America East Basketball News & Notes: Down the stretch we go

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With just a little over two weeks left in the America East regular season, there is still plenty left for teams to play for. With homecourt being such a huge advantage for teams this conference season, having it in the postseason for as long as you can will be a big plus. It is starting to look like the road to an NCAA tournament berth will once again go through Vermont as the Catamounts took care of business last week. Let’s take a look at where the league stands as the final third of the season begins.

The Vermont Catamounts (15-10, 9-2) are on a big-time roll at the right time of the year. They have now won seven in a row after another undefeated week. Last Wednesday night, they took down the Maine Black Bears on the road by a 74-65 score. Four players in double-figures for the Catamounts were led by Finn Sullivan who posted a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Vermont’s starting five was responsible for 60 of the 74 points scored on the night. They opened up a ten-point halftime lead and traded baskets in the second half with the Black Bears to get their fourth road win in the conference. On Saturday night, the showdown game with UMass Lowell took place at Patrick Gym in Burlington, VT. It was never really a showdown at all as Vermont raced out to an 8-0 lead off the opening jump and never looked back. The wire-to-wire win was dominated by great shooting by the Catamounts. In the first half, Vermont shot 71% from 3-point land (10-of-14), and 64% from the field at 16-of-25. They took a 17-point lead with them to the locker room. They finished the game shooting over 60% from the field and from 3-point territory. Four of the five starters ended the game in double-figures, combining for 74 of the 93 points on the night. The Catamounts are now averaging 71 points a night on offense. On defense, they are allowing 68 a game. Senior Robbie Duncan leads the league in both assists with an average of 4.3 a game (107 in 25G) and in assists/turnovers ratio at 3.0 (107A, to 36 TO).

The Binghamton Bearcats (11-13, 7-4) are the team that sits in second place in the conference two games back of Vermont. The Bearcats won both of their games last week. Last Wednesday night in a game that featured seven ties and six lead changes, the Bearcats found a way to get a road win in Durham, NH. Strong play from the starting five was the key as they scored 60 of the 66 total points, placing four in double-figures. Amon Harried led the way with 23 points and seven boards. Their 3-point defense held the Wildcats (11-12, 6-5) to just 39% shooting from three’s (7-of-18). On Saturday night, a close game was blown open in overtime. The 80-66 win over Albany (6-21, 1-11) does not tell how tight this game was. The game was tied eight times, with three lead changes. The Bearcats blew this game open with a 17-3 run in the extra session. Dan Petcash led the way with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. The Bearcats were deadly from 3-point range, shooting 60% for the game at 9-of-15. In the first half, they were 5-of-6 for 83%. Binghamton does get one more crack at Vermont. It will be on Wednesday night February 22 at Burlington, Vt.

The University of Maryland-Baltimore County (17-10, 7-5) also had a perfect week. Wins over NJIT and Bryant has created a long jam in the middle of the pack. Three teams UMBC, Bryant (16-9, 7-5), and UMass Lowell (20-7, 7-5) all have 7-5 conference records. This will be sorted out over the next two weeks as these three teams have games against each other. These will be important contests because one of these three teams will end up as the fifth seed in the tournament and will start on the road on March 4. In the win over NJIT, it would be the bench of the Retrievers that got the job done. Matteo Picarell’s 21 points (5-of-7 from the field and from 3-point land) and a double-double by Tra-Von Fagan of 18 points and 12 rebounds led the way in a 72-63 win. In the 76-73 win over the Bulldogs, the bench came through again, outscoring Bryant’s bench 25-7. Fagan once again was the lead man scoring 18 points in 30 minutes. UMBC did survive a double-double of 13 points and 10 boards from Bryant’s Earl Timelake (eight double-doubles of the season).

The bottom of the standings finds Maine (10-15, 4-8) with a three-game lead in the loss column over UAlbany (6-21, 1-11). The Great Danes have really struggled, losing their last nine in a row. Their last win came on January 8 at home vs the River Hawks (89-63). Five of their nine straight losses have come by double digits. They do have games left with the two teams in front of them, on the road at Maine (Feb.18) and at home vs NJIT (Feb.25).

There are Co-Players of the Week in America East. First, there’s Sherif Gross-Bullock of Bryant. He averaged 31 points and 3.5 assists in a 1-1 week for the Bulldogs. He shot 57% from the field 21-of-37, on Saturday vs UMBC Bulldock went for a season-high 39 points (13-of-22 shooting, 7-of-11 from three). It’s the third-highest-scoring performance in division one history at Bryant. No surprise that Vermont’s Finn Sullivan was the other Co-Player of the Week. He averaged 23 points, 7.5 boards, 2.5 assists, and 2.5 steals last week. He shot 54% from the field 19-of-35. For Gross-Bullock, this is his third weekly award, and for Sullivan, this is his first.

The America East Rookie of the Week is Jonathan Beagle of UAlbany for the seventh time this season. The seven times are the third most in conference history tied with Sam Sessions of Binghamton who had seven back in the 2018-19 season. Beagle averaged 14 points, and nine rebounds last week and went for 19 points and seven boards in the overtime loss at Binghamton.

That’s a look at the America East Conference for this week. Next week we will be back with more from the league.