America East

America East Basketball News & Notes: Vermont has another regular season title.

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For the seventh straight season, the Vermont Catamounts have won at least a share of the regular season championship in the America East Conference. The streak is the second-longest active mark in college basketball. The only streak that is longer is Gonzaga’s 10 straight titles in the West Coast Conference. On Wednesday night, the Catamounts looked to win the league outright when they play host to the Binghamton Bearcats. Here is how the final full week of league play is shaping up.

On Saturday night, at the Wellness & Events Center in Newark NJ, the #12 Catamounts (17-10, 11-2) took on a feisty NJIT (7-19, 4-9) squad that was looking for the upset. The game featured six ties and five lead changes. It would take extra time before Vermont came away with the 82-80 victory. Both teams received strong performances from members of their starting fives. For the Catamounts, senior Robbie Duncan had a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds. For the Highlanders, Kevin Osawe put up a 29-point, 19-rebound effort. Finn Sullivan (21 points) sent the game to overtime by knocking down a three-pointer with 14 seconds left. Vermont trailed by as many as 11 in the second half. In the extra session, Duncan scored in the paint with seven seconds left to give the Catamounts a 2-point lead at 82-80. The Highlanders had one last chance to win the game, but a 3-point attempt by Kjeil de Graaf with four seconds left was no good and Vermont escaped with the win and a share of the regular season crown. Vermont’s winning streak is now at nine in a row.

Another big matchup took place at Costello Athletic Center between the Binghamton Bearcats (12-14, 8-5) and the #20 UMass Lowell River Hawks (22-7, 9-5)  The Bearcats arrived in Lowell in second place in the league. It was the latest they have been in the sport since their championship season of 2008-09. Lowell was trying to secure their first postseason home playoff game since becoming a Division 1 member ten years ago. Turnovers would decide this one as the Bearcats were careless with the rock all afternoon long and committed 23 turnovers. The River Hawks turned those into 32 points. Lowell gets the win 84-70 and moves into second place for now. The win also gave the River Hawks a 14-0 record at home. On Saturday night vs UNH, they will go for an undefeated home regular season. 

The Maine Black Bears (11-15, 5-8) looked to strengthen their hold on a playoff berth when they hosted UAlbany (7-22, 2-12) on Saturday night. The AE Player of the Week and the Rookie of the Week were displayed in this one. Sophomore guard Kellen Tynes had a big game for the home team. He went for 23 points on 7-of-8 shooting (88%), six rebounds, four assists, and seven steals  He won the Player of the Week award for the first time this season and the second time in his career. UAlbany forward Jonathan Beagle, won the award for the eighth time this year. It ties him for the second most in league history. He did all he could to give his team a chance at a win. His double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds was helped by a monster game off the bench by Da Kquan Davis (26 points on 10-of-17 shooting). The Great Danes trailed by ten at the half, in part because they did not get to the foul line at all in the first twenty minutes. They outscored the Black Bears by eight in the second half but it was not enough as they would lose by two 74-72. The loss by the Great Danes pretty much assured them of missing the America East playoffs this season since they trail the Highlanders by three games in the loss column with two games to play.   

Some other notes to consider as the last full week gets underway. Four teams Binghamton, Bryant (16-10, 7-6), UMBC (17-12, 7-7), and UNH (12-13, 7-6) are all fighting for the last home seed in the playoff. Maine’s 11 wins are the most since the 2012-13 season. The River Hawks’ 22 wins are the most for them in Division 1 history, Their 20 Division 1 wins are a first for the program. They have won five of their last six games heading into their final road game at UMBC on Wednesday night. They have also scored 80+ points in their last three contests. Maine’s Kellen Tynes leads the nation in steals per game with 3.2 a contest.

Next week we wrap up the regular season and look forward to the America East playoffs which begin on March 4.

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