The University of Maine men’s basketball team fell behind by 21 points in the first half Saturday night, a deficit they couldn’t overcome in a 73-57 loss in the quarterfinal round of the America East playoffs to the Vermont Catamounts at Patrick Gym in Burlington, Vermont.
Vermont (25-6), the top seed in the tournament, came out running from the start building an early 15-2 lead on seven early points from Anthony Lamb. Eighth seed Maine only could get within eight in the first half from that point, and trailed 41-22 at the half. The Catamounts would build the lead to 25 just over 3:30 into the second half, and the final margin of 16 was as close as the visiting Black Bears would get in the second 20 minutes of action.
Isaiah White led Maine with 18 points, while Vicent Eze finished with 14 points and six rebounds. The Bears shot 33 percent from the floor, compared to 52 percent for the Catamounts. Lamb led the hosts with a game high 34 points, and added six rebounds. He was 12-23 from the floor, 4-8 from three point range, and also hit 6-8 from the line. Ernie Duncan added 12 points for Vermont. Maine finishes their season with a record of 5-27. Vermont will play Binghamton in the second round, as the seventh seeded Bearcats upset the two seed Stony Brook in the first round.
