Taylor Coppenrath scored 28 points to lead a punishing inside attack as Vermont ran past Binghamton, 74-54, in America East men’s basketball at the Patrick Gym on Wednesday night.
The win, Vermont’s eighth in nine home games this season, improved the Catamounts record to 15-9 overall and 8-3 in the America East. They also avenged an earlier defeat to the Bearcats while closing to within one game of league-leading Boston University (9-2).
America East’s leading scorer, Coppenrath scored 18 of his points in the second half as the Catamounts broke open a tight game.
Vermont outrebounded the Bearcats, 42-26, with a 14-7 edge on the offensive glass. Coppenrath and center Matt Sheftic neutralized Binghamton’s seven-foot center Nick Billings, who was limited to just 15 points before fouling out with 7:30 to play.
A three-pointer by Coppenrath and a tip-in by Sheftic capped a 7-0 run to give Vermont an early 28-21 lead.
The Bearcats, behind a pair of hoops by Anthony Green, would close the gap to 32-30 at the break.
After an early second-half burst by Vermont, two baskets by Stanley Ocitti cut the Cats lead to 42-40 with 14:06 to go. But Coppenrath answered with 14 points in a 16-4 run over the next six minutes that sealed the win for the Catamounts.
Also for the Cats, Sheftic added 12 points and Germain Njila scored 10, all in the second half, while Grant Anderson had a game-high 10 boards.
The Vermont defense was again solid limiting their foes to 65 points or less for the tenth time in the last 13 games.
Coppenrath, who went 10-for-18 from the floor, had 28 points for the second straight game. This season he has scored 20 or more points 12 times in 21 games and has scored 25 or more in nine contests.
For the visitors, Green (six rebounds, three assists) and Jeffrey St.
Fort tallied 13 points apiece while Billings added 10. One of the nation’s leading shot-blockers, Billings was able to get a piece of just two shots and had only four rebounds.
The Bearcats, who lost their third straight overall and their fifth consecutive conference road game, evened their record at 11-11 overall and 6-6 in the America East
The Cats then traveled to Boston on Saturday where Northeastern’s Aaron Davis scored 18 points as the Huskies overwhelmed Vermont, 76-59.
The loss stopped the Catamounts modest three-game win streak while they fell to two games behind first place Boston University who beat Hartford, 65-62, in overtime across town. Five points by David Hehn fueled a 7-3 run to open the second half but UVM would get no closer. The Huskies, who shot 54% in the second half, led by as many as 30 points before a late burst by the Cats reduced the final margin.
Coppenrath led the Catamounts with 15 points on just five-for-15 shooting. Mike Goia also finished with 11, all in the remaining six minutes, while Germain Njila tallied nine along with six rebounds.
Vermont (15-10, 8-4 America East) now returns home to where they play three of their final four regular season games starting with New Hampshire on Wednesday evening.
-SportsInfo
