America East Basketball News & Notes: Three Undefeated Starts and a Wild Ride Ahead

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The first three games of conference play are often the best barometer for how a season will unfold. Early on, the story of the America East is the dominance of three programs—UMass Lowell, UMBC, and Vermont—who have surged out of the gate while the likes of UNH and Binghamton have stumbled in close contests.

The “wild ride” of the 2025–26 season is officially underway. Here is a deep dive into the conference landscape.

1. UMass Lowell: The Montas Jr. Era

The River Hawks (8-10, 3-0) are the early pace-setters after a perfect week on the road, picking up gritty wins at Bryant and Binghamton.

The Player of the Week: For the second consecutive week, Angel Montas Jr. claimed AE Player of the Week honors. He averaged 22 points and 5 rebounds over the two-game stretch.
The Peak: Montas Jr. exploded for a career-high 27 points (including 13 field goals) against Bryant. He followed that up with 17 points against Binghamton, including the go-ahead three-pointer with under two minutes remaining.
The Paradox: UML is currently the league’s most dangerous offensive unit, leading the AE with 77.1 points per game and a league-best 47% shooting. However, they remain last in scoring defense (78.3 ppg).
The Glass: While the defense is a work in progress, their rebounding is elite. They lead the league in total rebounds (36.5) and rank second in offensive boards (11.8).

2. UMBC: Sharpshooting from the Start

UMBC (9-6, 2-0) is off to a flying start following victories over Maine and New Hampshire. Their identity is clear: ball movement and perimeter shooting.

Balanced Attack: In their win over the Black Bears, UMBC saw four players (including three starters) reach double figures.
From Downtown: The Retrievers are the #1 three-point shooting team in the league at 35.9%. Against Maine, they hit 40% of their attempts while suffocating the Black Bears’ perimeter game (22.2%).
The Playmakers: UMBC ranks second in the conference in assists, averaging 14.88 per game.

3. Vermont: The Standard of Resilience

Vermont (10-7, 2-0) continues to find ways to win. They survived a massive scare from Binghamton last Thursday at Patrick Gym in a 60-59 nail-biter.

Clutch Gene: Trailing by five at the half, the Catamounts relied on late-game heroics from Momo Nkugwa and a game-saving block from TJ Hurley on Jeremiah Quigley at the buzzer.
Gus Yalden: The big man was the lone Catamount in double figures with 15 points.
Discipline: Vermont leads the league in turnover margin (-0.29) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.36), proving why they are so difficult to beat in close games.

Weekly Honors & Standouts

AE Rookie of the Week: Bryant’s Timofei Rudovski. He averaged 17.5 points and 5 rebounds last week, including a game-high 20 points against Albany.
Binghamton’s Bright Spot: Despite the loss to Vermont, Jeremiah Quigley nearly recorded a triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists.

Thursday’s Slate: Games to Watch

Matchup	Key Storyline
NJIT (7-11, 2-1) @ UMass Lowell	Can UML’s top offense handle NJIT’s David Bolden (81.4% FT) and a strong rebounding core of Fulton and Rodgers?
Maine (3-15, 1-2) @ Vermont	It’s the “Immovable Object” vs. “The Standard.” Maine boasts the #1 defense (69.4 ppg) but struggles significantly with shooting and rebounding.

The Black Bears’ defense will be a massive test for Vermont, as Maine leads the league in opponent field goal percentage (43.6%) and three-point defense (30.9%). However, their last-place ranking in rebounding and free-throw shooting (61.2%) remains their Achilles’ heel.