TOWSON, Md. - The Tigers (0-11) face Vermont (5-7) in their last non-conference home game of the season on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Towson Center.
The Catamounts were a
former rival of the Tigers back when Towson competed in the America
East. The series is tied at 8-8; however, Vermont won the last meeting in
2007, 59-57, in Burlington.
Vermont is coming off a 23-9 (13-3) season that ended with a 63-60
loss to Cleveland State in the first round of the NIT Tournament.
Coach John Becker is in his first season at the helm, taking over for his former boss Mike
Lonergan, who left for George
Washington.
Vermont did lose their top two scorers from last year - Evan
Fjeld and Joey
Accaoui - to graduation, but the Catamounts have a lot of talent left.
This season, the Catamounts opened with a tough road loss at South Florida, 61-59, which was followed by two straight wins over
Dartmouth and
Marist. After a five-point loss to Long Island in
Uncasville, Conn., they defeated Old Dominion, 65-63, in overtime on Nov. 23.
On Nov. 26, they defeated Siena by 64-62 in their first home game of the season.
But, they followed that win with five straight loss to
Harvard, Yale, St. Louis, Quinnipiac and Iona. On Dec. 21, the
Catamounts defeated Fairleigh Dickinson on the road, 71-53.
Vermont is actually better on the road (3-3) than at home
(1-3). The Catamounts shoot 44% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc.
This
is also a pretty good rebounding team that is
outrebounding teams by 0.5 rebounds per game. They
outrebounded Fairleigh Dickson by five in their last outing. They turn the ball over 13 times per game and force 12.8 turnovers per outing.
The Catamounts start an experienced lineup anchored by junior guard Brendan Bald (6-5, 200), a local product from
Severna Park H.S. Bald, who was the America East Defensive Player of the Year last season, averages 8.7 points per game, but has scored in double digits in each of his last three games. He has
struggled with his shooting this season, averaging 34% from the field and 26% (11-42) from beyond the arc.
The Catamounts' point guard is Sandro Carrissimo (6-2, 170), a sophomore who averages 4.8 points per game with 26 assists and just 17 turnovers. He shoots 42% from the field and 36% (8-22)
from beyond the arc.
The team's most versatile and unselfish player is sophomore forward Brian
Voelkel (6-6, 210). There aren't many players who can control a game without scoring.
Voelkel can do that as he went scoreless on Wednesday against
FDU, but grabbed seven rebounds, had six assists and recorded three steals.
Voelkel averages 5.1 points per game
while leading the team by averaging 8.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game with 16 steals. He shoots just 29% from the floor and 53% from the
line, but he's obviously more valuable in other areas of the game.
Sophomore forward Luke Apfeld (6-7, 215) is the second-leading scorer (10.5 ppg) who scored 14 points against
FDU. He shoots 59% from the field and averages 3.8 rebounds per game.
Senior Matt Glass (6-8, 210) is not your prototype big man. He
shoots 44% from the field and 38% (16-42) from beyond the arc. He's a
tough cover for
Erique
Gumbs or Robert Nwankwo, but they will have to force him to play interior defense. He also averages 10 points and 4.2 rebounds per game with
14 assists in 12 games.
The Catamounts' leading scorer comes off the bench. Freshman guard Four
McGlynn (6-2, 180) leads the team in scoring with an 11.5 average while shooting 41% form the field and 39% (20-52) from beyond the arc in 25 minutes per contest.
When they need to go big, they can turn to junior Ben
Crenca (6-10, 260), who has started seven games this season; he averages 7.1 points per game while shooting a blazing 71% from the field.
Senior Pat Bergmann (6-9, 240) also adds some size off the bench, averaging 3.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while averaging 10.3 minutes per outing.
Gametime is 7 p.m. on Friday night and if you can't get out to the Towson Center, the game will be broadcast on WNST-AM 1570. There will also be a live in-game blog available on TowsonTigers.com.
