In the opening minute of his first college basketball game, Josh Speidel took a pass from senior teammate Everett Duncan and went up for a layup to score his first collegiate points.
Speidel, a senior from Columbus North, then left the game to a standing ovation from the Vermont faithful who had come to watch the Catamounts in their regular-season finale at Patrick Gymnasium. They were treated to an 85-62 win against Albany.
Columbus North’s all-time leading scorer had his career put on hold when he was critically injured and suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident late in his senior high school season. He has spent the past four years on the Vermont team and made his first start on senior night. Catamounts coach John Becker arranged with Albany for it to make a basket first and then let Speidel score for Vermont.
The Catamounts (24-7), who won the America East Conference regular season with a 14-2 record, open conference tournament play at home against Maine at 7 p.m. Saturday.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
