New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
With plenty of support at the XL Center, Vermont falls short against Florida State
HARTFORD — The streets around the old arena were saturated with traffic as fans poured into the capital city Thursday afternoon.
And as the Vermont Catamounts took the court at the XL Center for their NCAA Tournament first round game against Florida State, it was obvious the stage was bigger and the support was palpable. This wasn’t a Wednesday night in an America East gym.
“It was electric,” Vermont coach John Becker said.
The capacity crowd was sprinkled with Vermont green and gold, a decidedly pro-Catamount crowd that had lots to cheer about as the underdog went toe-to-toe with No. 4 seed Florida State.
It was tied at halftime and Vermont was within four points with under 6 minutes left, but Florida State (28-7) was simply too big and too good. The Seminoles advanced with a 7668 win, sending Vermont (27-7) home.
The Catamounts have been in the NCAA Tournament seven times since
2003 and three times since Becker became coach in 2011. And while the Catamounts have played well in the tournament and against high major non-conference opponents, they’ve come up short.
“I think we’re getting closer,” Becker said. “We’ve just got to develop a little more depth, more size, and continue to get really good players.”
Becker, a Fairfield native, has become a highly touted coach and his name has been attached to a number of openings the past few years. He is considered a candidate for Fairfield’s opening, but he talked Thursday about his focus building his program in Burlington.
“I’m always a pretty motivated guy in trying to push this program forward,” Becker said. “I’m really committed to getting to the point where … getting to the NCAA Tournament, but when we get here, hopefully have a good enough team to win some games. That’s the next step for us.”
Florida State got 21 points and 10 rebounds from 6-foot-10 sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele while Lowell, Mass. native Terance Mann had 19 points. Anthony Lamb (16 points, eight rebounds) led Vermont.
Lamb said the crowd and the atmosphere was noticeable, from the moment the team walked onto the court. “It was awesome … it felt like a special atmoshere,” he said.
Said Becker, “It’s hard, because you’re trying to concentrate. There was just a lot of noise in there, it was loud, and a lot of excitement and activity. I was really glad. It sounded like the fans were having a good time. I was happy for them.”
Becker also said his team was feeding on the atmosphere, especially with so many Vermont fans in the crowd.
“But I didn’t want them to feed into it,” Becker said, “Where you hear the crowd and then all of a sudden you want to play hero ball or do something out of character. Just trying to say, don’t play to the crowd. Enjoy the atmosphere but make the right play and play within ourselves.”
COFER’S FATHER PASSES AWAY
Florida State senior forward Phil Cofer, who is out with an injury, found out after the game that his father Mike died. Cofer got the call in the locker room after the game while media members were present. He was heard crying after receiving the news.
Mike Cofer had a long illness, according to the school. He was a Detroit Lions linebacker for 10 seasons and was a Pro
Bowl selection in 1988.
Villanova 61, St. Mary’s 57: Phil Booth had 20 points and six assists as the defending national champion and No. 6 seed Wildcats held off No. 11 St. Mary’s Thursday night.
Eric Paschall had 14 points and six rebounds for Villanova (26-9).
The Gaels (22-12) led 30-28 at halftime. But Villanova pulled ahead early in the second half and withstood a late run by St. Mary’s, which scored four points in the final minute to close the gap.
Jordan Ford and Malik Fitts each had 13 points to lead St. Mary’s.