For the last two games, the University of Vermont had all the pieces, but couldn’t stick them together. A solid victory against Stony Brook University saw 23 turnovers, and a superb individual performance by sophomore Marqus Blakely led the Catamounts over the University of Maine.
Friday night, fifth-year senior guard Kyle Cieplicki returned to UVM’s lineup after missing the aforementioned victories with a foot injury — and cemented an already well-balanced group.
“He’s the glue-guy, our steadying influence,” said Vermont coach Mike Lonergan. “It seems like when Kyle’s out there, we don’t panic or go crazy.”
The longest tenured captain in program history, Cieplicki came off the bench and hit two crucial 3-pointers in the second half, both of which extended the Catamounts’ lead to nine. Cieplicki finished with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes, while Blakely led all scorers with 17 points, three assists and a career-high 18 rebounds in UVM’s 70-57 victory over Boston University at Agganis Arena.
Cieplicki’s first trey killed momentum as it reached its peak for the Terriers. After two technical fouls for complaining to the officials were assessed to Blakely and senior guard Mike Trimboli within a minute of one another, the Terriers (5-14, 2-5 America East) cut the lead to five.
BU sophomore guard Carlos Strong stole a pass by Nick Vier (13 points, three steals) and ran the length of the floor. His monster right-handed dunk would have pulled the Terriers within three and blown the roof off the building, but Blakely got back in time to alter Strong’s angle to the rim and the ball popped off the back iron. Vier collected the rebound and fired it to a wide-open Cieplicki, who drained a shot from left of the key.
“I’ve played so many games and practiced so much that by the second half, I got used to playing again,” Cieplicki said. “We did a good job of getting me some open looks and, fortunately, I knocked them down.”
Six minutes later, Cieplicki delivered the dagger, assisted by Blakely, after UVM (10-9, 5-2) beat the full-court press with ease.
“We hit some big, big 3’s,” Lonergan said. “I thought we could pull away a little earlier, but the technicals really hurt us. We were whining a little bit. They were well-deserved, and I give our team credit that we didn’t let that little run on the technicals kill us.”
Vermont drained six buckets from downtown compared to BU’s 2-of-13 performance from beyond the arc.
The Terriers’ offense continued to struggle without the presence of leading scorer Corey Lowe. Strong began the game 4-of-4 from the field before fizzling out, and co-captain Tyler Morris — who is playing point guard in Lowe’s absence — was held in check by Vier for the majority of the game.
“I played the point all through high school. I’m capable of doing it, I feel, and obviously the coaches feel too, or they wouldn’t be putting me in that position,” Morris said. “It’s not about being uncomfortable, I’m just trying to figure out any way I can to help the team win.”
Morris, freshman John Holland and junior Marqus Johnson combined to convert 13 of BU’s 16 field goals. Only one basket came from a post player, as the Terriers’ bigs continued to underperform. Sophomore forward Scott Brittain had nine points, but seven of them came from the free-throw line.
“The major problem we have offensively is the lack of scoring in the post,” said BU coach Dennis Wolff. “We have to get Scott going. It’s like anything else. He’s not trying to miss the layups. He’s fighting himself right now. I’m not forgetting that he’s a sophomore.”
While BU’s hustle is unquestioned, very few players in the offense appear capable of creating. Holland and Johnson were the only Terriers who consistently drove to draw contact. After Strong’s hot start, he lost his outside touch.
“What we have offensively is almost like a perfect storm of bad things,” Wolff said. “We’re not getting any baskets in the lane and we’re asking other guys to do things that they’re trying to do. But it’s taking away from things they should be doing.”
Despite his scoring struggles, Brittain was effective at neutralizing Blakely. The two were quite physical with one another — the game included 51 fouls — and it got the better of Brittain early in the second half, when he was called for his fourth personal. As soon as the 6-foot-9 forward left the game to avoid picking up his fifth, the Catamounts went on a 10-1 run, erasing all of BU’s first half work and building a seven-point cushion.
“When [Brittain] got his fourth, I think that was from us really emphasizing trying to get the ball to Blakely,” Lonergan said.
“In the beginning of the year, there really wasn’t as much contact,” Blakely said. “I was a little undersized, so I don’t know if they really knew what I could do. Later on in the year, they’ve started pushing and shoving and double-teaming, so I just tried to find the open man to knock down 3s.”