Shungu, Davis spark UVM men's basketball past pesky Hartford in America East clash

The University of Vermont men's basketball team was on cruise control, its lead had grown to 20 points early in the second half against Hartford.

Another America East Conference blowout appeared in order. Another 80-point, offensive spectacle was in the making.

Then Hartford roared back. And Vermont had a fight on its hands.

"Basketball is a game of runs and there are going to be times that things go in your favor and times when they don’t," UVM senior forward Ryan Davis said. "You just have to stay the course, stay true to our system."

The Catamounts regrouped defensively and relied on Davis and Ben Shungu to string together enough baskets down the stretch to outlast reigning conference champion Hartford 82-72 in front of a season-high crowd of 2,519 at Patrick Gym on Saturday night.

Their seven straight win and fifth consecutive game with at least 80 points scored, the Catamounts improve to 13-4 overall and 5-0 in conference play.

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Shungu finished with 24 points on 9 of 13 shooting, Davis totaled 21 points and Isaiah Powell collected 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists to lead the Catamounts, who also shot over 50% (28 of 53) for the fifth time in as many games.

Davis' 3-pointer with 5:26 to play gave UVM the lead for good, while Shungu's driving layup and step-back jumper in the final three minutes salted away the UVM victory.

"It felt good to be behind late in a game and have to make plays to win a game," UVM coach John Becker said. "I thought our guys responded really well."

Shungu: "It was good for the whole team sticking together and pushing this one out. Hartford is a good team."

For Hartford (3-11, 1-1), Austin Williams scored 24 points, Hunter Marks tossed in 16 and Moses Flowers tallied 13 of his 14 points in the second half. Traci Carter, while battling foul trouble, added 11.

In a rematch of last year's conference semifinals, UVM closed the first half on a 20-8 run, capped by Shungu's 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer for a 45-28 advantage.

Powell's layup at 16:58 pushed UVM to a 52-32 margin. One possession later, Powell's free throws returned the lead to 19 points, 54-35.

Then Flowers and Williams found space to drive and Marks connected from deep, engineering a 21-2 run — at one point, the Hawks scored 15 unanswered points — to knot the contest at 56 with 9:49 to go.

"Maybe we got a little lackadaisical on defense and on offense. That’s my fault and something we need to provide the whole game," Davis said. "Credit to them, they also made shots and tough ones."

Following a timeout earlier during Hartford's surge, Hawks coach John Gallagher stepped into the middle of the court and appeared to direct words at UVM senior Finn Sullivan.

However, Becker said the exchange didn't spark his team.

"Their bench is active, obviously, and I think there are a lot of things said. I don’t really get into any of that and that’s certainly not what we are doing on our end," Becker said. "I don’t think that had much to do with it. It’s just competition and our guys have been around for a while and used to that in this game."

Later in the half, Sullivan drew offensive charges on a pair of Williams' drives to help UVM regain its footing on defense.

"That’s the first time he’s helped us win a game with his defense and not his offense," Becker said of Sullivan.

UVM's offense found its mark again after a Powell 3-pointer at the top of the key — with the shot clock set to expire — broke a 58-all game with 7:50 to go. Hartford leveled the affair again and took the lead on two occasions, but UVM responded each time.

Shungu and Davis each nailed their third 3-pointers, with the latter triple giving UVM a 67-65 lead with 5:26 left. Ahead 71-68, Shungu and Davis worked more of a two-man game to get Shungu a clear path for an uncontested layup and then a long jumper.

Davis wrapped his fourth 20-plus point outing of the season with an under-the-basket finish for a 77-70 advantage. Shungu polished off the evening with a one-handed flush off a long baseball pass in the final seconds.

"We definitely made a lot of mistakes in the second half. It’s all about sticking together and getting back to basics — locking in on key moments," Shungu said. "That showed down the stretch."

UVM plays at Stony Brook on Wednesday.

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: UVM men's basketball: Catamounts outlast Hartford in conference clash