Recap: Vermont vs. Canisius

Burlington, VT (Sports Network) - Ethan O'Day scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor, as the Vermont Catamounts defeated the Canisius Golden Griffins, 87-79, in a BracketBuster matchup at Patrick Gymnasium.

Trey Blue and Clancy Rugg had 17 points apiece to help the Catamounts (18-9) to their sixth victory in their last eight games. Luke Apfeld added 14 points off the bench, and Sandro Carissimo finished with 10 in the win.

Harold Washington led all scorers with 29 points to go along with four steals for the Golden Griffins (17-11), who wrapped up their five-game road trip with a 2-3 mark. Alshwan Hymes had 15 points off the bench, Billy Baron scored 12, and Isaac Sosa tallied 11 points.

Vermont shot 50 percent from the floor and knocked down five 3-pointers in the first half. The Catamounts also went a perfect 9-of-9 at the free-throw line to claim a 38-30 halftime lead.

The Catamounts shot an even better 66.7 percent from the floor in the second stanza, and they went 18-of-22 at the charity stripe over the final 20 minutes to seal the win.

With the win, Canisius stretched its lead in the head-to-head series to 17-1.