BOSTON -Junior forward Billy Collins (Concord, NH) continued his stellar play on Saturday afternoon, scoring 16 of the Terriers first 19 points in the game, but his efforts weren't enough as the Vermont Catamounts took the game, 74-65, in front of 898 at Case Gym.

Collins provided the early spark for the Terriers. Off a missed layup by senior forward Nacho Rodriguez (Canary Islands, Spain), Collins took the weak side offensive rebound and dunked it for B. U.'s first points. On the next trip down the court, he made a left wing three-pointer. On the following possession, he again dunked a missed shot to give B. U. an early 7-6 lead.

It was Vermont (10-3, 3-0), though, that took control early in the game, using a tough inside attack and key three-pointers to go up by as man as 13 points midway through the first half. Sophomore guard T. J. Sorrentine hit a three-pointer with 7:05 left to give the Catamounts a 32-19 advantage.

B. U. started chipping into the lead in the final minutes of the opening half, going on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 40-37 on a pair of Rodriguez free throws with 1:44 left. Vermont's junior forward Grant Anderson scored the final four points to extend UVM's lead to 46-39 at the half.

A 9-0 run to start the second half gave B. U. a 48-46 lead with 15:23 remaining. Five different Terriers scored during the run.

With the Terriers holding a tenuous 54-53 lead with 9:26 left, freshman forward Taylor Coppenrath started a 10-0Vermont run with a three-pointer, and ended it with a jumper and a layup on consecutive possessions to give UVM a 63-54 lead with just 5:37 left.

The Terriers again attempted a comeback, climbing back to within four points on a jumper by freshman guard Chaz Carr (Manchester, CT). They could not get any closer, though, as Sorrentine made all four of his free throws in the final 44 seconds to secure Vermont's eighth-straight win. It is their longest winning streak in 27 years.

"No question they are a good team," Terriers head coach Dennis Wolff said of Vermont. "We didn't make enough plays, and they were tougher when they needed to be tougher."

It was the second game this season that B. U. had two 20-point scorers. In addition to Collins' 21 points, Carr added a team-high 22. B. U. outrebounded the bigger Catamounts, 43-28. Vermont, however, enjoyed a 28-14 advantage in free throw attempts, and made 14 more free throws than the Terriers.

"We didn't have enough other guys playing at the level we needed them to be playing at," added Wolff, who's team had its six-game home winning streak snapped. "Collins was active the entire game. He was all over the glass today."

Coppenrath's 23 points led Vermont. He was joined in double figures by Anderson, who had 13 points, and Sorrentine, who had a season-low 10 points.

Boston University (7-7, 1-1) next plays at Hartford on Monday, Jan. 7. The Terriers and Hawks meet at Chase Family Arena for a 7 p.m. game.