Coming off a strong showing against Binghamton on Jan. 16, men’s basketball looked to reestablish a win streak against the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Jan. 23.
The Cats got off to a slow start, trailing 8-7 in the first five minutes.
UVM’s defense persistently stifled the Highlanders and paid off in 13 points scored from 8 NJIT turnovers in the first half.
A 20-10 scoring run and four three-pointers over NJIT put the Cats up 34-20 at the break.
UVM rode that momentum into the second half, with senior forward Ileri Ayo-Faleye throwing down a vicious two-handed tomahawk dunk to boost the Cats’ lead to 41-25.
Coming back from a 51-37 point deficit, NJIT cut UVM’s lead to five with eight minutes left to play.
Racing the clock, the Highlanders answered an eight-point Catamount lead with a 6-0 run and huge alley-oop dunk.
In the end, the comeback attempt wasn’t enough and the Highlanders had no answer for Ileri Ayo-Faleye, who netted a career-high 27 points for the UVM victory.
Bogues notably took responsibility for both sides of the court, recording his first ever double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals to top it off.
