BURLINGTON, Vt. (Interstat) — Tai Turnage scored 17 points and handed out six assists, and Quinnipiac made the decisive plays down the stretch to beat Vermont 79-76 on Sunday at Roy L. Patrick Gymnasium. Quinnipiac improved to 2-1, while Vermont fell to 1-2 before an announced attendance of 1,934. Vermont led 40-37 at halftime, but the Bobcats rallied after trailing by nine in the second half and held on after Lucas Sekasi’s 3-pointer with 46.8 seconds remaining. The Catamounts got a late layup from Darrel Yepdo but did not score again.

The first half was tight throughout, with the lead changing hands repeatedly. Keith McKnight opened the scoring with a turnaround jumper, and Tayeshawn Cunningham-Pemberton hit an early 3-pointer for Quinnipiac. Vermont answered with Yalden’s hook and 3-pointer, and the Catamounts took a 16-11 lead when Yalden scored inside with 13:06 left in the half. Quinnipiac stayed close with 3-pointers from Cunningham-Pemberton, Nedas Cholevinskas and Turnage, and free throws from Sekasi and Nas Hart. Quinnipiac took a 34-33 lead on Turnage’s 3-pointer with 3:01 left in the first half, but Vermont closed the half on a 7-3 run that included a 3-pointer from Yalden, a tip-in by Noah Barnett and a layup by Barnett. The Catamounts led 40-37 at the break.

Gus Yalden finished with 28 points, six rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes. The 6-foot-9 forward from Appleton, Wisconsin, scored in the post and made both a 3-pointer and important free throws. Will Davies added 17 points, four rebounds and two assists in 36 minutes for Vermont, while Yepdo scored 10 points in 17 minutes. John Broom had three points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes, Barnett contributed eight points and seven rebounds in 34 minutes, and Badru finished with seven points, six rebounds and a block in 19 minutes.

Turnage led Quinnipiac with 17 points and six assists in 25 minutes, making five 3-pointers. McKnight added 14 points and seven rebounds in 35 minutes, Sekasi had 13 points, five rebounds and three assists in 35 minutes, and Diouf scored 12 points in 19 minutes. Quinnipiac shot 27 of 63 from the floor, made 11 of 23 from 3-point range and converted 14 of 17 free throws. Vermont shot 27 of 53 overall, 5 of 16 from beyond the arc and 17 of 25 from the foul line.

Vermont carried its halftime lead into the second half and moved ahead 44-37 on three free throws from Yepdo and a free throw from Broom. Quinnipiac answered with a layup from McKnight and two free throws from Sekasi. The Catamounts later took their largest lead at 58-49 when Davies made a turnaround jumper with 12:08 remaining. Quinnipiac responded with a 10-2 run, getting a 3-pointer from Cholevinskas, free throws from Michael Parrotta, a layup by McKnight and a three-point play from Diouf. A 3-pointer by Turnage with 10:55 left brought the Bobcats within 60-55, and they continued to chip away.

Ali Diouf made two free throws with 7:32 left to bring Quinnipiac within 62-59, and his layup and free throw at 6:56 trimmed the deficit to 64-62. Yalden answered with two free throws, but Cunningham-Pemberton’s jumper at 6:24 made it 66-64. Yalden made two more free throws, and Nas Hart’s alley-oop dunk at 5:17 pulled Quinnipiac within 68-66. Davies answered with a layup, and Turnage’s 3-pointer at 4:59 cut it to 70-69. Yepdo’s layup with 4:41 remaining put Vermont ahead 72-69. Turnage answered with a 3-pointer to tie it at 72, and McKnight’s layup at the 2:48 mark gave Quinnipiac a 74-72 edge. Yalden tied the score with a layup with 2:17 left, but Turnage drove for a layup with 2:02 remaining to put the Bobcats back in front. Sekasi then made the biggest shot of the game, a 3-pointer from the wing with 46.8 seconds left that gave Quinnipiac a 79-74 cushion. Yepdo’s layup with 39.2 seconds remaining cut the deficit to three, but Vermont could not extend the game.

Quinnipiac finished with 10 offensive rebounds to Vermont’s 11 and committed only two turnovers while forcing seven. The Bobcats held a 5-1 edge in points off turnovers and a 2-1 advantage in fastbreak points. Vermont held a 38-28 edge in points in the paint. Quinnipiac was whistled for 20 fouls and Vermont for 17. The Bobcats scored 79 points on 63 possessions for an offensive rating of 125.2, while the Catamounts scored 76 points on 61 possessions for an offensive rating of 124.8. Quinnipiac had four assists.

Quinnipiac had opened the season with a 96-59 loss at Michigan State and a 66-56 home win over Bryant. Vermont had lost at Iona 56-55 and won at Fairfield 79-67. Quinnipiac is scheduled to host Monmouth on Thursday. Vermont is set to host Plattsburgh State on Saturday. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Quinnipiac 70, Vermont 69. Interstat’s ELO system had given Vermont a 68.6 percent probability to win. Vermont was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -7.5. The combined score was 155 against an over/under line of 140.5.