BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP)—Taylor Coppenrath and T.J. Sorrentine combined for 57 points as Vermont rolled past Iona, 79-57, in men’s college basketball at Patrick Gym Sunday afternoon.
The win was the Catamounts (2-1) second straight after a narrow loss at top-ranked Kansas in the season opener.
Vermont used excellent defense, and 16 points from both Coppenrath and Sorrentine, to jump out to a 39-17 lead at the break. The Catamounts held the Gaels (2-2) without a field goal for a six-minute span late in the half, and closed the stanza with a 18-2 run.
Iona opened the second half strong with a 9-2 run fueled by seven points by Greg Jenkins before Coppenrath went to work.
In the second half he hit six of his seven field goal attempts and went four-for-six from the line to hold off the Gaels, who would briefly cut the deficit to 12 points on two occasions.
Coppenrath finished with a season-high 32 points on 11-for-16 from the floor while Sorrentine chipped in with 23, including five-for-10 from three-point range and five assists.
Germain Mopa Njila led a strong Vermont effort on the boards with a game-high 12 rebounds along with nine points. UVM outrebounded Iona, 39-24, with a 16-6 advantage on the offensive glass.
The Catamounts committed only eight turnovers while forcing 12.
Iona was led by Jenkins and Steve Burtt, each with 15 points, Ricky Solliver added 13 points and four assists.
