After last Saturday’s 64-62 win over Loyola (Md.), UVM head coach Mike Lonergan could describe the game, and the team’s efforts over Thanksgiving break, in one word: escape. “We’re happy we escaped with a win,” Lonergan said of Saturday’s game, which was marred by inconsistent play and a number of turnovers by the Catamounts. Despite entering the second half with an eight-point lead, the Cats let the Greyhounds claw back into the game by piling up 17 turn?overs and losing the offensive rebounding battle by an 18-9 margin. “I just felt like our guys were just not focused even in practice and during the game,” Lonergan said. “I think a lot of our guys weren’t as focused as we should have been and we might have taken these guys a little lightly,” senior Colin McIntosh said, reiterating his coach’s statements. With just 30 seconds left and the Cats up two, senior guard Mike Trimboli tripped attempting to get a pass off, causing him to lose the ball as the shot clock expired. Following the turnover, Loyola was able to a get a pair of shots off in the waning seconds, though solid defense by UVM kept them from getting any open looks. A McIntosh rebound would seal the game with .4 seconds remaining. “I thought the guys did a good job defensively to overcome a lot of our unforced turnovers,” Lonergan said. “It was just one of those days but I’m just happy to get out of here with a win.” The win vaulted UVM to 3-2 on the sea?son and 2-1 over the Thanksgiving break. The Cats were devastated on Nov. 21 by an 89-74 OT loss at Maryland that was actually much closer than the final score. A game-tying 3-pointer by Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez with just six seconds remaining forced overtime, where the Terrapins outscored the Cats 17-2. UVM rebounded on Nov. 25 with a 78- 63 victory at Delaware. McIntosh, who has started fast on the young season, led the team with a career-high 25 points. Junior forward Marqus Blakely added 16 points and 11 rebounds and Trimboli chipped in 19 points. “We’ve come a long way since our first exhibition game,” Lonergan said after Saturday’s win. “One of the strengths of our team is we’re very unselfish and we play together as a team.” So far this season, the Cats have seen great contributions from their underclassmen. Sophomore forward Evan Fjeld has provided a much-needed spark off the bench and is averaging five points and 4.2 boards per game. Freshman Garvey Young has also shown promise early on in his UVM career, averaging 4.6 points while playing in all five UVM games this season. The Cats will now look to make it three-for-three in the “revenge category” – UVM has already beat two teams this season that beat them last year, Delaware and Loyola – when they host Dartmouth on Tuesday. Dartmouth won last year’s meeting be?tween the two schools, 76-75.