Thus far under Coach John Becker, the Catamounts have looked strong, but inconsistent. The team is 4-2 in America East after struggling in their nonconference schedule. Overall, the team is 10-10, reaching .500 on Jan. 16.

First-year Four McGlynn has propelled the Cats earning America East Rookie of the Week honors on two occasions, the week of Dec. 19 and the week of Jan. 9. McGylnn has averaged 11.3 points per game to lead all Catamount scorers as sixth man.

Early season struggles including a five-game losing streak have tested the Cats’ abilities as a team, but in league play the team has taken care of business. Vermont took advantage of matchups with Towson and Farleigh Dickenson, winning both matchups handily on the road before dropping their final game of 2011, at home to Northeastern 53-51.

Vermont opened the new year and conference play on Jan. 2 at Stony Brook where they lost 65-59. Sophomore Luke Apfeld led Catamount scorers with 18. “We did a great job battling back and getting into the game and got up by two, but it was a combination of missing some shots and Stony Brook playing well and executing down the stretch,” said Coach Becker. “We just couldn’t find the basket and get enough stops…we need to do a better job as a team of staying with things, executing and not turning the ball over.”

The Cats bounced back three days later downing Boston University 83-69 at home in Patrick Gym. McGylnn put in 20 points and senior Matt Glass added 19 as Vermont cruised to a win in their conference home opener. “We beat a good Boston University team at home tonight and I want to thank the crowd,” Coach Becker said. “I thought they were great, really into the game and that gave us a boost. We will take this and we have to build off of it.”

Vermont followed that up with consecutive wins during the next week topping Hartford 72-59 in Hartford and beating Binghamton 73-53 in Burlington. Against Binghamton, sophomore Clancy Rugg scored a career–high 18 in only 19 minutes of play. The Cats shot 52.8 from the field and led start to finish leaving Coach Becker spouting praise for his squad. “I am really happy with that win, another great team effort. It was fun out there watching the Clancy Rugg show, which was great to see and I am very happy for Clancy. I thought we were good defensively in the first half and got out and ran a little bit and got some easy buckets”

Coming off of their three-game winning streak, Vermont struggled against New Hampshire in Durham. New Hampshire hit 10 3-pointers in the win while Vermont shot only 28.6 percent in the second half.

“It was a tough loss today, I thought UNH played very well,” said Coach Becker. “We just didn’t guard well enough today and dug ourselves a hole in the first half and were climbing uphill all game. We cut it to one, but weren’t able to get over the hump. I give New Hampshire credit, they played really hard and defended their home court.”

On a Martin Luther King Day matchup, the Cats rebounded with a 79-65 win over Maine. The win evened up their record, while improving their dominant in-league play.

“Great win tonight for us against a very talented Maine team,” Coach Becker said. “I am proud of the guys, we got contributions from everyone.”