FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Basketball cut an 18-point deficit down to seven midway through the second half of Thursday night's season opener, but the Stags were unable to come all the way back against visiting Vermont as the Catamounts took a 79-67 decision at Leo D. Mahoney Arena.
Declan Wucherpfennig led Fairfield with a career-high 25 points.
"We played like a young team in the first half, and Vermont played like the veteran team that they are," said Head Coach
Chris Casey. "I was proud of our bounce back in the second half. I thought we really got after them and played well despite not shooting the ball well. I think there's a lot of capability in this team, but we've got to be better in the beginning of the game."
Wucherpfennig scored 15 of his 25 points in the second half as the Stags tallied 42 of their 67 points after the intermission. On the day, the Metro's Preseason Player of the Year shot 9-for-14 from the field with a three-pointer and converted all six of his free throw attempts. Wucherpfennig also shared the game high with eight rebounds and added two assists and two blocked shots.
Cole Edelen joined Wucherpfennig in double figures, netting 13 in his collegiate debut. Fellow rookie
Jah Hatchett chipped in eight points in his first game as a Stag, and
Peyton Smith added eight points and six rebounds in his first regular season game in nearly 20 months after missing the entirety of last season with an injury.
Rounding out the Fairfield scoring,
Tony Williams netted seven points and
Halon Rawlins scored six. Rawlins also contributed five rebounds as the Stags were topped on the glass, 39-30.
After a Wucherpfennig putback tied the game at 11-11 nearly seven minutes into action, Vermont ran off the next 13 points to build a 24-11 lead that they would not relinquish the rest of the way. Hatchett ended Fairfield's drought with a fastbreak layup and Edelen followed with a three-point play – both netting their first collegiate points in the sequence – but the Catamounts rebuilt their double-digit cushion and, following a Darrel Yepdo buzzer beater, headed into the break holding a 38-25 advantage.
The visitors maintained their momentum out of the locker room, starting the period with a 7-2 spurt to construct the largest lead of the evening at 45-27. The Stags responded with back-to-back Wucherpfennig dunks as well as a Rawlins rebound and slam. The Catamounts continued to answer each Fairfield strike and held their double-digit edge out to a 55-42 with count with 10:50 to go.
At that point,
Tony Williams landed a floater in the lane, and Edelen knocked down two technical free throws. The rookie drained two more from the stripe to trim the margin to 55-48 with 8:28 left, but Vermont responded with a Will Davies three-point play. Fairfield would not draw closer for the remainder of the contest as the teams traded points out to a 79-67 final in favor of Vermont.
The preseason favorite and a perennial contender in the America East, UVM had five players score in double figures led by Davies's statline of 21 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Darrel Yepdo added 16 points for the Catamounts and standout center Gus Yalden had 12 points five rebounds before fouling out.
Tonight's game was Fairfield's first leg of the inaugural America East-Metro Challenge. The Stags will complete the tournament on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Bryant; the Bulldogs are 1-1 following a 66-56 loss tonight at Quinnipiac.
Fairfield will also visit Wisconsin on Tuesday, Nov. 10 before returning to Mahoney Arena to host NJIT on Saturday evening, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.
