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'Just an incredible night': Deloney, Becker snag milestones as UVM basketball clips UNH
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- 'Just an incredible night': Deloney, Becker snag milestones as UVM basketball clips UNH
Aaron Deloney reached 1,000 career points. Head coach John Becker notched win No. 300. And the University of Vermont men's basketball team marched to yet another 20-win season.
More milestones achieved and more memories archived on Tom Brennan Court at Patrick Gym.
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"That makes it special: To do it at home in front our community and fans, is really, really special, and I'll never forget," Becker said. "Just an incredible night. I wouldn't want it any other way."
Deloney poured in a season-high 28 points on 10 of 15 shooting as Vermont clamped down defensively in the second half for a 70-54 America East Conference victory over the Wildcats in front of 2,375 on Thursday night.
Vermont (20-6, 10-1) recorded its 15th season of at least 20 wins in the last 16 years, and also defeated UNH at home for the 25th consecutive time. Becker, who surpassed Brennan as the program's wins record last January , now owns a win-loss record of 300-119 in his 13 seasons in Burlington, to go with six America East tournament titles, five NCAA Tournament appearances and six league coach of the year honors.
"I could never even imagine getting the head-coaching job here, it wasn't even something I thought was possible," said Becker, who moved to Burlington in 2006 and served as an assistant coach for five seasons before earning promotion in 2011.
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"And here we are. I'm the luckiest guy in the world, to have this life."
Deloney, a fifth-year senior, sparked the Catamounts , who started the game flat. The lead changed 10 times in the first half, with Deloney's triple before the buzzer pushing the hosts to a 29-27 halftime advantage.
"As a leader, I just wanted to step up and score the rock," Deloney said.
Deloney led the charge out of the break: His drive and scoop layup followed Nick Fiorillo's 3-pointer and kick-started a game-deciding, 23-7 spurt over nine minutes of play that included Deloney joining Vermont's 1,000th-point club as its 46th member.
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Near the 15-minute mark, TJ Hurley picked off a UNH pass and flipped a pass on the break for Deloney, who drove to the hoop and hung in the air for the layup and the foul to surpass the career milestone. Following a Becker timeout, Deloney's ensuing foul shot gave the Cats their first double-digit lead of the night, 41-31.
"It's nothing I really thought about. I just wanted to win," Deloney said on getting to 1,000 career points.
Deloney also drilled a 3-pointer off a screen for a four-point play and later slipped behind the UNH defense in transition for an uncontested layup to cap the run and give UVM a 52-38 margin with 8:38 to go.
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After a lackluster road trip that saw them lose to NJIT and then need a 20-point comeback to beat UMBC, the Catamounts needed a leader to step up.
"(Deloney) came out and led us. You just felt him and heard him all night and he played great," Becker said.
Deloney welcomed the challenge.
"We talked about it all week: That's not like Vermont basketball, that's not how we play, that's not how we want to play," Deloney said. "Today, was one of those days where we really needed to show who we are to the rest of the league."
Ileri Ayo-Faleye added seven points, seven rebounds and three blocks and Hurley tossed in nine points and grabbed four boards for the Cats.
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Jaxson Baker led UNH (14-10, 6-5) with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Clarence Daniels, the league's leading scorer, was held to 11 points (and 10 rebounds) on 3 of 10 shooting, mainly thanks to Ayo-Faleye's defensive work.
The Catamounts travel to Maine for a Saturday matinee. The Catamounts have earned 20 wins or more in 20 of the last 22 seasons. In the 2020-21 COVID year they went 10-5.
UVM women's basketball blasts UNH on the road
Final score:Vermont 75, New Hampshire 41
Vermont leaders:Andjela Matic 18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists. Delaney Richason 13 points. Emma Utterback 12 points, 3 assists. Anna Olson 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals.
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New Hampshire leader:Bella Stuart 11 points.
Note:Vermont (18-8, 10-2) dominated the Wildcats (9-16, 3-9) for the regular-season sweep. The Catamounts shot 27 of 49 from the floor, production that included a red-hot 14 of 22 from the 3-point line (63.6%), while controlling the boards (34-27) and scoring 21 points off 16 UNH turnovers. The Cats also handed out 17 assists and scored 33 bench points to UNH's 18. ... Matic, who scored a career-high, sank six 3-pointers and Richason canned four from beyond the arc.
Vermont coach Alisa Kresge on win ( via news release ):"This group showed up with the mindset of playing hard from the tip and I thought that set the tone for us. Always nice when perimeter shots are falling, and teammates are finding each other. Makes for good team basketball."
Up next:Saturday at home vs. Maine, 4 p.m.
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Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com . Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5 .
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont basketball: Catamount teams sweep New Hampshire in AE action
