BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's basketball team committed only three turnovers en route to defeating Division I University of Vermont, 79-74, during an exhibition game on Saturday evening at Patrick Gymnasium. The mid-major-power Catamounts qualified for three of the past four NCAA Division I tournaments.
 
SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Zocko Littleton (Albany, Ga./Osborne/Rider), 18 points, 6-for-12 field goals, 4-for-4 free throws
• Redshirt first-year Mac Kelly (Mineola, N.Y./Hun School of Princeton/Colorado Christian), 17 points, 6-for-12 field goals, 2 assists
• Sophomore Greg Kenney (Williston Park, N.Y./The Frederick Gun School/LIU), 9 points, 3-for-4 field goals
• Senior Nolan Marold (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Brewster Academy/Loyola Chicago), 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3-for-6 field goals
• Junior TJ Henaghen (Hampden, Maine/Williston Northampton School), 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2-for-3 three-pointers
• Junior Latiek Briscoe Jr. (Brooklyn, N.Y./Saint Francis Prep/Saint Edward's), 8 points 4 rebounds, 2 steals

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Graduate student TJ Long, 29 points, 5 rebounds, 10-for-16 field goals, 8-for-12 three-pointers
• Redshirt sophomore David Simon, 16 points, 8-for-14 field goals
• Sophomore Sean Blake, 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 4-for-8 field goals

GAME FACTS

• Saint Michael's defeated Vermont in exhibition play for the first time since Nov. 8, 2014, a similarly close 63-61 victory at Patrick Gymnasium.
• The University of Vermont won three of the last four America East Conference championships, qualifying for the NCAA Division I Tournament three times in that stretch.
• After the teams combined for 62 first-half points, they netted 94 behind 57.7% combined shooting in the second half, including 12-for-25 (48.0%) from three-point range.

THE ACTION

• First-year Momo Nkugwa's fast-break lay-up at 7:52 of the first half - off of the Purple Knights' lone turnover in the frame - gave Vermont a 25-19 lead.
• Saint Michael's countered with a 13-0 run, as Kenney's five points led five scorers. The visitors carried a 32-27 lead into halftime.
• Long's triple brought the Catamounts within 34-32 45 seconds into the second half, but Kelly responded with a three of his own at 17:37, and the visitors pushed their lead to 53-44 on sophomore Abdur-Rahman De Leon's (Roxbury, Mass./Saint Thomas More School) three-pointer with 10:12 to go.
• Blake's pair of free throws had Vermont down 58-53 at 6:18 before Littleton netted four straight points, and he and Briscoe both canned threes to create 12-point cushions. Henaghen's two freebies had his team in front 69-58 with 3:25 remaining.
• Long's pair of three-pointers keyed an 11-4 run that trimmed the deficit to 73-69 with 1:15 left, but Briscoe's offensive rebound with 40 seconds to go extended a possession, which Kelly capped with two free throws 10 seconds later.
• Around five Long points, the visitors made six of their final eight free throw tries in the closing 30 seconds to seal the victory.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Nov. 14 at the College of Staten Island, 7:30 p.m.