Taylor Coppenrath and T.J. Sorrentine combined for 41 points as Vermont used a punishing inside attack to run past Binghamton, 70-51, in America East men’s basketball Thursday night at Patrick Gym.
Coppenrath added a season-high 14 rebounds as the Catamounts out-rebounded Binghamton, 51-19, including a 20-1 domination on the offensive glass. Early in the second half, Coppenrath and freshman Martin Klimes gave UVM a big lift as they overcame an eight-point deficit.
“We talked at halftime about how we had let them back into the game and that it was going to be a battle the rest of the way,” commented Vermont coach Tom Brennan. “Fortunately Martin (Klimes) stepped up and really bailed us out. His first jump shot gave us life early in the second half, and our intensity was tremendous the rest of the way.”
The win was Vermont’s 11th straight, one off their school record set in 2001-02, and they remain unbeaten at 10-0 in the America East. They began the night with the seventh longest active winning streak in the nation and they also have now won 14 consecutive games against conference foes and 11 straight at home.
Sorrentine and Coppenrath each scored six points as Vermont jumped out to an early 19-7 lead. The Bearcats bounced back with a 15-6 run before a layup and a three-pointer by Billy Williams drew them even, 29-29, at the break.
Binghamton would score the first eight points of the second stanza before Nick Billings, their seven-foot all-conference center, would quickly pick up his second, third and fourth fouls. Vermont went to work with him on the bench as Sorrentine and Coppenrath each would score six more with Klimes adding four in a 18-1 run over eight minutes.
Strong defense and limiting Binghamton to no second chance opportunities, Vermont would cruise down the stretch to the victory. The Bearcats shot 54% from the field in the first half but were limited to 33%, and only 22 points, after halftime. Vermont finished with 22 second chance points to none for Binghamton.
Coppenrath, the nation’s third leading scorer, finished with 24 points, 14 in the second half, while Sorrentine added 17 and a game-high seven assists. David Hehn chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds while Klimes came off the bench to add eight points and six boards in 15 minutes of work.
Billings led Binghamton (10-12, 6-5 America East) with 16 points but had only four rebounds and two blocked shots. Williams finished with 11 points and Alex Adediran had nine. The Catamounts, now 14-5 overall, next play at Northeastern Sunday at 3:00pm.
-Athletic Communications
