The UVM men’s basketball team had a great introduction to their season, topping both Concordia and St. Michael’s in preseason games last week. The Cats played Concordia University on Wednesday, Oct. 31, defeating them 92-66. Junior captain Mike Trimboli led the pack with 18 points along with seven assists and seven steals. Sophomore Marqus Blakely contributed with 15 points while senior Kyle Cieplicki added 14 of his own. Only once did Concordia take the lead, but Vermont bit back by going on a 23-6 run late in the first half. UVM led 42-25 heading into the second. The Cats continued to dominate in the second half with another run of 15-2 to put them up by 28 late in the second. Concordia struggled to work their way back, but the point deficit was too high for them to overcome. Showing some new talent was freshman Joey Accaoui, who scored nine points in his first collegiate contest. UVM played St. Michael’s College Saturday, Nov. 3, beating the Knights 98-67. Trimboli led the Cats in scoring again, going 10-17 on the floor and 2-2 at the foul line for a total of 24 points. He also tallied five steals and five assists. Blakely played well in his inside game and had the team’s only double-double, scoring 16 points and grab?bing 10 boards. Cieplicki and junior Colin McIntosh were the only other Cats to score in the double digits with 11 points and eight assists as well as 10 points, respectively. UVM took an early lead in the first half, using a 14-3 run to extend the lead 19-7. With just over nine minutes left in the half, St. Mike’s cut the Cats’ lead to nine; But the Knights soon endured a 10-2 run, which gave UVM 57- 33 lead at the half. St. Mike’s high scorer Brian Monahan (30 points) made a 3-pointer at the beginning of the second to cut the Cat’s lead to 21, but that was as close as the Knights got to the Cats. Also playing well were freshmen Evan Fjeld (six points, six boards) and Accaoui (four points, two steals) who made their second appearance on Saturday. UVM returns this Friday as they travel to take on George Mason and continues the road trip to play Virginia on Sunday. The Cats open the regular season at home on Saturday, Nov. 24 against Towson.