BURLINGTON, Vt. – Yale is starting to make a habit of last-second, dramatic victories.

Matt Townsend's jumper from the top of the key with five seconds left lifted the Bulldogs to a thrilling 57-56 victory over Vermont before a stunned crowd of 1,761 at Patrick Gym.

Two weeks ago, Yale knocked off defending national champion UConn when Jack Montague hit a three-pointer from the corner with 1.9 seconds remaining.

"This was a gritty, gutsy win," said James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Men's Basketball. "We didn't play our best game, but we made plays when we needed to. It's a very satisfying win. Vermont is a very, very good team and has a great program."

It was Yale's first win at Vermont since Chris Dudley scored 26 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in an 82-80 win in 1986. The Bulldogs had dropped seven straight at Patrick Gym.

At 9-3, Yale is off to its best start since the 1991-92 team began 10-2.

Montague set up the winning play by penetrating and kicking the ball out to Townsend, who has a deadly mid-range jump shot.

"I'll take Matt taking that shot 10 out of 10 times," said Greg Kelley, who contributed eight points off the bench.

Added Jones, "We were trying to move the ball. That's when we are at our best. I felt good when Matt took the shot."

Vermont quickly got the ball to midcourt and called timeout with 1.9 seconds left, but Justin Sears stole the in-bounds pass to secure the victory.

Montague finished with 12 points to pace the Bulldogs. Sears added 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks. Javier Duren scored eight points, and Armani Cotton and Makai Mason contributed four points apiece.

Kurt Steidl paced the Catamounts with 18 points, including a three-pointer that gave the Catamounts a 56-55 lead with 1:34 left.

There were 13 lead changes and six ties in the game. Yale's largest lead was seven midway through the second half, while UVM had a six-point advantage midway through the first half.

The Bulldogs led 28-24 at halftime, but UVM opened the second half with a 9-2 run. Yale then responded with a 13-3 spurt, capped by a three-point play from Kelley, who scored all eight of his points in the second half.

"I just tried to bring some energy," said Kelley, who finished 2-of-2 from the field and 3-of-3 from the foul line.

Vermont later ran off seven straight points to tie the score at 50, setting up the dramatic finish.

The Bulldogs, who hadn't played since falling at Florida on Dec. 8, shot 47.6 percent from the field, including 60 percent (6-of-10) from three-point range.

Vermont (5-5) had a 31-27 rebounding edge.

The Catamounts have won at least 20 games in each of the last six years, and last year won the America East regular season title and advanced to the post season NIT where they fell to Georgia in the first round.

Yale plays again on Saturday, hosting Albany at 2 p.m. at the John J. Lee Amphitheater. The Bulldogs are then off for the holiday before playing at Sacred Heart on Dec. 30.

Report filed by Tim Bennett (timothy.bennett@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity