Box Score

Dion Nesmith had 15 points in Wednesday's loss to Vermont

Vermont VERMONT 19-13

Hofstra HOFSTRA 20-14

Vermont VERMONT

19-13

Final

Mar. 18, 2015

Hofstra HOFSTRA

20-14

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Vermont VERMONT	33	52	85
Hofstra HOFSTRA	30	51	81

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 3/18/2015 9:45:00 PM | By Len Skoros

MBB: Hofstra Falls To Vermont In CBI First Round Game

Hempstead, NY - Ethan O'Day scored a game-high 17 points to lead five Vermont players in double-figures as the Catamounts advanced to the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational with a 85-81 win over Hofstra at the David S. Mack Sports Complex Wednesday night.

Hofstra, which had four players in double-figures led by Juan'ya Green's 16 points, sees its season end with a 20-14 record. Vermont improved to 19-13 with the win.

Hofstra trailed 33-30 at halftime. The Catamounts came out inspired and led for the entire first half, jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the first 2:29 behind four points from O'Day. After the Pride got on the board following a Dion Nesmith layup with 17:20 to go, the Catamounts responded with three straight points to extend the lead to 12-2 with 16:29 on the clock after O'Day's layup.

The Pride came to life with a 15-6 run that featured three-pointers from Ameen Tanksley, Brian Bernardi and Green to pull within one, 18-17 with 11:32 remaining. But a 7-0 run by Vermont boosted its lead back up to eight, 25-17 with 7:17 left in the opening 20 minutes. The Pride would get within two, 30-28, on Jamall Robinson's three-pointer with 1:44 to play. But Kurt Steidl hit a three for Vermont to put the Catamounts back up by five. Nesmith's layup with 43 seconds cut the deficit back to three and closed out the first half scoring.

Hofstra, which never led in the game, got within one four times in the second half. The last time was 58-57 following two free throws from Nesmith with 8:55 left. But the Catamounts went on a 19-9 run to take an 11-point lead, 77-66, with 3:25 to go.

The Pride had one last rally left and outscored the Catamounts 15-6 over the next 2:13 and pulled within two, 83-81, with 48 seconds left on Green's three-pointer. But Hofstra would not score again and O'Day hit two of four free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the win.

In addition to Green, Hofstra saw Nesmith score 15 points, Tanksley added 14 points and a career-best seven assists. Rokas Gustys matched his career-best with 13 points. Senior Moussa Kone, who played his final game in a Hofstra uniform (as did Nesmith), had nine points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Trae Bell-Haynes and Zach McRoberts each had 13 points for the Catamounts, while Dre Wills added 11 points and seven rebounds. Drew Urquhart had 10 points in the game.

The Catamounts, which shot 43 percent from the floor in the first half, were a blistering 73 percent (16-22) in the second half and finished the game at 56 percent. Hofstra shot 41 percent for the game.

Vermont will host Radford in a second round game on Monday, March 23.

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