UVM men's basketball sweeps Stony Brook, extends program record in another 80-point outing

Six games, six 80-point efforts, six double-digit wins.

The University of Vermont men's basketball team started slow Wednesday night but its record-setting offense hit another gear to seize an 80-67 victory over Stony Brook in America East Conference action at Island Federal Credit Union Arena.

Ben Shungu (21 points, six assists, two steals) and Ryan Davis (20 points, five rebounds) combined for 41 points on 24 field-goal attempts while little-used reserve Eric Beckett tallied a career-high 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting in 14 minutes to power the Cats (14-4, 6-0) to their eighth straight win.

UVM's run of six straight 80-point games extends its program record.

The Catamounts trailed 14-6 early, were behind by as many as nine points, and stared at a 24-16 deficit with 6:35 until the break.

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Beckett, who had played seven total minutes this season prior to Wednesday, canned a pair of 3-pointers, the latter with 22 seconds to play to give UVM a 34-31 lead at the half.

In the second stanza, a Shungu fast-break layup broke a 42-all tie before the media timeout. Shungu, Finn Sullivan and Nick Fiorillo then hit 3-pointers on consecutive UVM possessions for a 53-44 margin with 14:15 to play.

The Catamount lead only dropped to three points once the rest of theway. UVM shot 62.9% from the field and made eight 3-pointers in the second half. For the game, the visitors shot 54.7% from the floor.

UVM began its streak of 80-point games when it made a program-record 19 3s to rout Stony Brook 98-65 on Jan. 12.

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For Stony Brook (12-7, 4-2), Jahlil Jenkins scored 17 points and Anthony Roberts had 16 points. The Seawolves played without star player Elijah Olaniyi for a third straight game.

UVM plays host to Maine on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN3.

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

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: UVM men's basketball sweeps Stony Brook with record-extending outing