BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Clancy Rugg scored 19 points and hit 11 free throws as Vermont put away Siena 77-66 Tuesday night.

The Catamounts (1-1) jumped out to an early 18-6 lead capped off by a 3-pointer by Candon Rusin, but Siena closed the gap with a late surge in the first half, trimming the deficit to three at the break.

Nursing a six-point lead, Vermont used another run, outscoring the Saints 15-5 to take a 59-43 lead with 9:04 remaining.

Siena (0-2) climbed back to cut their deficit to single digits, but Vermont continued to nail their free throws, hitting their last nine of the game to finish 33 of 42 as a team.

The Catamounts shot 43.2 percent from the field with four players in double figures. Brian Volkel had 11 rebounds and 10 assists, but was just four points short of recording a triple-double.

Rob Poole led Siena with 22 points.