Led by 16 points from sophomore Luke Apfeld, Vermont closed out the preseason play with a 69-56 victory over Concordia at Patrick Gym on Saturday. They will open regular season play on Saturday Nov. 12 at Big East opponent University of South Florida.

After holding a three-point lead at half time, Vermont struggled to get going in the second half, falling behind 40-35 with about 15 minutes to play. First-year Four McGlynn was then able to score eight of Vermont’s next 10 points, surging the team to a 45-42 lead with 12 minutes to go. Four finished with 13 to go along with Apfeld’s 16. The team also got double-digit efforts from its captains, senior Matt Glass and junior Brendan Bald.

“We turned the ball over too much and we had some defensive breakdowns, but I thought our guys competed well,” head coach John Becker said. “We scored in the paint, which is what we wanted to do.”

In a tightly contested first half, Vermont allowed Concordia to shoot 48 percent from the field, keeping

Concordia abreast despite their slow start hitting only three of their first 11 attempts.

Vermont dominated both inside play and bench play. They outscored Concordia 40-22 in the paint, and won the rebounding battle. Double digits from Apfeld and McGylnn powered Vermont to outscore Concordia’s bench 33-11.

Sophomore Brian Voelkel had a game-high seven assists to go along with seven points, six rebounds and two steals.

“I thought that Four really helped us get over the hump in the second half and Brian was able to create some opportunities for other guys,” Becker said.

The Catamounts will travel to Tampa to open the regular season this Saturday to take on Big East opponent University of South Florida at 7 p.m.