Vermont basketball staged a second-half comeback on the strength of its 3-point makes while Maine went cold from the floor as the Catamounts seized a 67-62 America East Conference victory in front of 2,202 at Patrick Gym on Thursday, Jan. 15.

Gus Yalden, despite an off shooting night, sank a dagger 3-pointer with 1 minute, 18 seconds to play as the Catamounts improved to 11-7 overall and 3-0 in league play. Vermont uncorked a 20-1 run in the second half to erase a double-digit lead, and the visiting Black Bears (3-16, 1-3) went 11:01 without a field goal in the game’s most crucial stretch.

TJ Hurley dropped 18 points, Sean Blake totaled 17 points and six assists, Ben Johnson struck for 14 points with a trio of 3s and Yalden finished with eight points and 11 rebounds to carry the Catamounts, who lost to Maine in last year’s America East semifinals on this court.

Keelan Steele’s 17 points and TJ Biel’s dozen led the way for Maine.

Vermont captured its second straight, hard-fought victory at home. Last week, the Catamounts edged Binghamton 60-59. After Jan. 10, the Catamounts sit alone atop the conference.

“That says a lot about these guys, that over the last two games found a way to win games where we could’ve folded,” UVM coach John Becker said.

Johnson: “It’s better to learn after a win than a loss. Hopefully we can keep it going.”

Vermont basketball rallies from 12-point hole in second half

The Catamounts were slow to rotate on switches to start the second half, and Maine took advantage to string together a 13-0 spurt to build a double-digit lead. Steele’s dunk gave the Black Bears a 49-37 advantage with 13:56 to play.

But Steele’s flush was Maine’s last field goal for 11:01. Becker called on his bench and an uptempo style to generate stops and offense.

Hurley, Johnson and David Simon drained 3-pointers in successive trips as Vermont regained the lead, at 51-50, with 8:49 to go.

“I was really challenging the guys to have some grit, have some fight,” Becker said. “And they responded and the floodgates kind of opened and we went on one of those runs. It was a tidal wave.”

Freshman Momo Nkugwa followed with a nifty cut and finish at the rim, Ben Michaels’ threw down a two-handed dunk on a putback and the veteran Hurley used Yalden as a natural pick for a layup and 57-50 margin with less than 6 minute left to complete a 20-1 run.

“Just keep fighting. It’s a game of runs. We got some stops, made some shots and came back there and made a run,” said Johnson, the Bellarmine transfer who made his first start for Vermont. “When they don’t have a chance to set their defense, it opens up the whole floor.”

Maine ended its field-goal drought on Ryan Mabrey’s 3-point splash with 2:06 on the clock, cutting the Vermont lead to 59-55. That deficit was cut in half on Logan Carey’s foul shots, but Yalden drained a long triple at 1:18 to put the game out of reach.

“Patrick (Gym) was rocking tonight in that second half. It was a great atmosphere,” Becker said.

Vermont basketball plays without 2 starters including TJ Long

Vermont basketball were without two starters vs. Maine: Forward Noah Barnett missed his second straight game and veteran TJ Long was seen in a walking boot during wam-ups. New Hampshire transfer Trey Woodyard was also not dressed due to injury.

Becker said Long suffered a lower-body injury in practice and it’s too early to know the severity of it. Barnett has yet to return to practice, Becker added.

Who’s next for Vermont basketball?

The Catamounts start a three-game America East road trip with a date at Albany on Monday, Jan. 19. They also play at UMass Lowell (Jan. 22) and Bryant (Jan. 24) during the road swing.

Vermont women’s basketball at Maine

Vermont women’s basketball outscored Maine 38-25 in the middle quarters to snare a 64-53 America East Conference victory on the road on Thursday, Jan. 15.

Vermont improves to 14-5 overall and 3-1 in America East.

Keira Hanson sank four 3-pointers and tallied 20 points to lead the Catamounts. Nikola Priede added 16 points and five rebounds and Malia Lenz tossed in 14 points to go with 10 boards, four assists and three assists.

Vermont shot 42.9% on 3s and out-rebounded Maine 36-23. The visitors built a 21-point fourth-quarter lead.

Sarah Talon and Adrianna Smith each had 15 points to pace the Black Bears (8-10, 3-2).

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.

