Vermont basketball blitzed by No. 11 Auburn’s pressure, shot-making

The Jungle was not too kind to Vermont men’s basketball. Playing their first ranked opponent in the regular season in three years, the Catamounts were dismantled by No. 11 Auburn in a 94-43 nonconference loss at Neville Arena on Wednesday night.

Miles Kelly poured in seven 3-pointers to pace Auburn with 21 points, while Denver Jones (16 points), Chaney Johnson (13 points, nine rebounds), Johni Broome (12 points, seven boards) and Chad Baker-Mazara (11 points) also reached double figures for the Tigers (1-0), who outscored Vermont 46-21 in the first half.

For Vermont (1-1), Seth Joba tallied eight points and Ileri Ayo-Faleye tossed in seven points.

Vermont basketball overwhelmed by Auburn’s pressure

Vermont’s forgettable first half could be summed up in one play. Ayo-Faleye rose for a sensational block in the lane of Broome, Auburn’s preseason All-American selection, and quickly started a Catamount transition.

But Tahaad Pettiford picked Sam Alamutu’s pocket at midcourt and flung a pass to Broome for an uncontested dunk and 30-13 lead at the 8-minute mark.

The turnover was one of a dozen the Catamounts committed in the opening 20 minutes. And Auburn made the three-time reigning America East champions pay. The Tigers’ full-court press flummoxed Vermont guards, causing uncharacteristic miscues from a team that only had five turnovers Monday night at UAB.

Auburn’s perimeter defense harassed the Catamounts, too. In total, Auburn had seven steals and scored 18 points off turnovers in the first half.

The Tigers then ripped off a 16-0 spurt to open the second half to turn their nation-leading 55th straight nonconference home victory into a laugher. Over 40 minutes, the hosts scored 16 fast-break points.

Vermont basketball couldn’t get going offensively

After making 10 3-pointers in the season-opening win at UAB, Vermont struggled from beyond the arc against Auburn’s in-your-face defense.

Catamount shooters were well off the mark on most of their 3-point attempts, finishing 2 of 12…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/vermont-mens-basketball-blitzed-no-030024459.html

Author : The Burlington Free Press

Publish date : 2024-11-07 03:00:00

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