Knights Notch Two Victories at Home to Improve to 21-4
Vermont Tech’s Green Knights love to play on their home court. The team concluded its five game road swing with a weekend set at home. This season the Knights are 12-1 on the home hardwoods and 9-3 on the road. The latest two victims in the SHAPE arena were SUNY/Canton and UMaine/Augusta.
On Saturday, Vermont Tech cruised to an 80-58 win over Sunrise Conference opponent SUNY/Canton. The Knights led at halftime by a score of 36-23 and stretched the lead to twenty points three minutes into the second half. Vermont Tech held that comfortable margin for the remainder of the second half.
“After a disastrous defensive effort against St. Joe’s on Thursday night, our guys challenged themselves to right the ship on the defensive side of the court, said Coach John Dyer after the game. I thought we did a good job playing genuine team defense this weekend. It has not been our strong point. Our total focus in these two games was on defense. Our goal was to hold both teams under 60 points. That is not an easy thing to do, especially if your offense is a fast paced.”
Nick Simpson led the scoring column against SUNY/Canton with 23 points. Kevin Carr added 22 points. Senior Trent Roleau had 21 points.
“Nick and Kevin have been incredibly consistent for us this year. Both are playing at an All American level,” said Coach Dyer. “When Trent stays out of foul trouble and can play a solid 30-33 minutes a game, he is almost always a cinch for a double double. If Trent stays out of foul trouble, we usually win. Rebounding is the first key to playing winning basketball and Trent is our leading rebounder. He is vital to our team.” Roleau is among the USCCA’s statistical leaders in both rebounds and double double games.
Saturday’s win vs. SUNY/Canton makes the Knights 6-4 in the Sunrise Conference. Six of the seven Sunrise teams remain in contention for the four playoff positions.
On Sunday, the Knights cruised to a 101-58 victory against YSCC foe and last year’s champion, UMaine Augusta. Six Vermont Tech players scored in double figures: Nick Simpson (26); Josh Lindsey (18); Kwei General (14); Trent Roleau (13); Kevin Carr (12) and Tony Louie (10).
“I thought both Josh Lindsey and Tony Louie had great games for us today, said Coach Dyer after Sunday’s contest. “Josh fought hard inside and earned a number of tough offensive rebounds. Tony always gives every ounce he has. He has become a great defender. I suspect that it helps to line up against Kevin Carr in practice every day. This weekend, we put Tony on our opponent’s best player in both games and he shut them down. He is a great asset to this team and is going to give us some very important minutes in the play-offs.”
Vermont Tech is now 21-4 on the season; a perfect 11-0 in the YSCC (USCAA affiliation); and 6-4 in the Sunrise Conference (NAIA affiliation).