Dustin Lamore works in the kitchen at an eldercare home in Shelburne, helping to prepare meals for 200 people each day. He’s also blind, which makes getting to work from his Colchester residence each morning a challenge.

The 36-year-old makes use of a state program that provides free, on-demand rides to older adults and people with disabilities. In Chittenden County, Green Mountain Transit has long contracted with the Special Services Transportation Agency, or SSTA, to shuttle users to medical appointments, grocery stores, church services and job sites.

But that program is running out of money, fast, which could leave Lamore without a way to get to work as soon as next month.

“You’re talking about taking away my only mode of transportation,” Lamore said. “I’m beyond frustrated.”

Lamore and others who use the program in Chittenden County are facing new restrictions on the types of trips they may take and how often they can call for a ride. Rides to work and for personal purposes are most likely to go away, Green Mountain Transit General Manager Clayton Clark said.

Clark said he is reluctant to pare back the service, which helps hundreds of people stay connected with their communities and retain their independence.

“Social isolation is extremely bad for people who are living at home with a disability, or who are older,” he said.

But in Chittenden County, the Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities Transportation Program has nearly blown through its $455,000 annual budget in a matter of months, prompting a scramble by local and state officials to find more cash and control costs.

Public transit throughout Vermont faces broad fiscal challenges brought on by stagnant ridership and soaring costs. But unlike Green Mountain Transit’s fixed-route bus service, the on-demand program for older and disabled residents has seen big increases in riders. More than 600 people used the service in Chittenden County last year, and ridership has jumped nearly 25% so far this fiscal year, Clark said.

The cost per ride has spiked as well, not just in Chittenden County. Since the pandemic, fewer people drive the shuttles on a volunteer basis, while consolidation in the state’s health care industry has led to longer trip distances to medical appointments, said Ross MacDonald, public transit program manager for the Vermont Agency of Transportation.

And with a rapidly aging population, officials don’t expect demand to ease anytime soon.

But at a select board meeting Tuesday night in Colchester, Lamore and others told their elected leaders that the restrictions would disrupt their lives.

Rider Debbie Drewniak, 67, said she uses the shuttles to shop for groceries and get to her frequent medical and physical therapy appointments. She’s had limited mobility since a distracted driver struck her while she was walking her Labrador in 2011. The accident also left her with a traumatic brain injury.

“Most of my friends work and are not available to bring me anywhere during the day,” she said.

Drewniak learned of imminent restrictions in a letter she received last month from Green Mountain Transit. The agency has since pushed the changes back until late February, and is allowing towns to pay for additional rides out of their local budgets.

The state transportation agency set aside $265,000 to help shore up the program in Chittenden County. Green Mountain Transit also expects to spend as much as $100,000 from its reserves, and select board members in Williston signaled their intent last week to contribute more municipal funds to limit new trip restrictions. Colchester town leaders said Tuesday that they would look for volunteer drivers and other ways to ease the burden on users there.

The proposed restrictions in Chittenden County — which took effect in Washington, Grand Isle and Franklin counties last month — mirror those that have been in place in other Vermont counties for years.

Northeast Kingdom residents have long been limited to four trips to medical appointments and two to grocery stores per month, Rural Community Transportation spokesperson Lilias Ide said.

Unless others step up, that may be the direction that Chittenden County is headed, too. “We’ve got a lot of work to do to address costs,” MacDonald said.

Lamore said he already tries to limit his use of the service as much as possible. Of the 12 trips he needs to get back and forth to his job at the eldercare home each week, he’s able to arrange private transportation for nine of them.

His continued financial independence, Lamore said, could hinge on whether he can find a ride for the other three.

MONTPELIER — Michael Drescher prosecuted cases on behalf of the federal government in Vermont during the first year of President Donald Trump’s administration —  which dealt him historic immigration cases like those of Rümeysa Öztürk and Mohsen Mahdawi. 

Now, Drescher is a nominee to serve on the Vermont Supreme Court, leading senators this week to interrogate his past. 

Gov. Phil Scott appointed Drescher to serve on the state’s top court last week, along with former top Vermont federal prosecutor Christina Nolan. Both candidates led Vermont’s U.S. Attorney’s Office under Trump, with Nolan serving in the role during his first presidential term. To serve as a state Supreme Court justice, both nominees need state Senate confirmation.