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Thursday, December 27, 2001
Vermont hands FIU third-straight
setback, 69-64
 revor
Gaines scored a season-high 27 points and Taylor Coppenrath
added 20 as Vermont beat FIU, 69-64, in the opening round of
the FIU Holiday Classic Thursday night in Miami.
It was the fourth-straight win for the Catamounts who raised
their season record to 6-3.
FIU led by seven at 58-51 with 6:48 to play when Gaines started
an 8-0 Vermont run over the next two minutes with three straight
layups. The Golden Panthers regained the advantage, 63-61, after
a Slavcho Slavtchev 3-pointer and led 64-61 on a Taurance Johnson
free throw with 2:08 remaining.
But that would be the final offense on the night for FIU as
Coppenrath took over hitting two straight baskets, puttingVermont
up, 65-64, with 51 seconds left. The Catamounts then hit four
consecutive free throws down the stretch for the final margin
of victory.
Freshmen Taurance
Johnson and Carlos
Morban had 17 points each for FIU (5-7) who dropped its
third-straight game. Morban also recorded seven steals, which
tied a school mark held by two other players and last accomplished
in 1990.
"They executed down the stretch better than we did,"
said FIU head coach Donnie
Marsh. "The area where we try to make a statement
is at the defensive end, trying to make stops. We needed to get
those stops and we didn't while they were able to execute and
get the looks they wanted."
FIU jumped out to an 11-4 lead over the first five minutes
of play before a Gaines layup, 3-pointer by T.J. Sorrentine
and a basket by Coppenrath tied it at 11. The two sides played
evenly from then on, with five ties until a fastbreak layup by
Sorrentine gave Vermont a 31-29 lead with 1:20 to play. Vermont
lead, 35-34, at the break.
Neither team could shake the other in the second half. There
were five ties and 10 more lead changes when Vermont finally
grabbed the lead for good in the final minute.
In the opening game of the FIU Holiday Classic, Brandon
Hunter's 23 points led five Ohio players in double figures
as the Bobcats handed LIU (0-8) a 110-57 setback.
Vermont and Ohio (5-2) now meet in the classic championship
game Friday at 8:00 p.m. with FIU and LIU playing in the consolation
contest starting at 6:00 p.m. |