they play host to the University of Hartford Hawks at 7 p.m. The Hawks eliminated NU in last year’s AE tournament and the Huskies will look for another dose of revenge; they beat Hartford 82-69 Jan. 12.
