Taylor Coppenrath scored a career-high 38 points as Vermont overwhelmed New Hampshire, 92-75, in America East men’s basketball at Lundholm Gym on Wednesday night. After a 0-for-3 start from the floor, the 6-foot-9 sophmore forward made 15 of his final 17 shots to lead a punishing inside attack for Vermont. The America East’s leading scorer now averaging 22.2 points per game, Coppenrath has now scored 20 or more points in 10 of his 17 games and seven times with 25 or more. He also added a game-high 11 rebounds, six on the offensive end, as UVM dominated the glass by a 45-28 margin. “I struggled early outside with the three and decided to go down low,” commented Coppenrath. “Then I was able to get into a good flow, especially by picking up some shots off offensive rebounds.” “When Taylor’s going well, everyone feeds off of him and they all play well,” noted Vermont coach Tom Brennan. “Tonight, he put us on his back in the second half and carried us home.” Coppenrath scored 23 after halftime as the Catamounts exploded for 57 points in the second half to break open a tight game. The Wildcats led for nearly all of the first half before an 8-2 run over 1:30 closed out the half as UVM took a 35-31 lead to the locker room. Vermont came out blazing making three straight three-pointers in a two-minute span to maintain their lead but Coppenrath scored 12 points in a 19-3 run midway through the half that put away New Hampshire. Vermont shot 64% from the field in the second half including six-of-10 from three-point range. Freshman Shejdie Childs led the Wildcats (3-16, 1-7 America East) with 20 points while Ioannis Karalis and Griffin Walker added 14 apiece. UNH was hurt by a poor effort from the foul line making just 13-for-29 (45%) for the game and only six-for-15 (40%) in the first half. In addition to Coppenrath, David Hehn added 13 points, 11 in the second half, and five assists. Center Matt Sheftic chipped in with eight points and four assists while Corey Sullivan (11 points) and Scotty Jones (eight points, eight rebounds) came off the bench to make big contributions. Sullivan, with three in five attempts, led a solid team effort from beyond the arc (9-for-22, 41%) as seven different Catamounts made three-pointers.With the win, Vermont (12-8, 6-2 America East) remains in second place in the conference, one game behind Boston University. The Cats also conclude the month of January with a 7-2 mark including a 4-1 record on the road. They next play on Sunday at 1:00pm traveling to Binghamton (Radio: WVMT 620 AM, Internet: www.sportsjuice.com). -SportsInfo