QU Men's Basketball Falls In Season Opener To Vermont

Saturday, November 12

Hamden, CT

1:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

0-1

University of Vermont

1-0

Vermont

Quinnipiac

QU Men's Basketball Falls In Season Opener To Vermont

11/12/2016 3:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: QU Sports Information

HAMDEN, Conn. - Junior guard Reggie Oliver (Apopka, Fla. - pictured) had a team-high 15 points, but the Vermont men's basketball team shot 61.2 percent from the floor on its way to a 94-70 win over Quinnipiac on Saturday afternoon in the season opener for both teams at TD Bank Sports Center.

Freshman Anthony Lamb had 23 points on 8-12 shooting to lead the way for Vermont, which defeated the Bobcats for the second year in a row after Quinnipiacwon the last meeting in Hamden 89-73 back in 2014-15.

The game swung early, after a three-pointer from senior guard Daniel Harris (Tampa, Fla.) gave Quinnipiac 10-6 lead, Vermont scored the next 11 points to pull ahead 17-10. Sophomore forward Abdulai Bundu (Upper Marlboro, Md.) stopped the run with a lay-up, but the Catamounts took their first double-digit lead at 25-15. Oliver's three brought Quinnipiac within seven with six minutes left in the half, but Vermont closed out the half with an 18-7 spurt to take a 43-25 lead into the break.

Oliver started the second half with his fourth three-pointer of the day, but Vermont scored the next eight points to pull ahead 53-28 on a three-point play from Trae Bell-Haynes. The Catamounts were then able to keep the lead over 20 the rest of the game, preventing the Bobcats from ever sustaining a run to get back in it.

Despite the loss, some positive signs emerged for the Bobcats moving forward with the play of their new faces. In addition to Oliver's team-high 15 points, freshman guard Mikey Dixon (New Castle, Del.) had 10 points in his first collegiate contest, while freshman guard Peter Kiss (New York, N.Y.) had six, with the rookie duo scoring all 16 of their combined points in the second half after getting settled in. Quinnipiac scored 45 points in the second half on 50 percent shooting, after being held to 30.3 percent in the first half. Junior point guard Phil Winston (Lakewood, Wash.) also had a solid effort running the offense with seven assists and only two turnovers.

The Bobcats had four players in double figures overall, as junior forward Chaise Daniels (Meriden, Conn.) had 11 on 5-9 shooting, extending his double-figure streak to eight games dating back to last season. Harris also had 10 points, shooting 4-7 overall and 2-3 from beyond the arc. Bell-Haynes had 16 points and eight assists for Vermont, while Payton Henson had 19 points on 5-7 shooting from the floor and 8-8 from the foul line.

Quinnipiac will be back in action when it hosts Columbia in nine days, meeting the Lions on Monday, Nov. 21 for a 7 p.m. contest.