HC falls in Vermont
(Originally posted Monday at 9:32 p.m., updated at 7:38 a.m.)
Holy Cross shook up its lineup but could not shake out a win at Vermont.
Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon started in place of Kevin Hamilton and Torey Thomas at the guard spots, with Colin Cunningham instead of Alex Vander Baan at one of the forwards.
According to the story in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette News, Willard sat the three starters because of an unspecified attitude problem during a film session Monday:
.All three players did see action off of the bench. The loss could hardly be blamed on their not starting.
It was the Crusaders big men who were a problem. Kevin Hyland and Alex Vander Baan both fouled out and Tim Clifford had three personals in the first half. All while trying to slow Vermont junior center Martin Klimes, who finished with 22 points to lead all scorers.
Willard told the T&G:
Holy Cross battled back, cutting it to 67-64 with 16 seconds to go, but could get no closer.
HC's defense was better in the second half, holding Vermont to 36 percent shooting. But the way Vermont dominated the glass, it hardly mattered. Klimes finished with 9 boards. Forward Chris Holm chipped in with an 11-points, 11-rebounds double-double. As a team, Vermont outrebounded HC 40-22.
Guard Mike Trimboli was also a headache for HC, scoring 21 points, most of which came from the foul line.
Keith Simmons led Holy Cross with 18 points. Hamilton chipped in with 14. Doherty was 4-for-4 from the arc for 12 points. Box score Burlington Free Press
Holy Cross shook up its lineup but could not shake out a win at Vermont.
Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon started in place of Kevin Hamilton and Torey Thomas at the guard spots, with Colin Cunningham instead of Alex Vander Baan at one of the forwards.
According to the story in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette News, Willard sat the three starters because of an unspecified attitude problem during a film session Monday:
"This was not a disciplinary action," Willard noted. "We do certain things in this program at a particular attitude level, and they weren't at their level at (Monday's) film session. Nobody was late and nobody missed anything. The attention to detail wasn't being done."Ironically, the situation happened a day before a story would appear in Thomas' hometown paper in which Torey talked about the need for him to play a leadershiprole on this year's team.
.All three players did see action off of the bench. The loss could hardly be blamed on their not starting.
It was the Crusaders big men who were a problem. Kevin Hyland and Alex Vander Baan both fouled out and Tim Clifford had three personals in the first half. All while trying to slow Vermont junior center Martin Klimes, who finished with 22 points to lead all scorers.
Willard told the T&G:
"We got into foul trouble right away and their 43 free throws to our 13 -- that's quite a disparity," Crusader head coach Ralph Willard said. "The rebound edge hurt us, too, but the free throws determined the game."Vermont shot 53 percent from the floor in the first half, building a 34-36 lead. The Crusaders came back to take the lead briefly in the second half, then Vermont went on a 12-0 run to take control.
Holy Cross battled back, cutting it to 67-64 with 16 seconds to go, but could get no closer.
HC's defense was better in the second half, holding Vermont to 36 percent shooting. But the way Vermont dominated the glass, it hardly mattered. Klimes finished with 9 boards. Forward Chris Holm chipped in with an 11-points, 11-rebounds double-double. As a team, Vermont outrebounded HC 40-22.
Guard Mike Trimboli was also a headache for HC, scoring 21 points, most of which came from the foul line.
Keith Simmons led Holy Cross with 18 points. Hamilton chipped in with 14. Doherty was 4-for-4 from the arc for 12 points.
