Vermont tops Stony Brook 86-78 in return from COVID pause

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Stef Smith scored 22 points and Ryan Davis added 21 as Vermont defeated Stony Brook 86-78 on Saturday, ending a nearly monthlong break from basketball.

Vermont had not played since Jan. 17 against Maine, pausing team activities for COVID-19 concerns within the program.

Davis added 12 rebounds for his third double-double this season. Ben Shungu had 13 points for Vermont (8-3, 8-3 America East Conference), which earned its sixth straight win spanning the pause. Justin Mazzulla and Bailey Patella added 10 points each.

Vermont, leading 35-29 at the half, out-scored Stony Brook 51-49 in a fiery second half. The second-half point totals were a season high for both teams.

Jaden Sayles had 16 points and three blocks for the Seawolves (8-11, 6-7). Omar Habwe added 15 points. Juan Felix Rodriguez had 14 points and six assists. Mouhamadou Gueye scored 13 points with eight rebounds and Frankie Policelli added 12 points.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com