Vermont first half

Halftime, tied 38-38
-These America East refs must be having trouble adjusting to the warmer temperatures, with 20 fouls called a handful of terrible calls. Trask isn't pleased.
-Speaking of the warmer temperatures, about 50 Vermont fans made the trip down. It's currently 19 degrees back in sunny Burlington, Vt. I'd imagine 70 and sunny on Wrightstville didn't suck.

As for the basketball:
-It's been a T.J. Carter kinda day, he's got 11. That number should grow in the second half, as I'd imagine he'll get to the free throw line plenty with the way this one is being called.
-Dominique Lacy has been getting better every week, and today might be his breakout performance. He's got 7 points on 2-of-5 shooting in 15 minutes, with a couple of shots rimming out on him. He's gotten to the basket well and made good decisions, picking up only one foul while guarding Marqus Blakely for much of the first half. Blakely is physical under the basket, so staying out of foul trouble is a feat in itself.
-Chad Tomko has six points on 2-of-7 shooting, but he hasn't forced anything. He's played under control and gotten into passing lanes for a pair of nice steals. A big second half would be nice to keep pace with Hofstra's Charles Jenkins in the CAA Rookie of the Year race after Jenkins' 28 point, 10 rebound performance today against Iona.

I've made the drive a couple of times, and it's not a fun one. So props to them.

:36 UNCW 38-36
Two fouls each for Todd Hendley, Vlad Kuljanin and Montez Downey. We've had a four minute Jason Aycock sighting.

20 fouls have been called in total.

3:59 UNCW 34-31
The America East refs are doing their best to rob this game of any amount of flow, so here are a few random observations
-Already 16 fouls called
-Dominique Lacy is still playing well, probably getting a few minutes more than Benny had planned on due to foul troubles.
-Vermont's Joey Accaoui is a mini-Mike Vaccarro.

5:55 Tied 24-24
Vermont isn't shooting well (10-for-27) but they're killing UNCW on the boards. They've got 18 rebounds, with half of those coming on the offensive end to UNCW's 12.

Trouble could be ahead, with Hendley and Kuljanin both on the bench with two fouls.

11:28 UNCW 17-14
Five good minutes for Dominique Lacy so far, guarding Vermont's best player and hasn't picked up a foul. He hasn't gotten on the board yet offensively, but it seems like Benny is making a point to get him involved offensively tonight.

15:04 Vermont 12-10
Good looks so far for the Hawks, shots just haven't fallen yet. Looks like it's going to be a T.J. Carter day, Vermont doesn't have anyone who can come close to keeping up with him. Oh, and now Dominique Lacy is guarding Blakely. Crazy athleticism.

18:12 Vermont 7-5
Marqus Blakely is pretty athletic. He also rocks the fro-hawk, ala Al Harrington. Consider me a fan. As I wrote that, he threw down a nasty dunk.

I'll do my best tonight, but I may not be on top of my game. I'm riding shotgun on the Brian Mull express with a sidebar to write after the game, so I'm multitasking a bit. We'll see how things work out.