Anthony Lamb and Everett Duncan both had 19 points on Saturday night, as the top seeded Vermont Catamounts would pull away from #8 Maine 61-50 at Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington, Vermont in the America East men’s basketball quarterfinals.
Both teams held a first half lead. Maine took a 12-7 lead early on with the help of three-pointers from Nedeljko Prijovic and Sergio El Darwich. Vermont though went on a 9-0 run to take a lead they wouldn’t give back when Duncan hit three foul shots after being fouled on a three-point attempt to make it 16-12. The Catamounts leading 21-18 used an 11-0 spurt to take their biggest lead 32-18, and held a 35-26 advantage at the half. After building the lead back to 14 early in the second half, Prijovic hit a three-pointer to cap a 10-0 Maine run to cut it to 40-36. Maine took a big hit when Andrew Fleming fouled out 8:05 into the half. Prijovic would hit a layup later to make it just a one point game 44-43 with 11:21 left to play, but that is as close as the Black Bears could get. Despite several chances to move ahead, the visitors were unable to do so. It was still a three point game at 49-46 Vermont with 6:54 remaining, but the Catamounts came up with several stops. Duncan later hit a three-pointer with 3:04 to go and another with 1:55 showing on the clock to give them their largest lead of the night at 15, and the hosts would hold on with the final score not telling you just how close and competitive the game was.
Prijovic led Maine in the loss with 18 points and six rebounds. El Darwich finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Fleming added eight points and five rebounds. The Black Bears finish their season at 9-22. Lamb added six rebounds and three assists, and Duncan had seven rebounds and four assists to add to their game high point total in the Vermont win. Stef Smith also had 10 points, and America East sixth man of the year Ryan Davis contributed eight points and eight rebounds. The Catamounts are 25-7 and will host a semifinal game Tuesday night against UMBC.
