Penn, Deloney spearhead Vermont's rout of NJIT in America East quarterfinals
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Right on cue, Aaron Deloney launched from his seat on the bench to provide a spark.
Scoring in a variety of ways, Dylan Penn put an exclamation point on his game-high outing with a high-flying dunk.
The 1-2 punch of Deloney and Penn sank half of their team's field goals, fueling the top-seeded University of Vermont men's basketball team's 84-57 rout of No. 8 NJIT in Saturday night's America East tournament quarterfinals in front of 2,420 at Patrick Gym.
Penn scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half, while Deloney dropped 11 of his 16 points in the opening 20 minutes to lead the defending champion Catamounts (21-10) into the conference semifinals for the 14th straight season. Vermont will host No. 5 Binghamton on Tuesday night at 7 on ESPN+.
"(Deloney) off the bench was great and (Penn), especially in the second half, did a great job," UVM coach John Becker said. "The way we practiced the last couple days, the veterans we have on this team, I thought we were really locked in.
"Great team win tonight."
The Catamounts, though, had an inauspicious start, reminiscent of their 82-80 comeback win at NJIT last month. NJIT standout Kevin Osawe opened Saturday night by making tough, long jumpers in the face of good defense.
"Man, the start of the game," Becker said. "It kind of felt like the game down there."
Enter the two-time America East sixth man of the year. Deloney rose for a wing 3-pointer and then assisted a TJ Hurley 3-pointer in transition to kick-start Vermont's 30-11 run over the final 11-plus minutes of the first half. The surge erased a 17-15 deficit and gave the hosts a 45-28 advantage at the break.
"When you can bring some pop off the bench and some guys who are as good as the starters, it can change the dynamic of the game really quickly and early," Becker said of Deloney. "He’s been great all year and great down the stretch."
More:America East basketball tournaments: What you need to know for UVM men, women
Deloney, who finished 4 of 6 from deep for the game, capped the first half with a driving, lefty layup and then another catch-and-fire 3-pointer for the 17-point margin at intermission.
"When you have a guy who comes off the bench and he immediately draws the attention of the defense, it’s game-changing," Penn said. "Not many teams who have a guy who comes off the bench and you gotta guard them pretty much 40 feet around. He can drive past you, he can pull up from 3, 2 — whatever. It’s incredible to have a guy like that."
Penn, an all-league second-team selection, worked his usual repertoire — jump hooks with either hand, creative flips off the glass on drives — for an efficient performance (10 of 14 from the floor) to go with five rebounds and three assists.
"Just being aggressive and looking for my spots to attack downhill and put pressure on the defense," Penn said. "I feel like I got to some pretty comfortable spots and I was able to elevate and get to my right hand, get to my left hand in space and had a good night shooting the ball."
More:Vermont's Finn Sullivan named America East player of the year
Penn opened the second stanza with a quick basket and then fed Matt Veretto for a 3-pointer. After an Adam Hess 3-pointer, Vermont then uncorked a 13-0 spurt to take a 63-31 lead with 12:58 to play in regulation. To close out the run, Penn drove for two and sank a corner 3-pointer and Robin Duncan finished a transition basket via Illeri Ayo-Faleye's second steal in as many possessions.
"I thought the intensity, the focus, the effort was there tonight," Becker said.
Veretto also reached double figures for the fourth straight game with a dozen points and Duncan added eight points, 10 rebounds, two assists and three blocks. Kam Gibson tossed in nine points and Hurley added six points and six boards. Vermont out-rebounded NJIT 39-27, had a 30-13 edge in bench scoring and 42-20 advantage in paint scoring.
The Catamounts also scored 20 points off 12 NJIT turnovers and shot 50.8% from the field (32 of 63).
"We were locked in and prepared. I think as a whole team we did a great job executing tonight," said Penn, who threw down his one-handed slam late in regulation. "The playoffs, got to see a wide-open lane and normally you don’t get to punch the ball like that in games. It was nice."
Osawe struck for 18 points and 13 rebounds and Kjell de Graaf tallied 14 points with four 3s to pace the Highlanders (7-23).
Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont men's basketball rolls NJIT in America East quarterfinals
