Courtesy Vermont Sports Information
BURLINGTON — UVM men’s basketball captains Anthony Lamb and Everett Duncan combined for 38 points as the top-seeded Catamounts defeated eighth-seeded Maine 61-50 in the 2020 Hercules Tires America East Quarterfinals on Saturday night.
COACH’S QUOTE
“We were playing well coming into tonight and I knew we would have to earn this victory,” Cioffi Men’s Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. “I thought we wore them down with our depth late in the game and Everett came up big for us. Our experienced group didn’t panic and just stuck with it for the full 40 minutes.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Anthony Lamb buried his first three shot attempts for an early seven points, but the Black Bears hit four triples for a 12-7 lead by the first media timeout.
The Catamounts answered in a big way with a 22-6 run and built a 29-18 lead with six minutes left in the half.
Once again, Maine used the three-pointer to claw back into the game. Stephane Ingo canned one from the top of the key and Nedeljko Prijovic made one from the corner to draw within 32-26. Stef Smith countered with a long ball of his own right before halftime as the Green and Gold went into the locker room up 35-26.
The Cats scored the first five points of the second half but the Black Bears mounted a 17-4 surge and cut the margin down to 44-43 with 11 minutes left on the clock.
UVM’s defense did not let Maine come any closer as the defending conference champs closed out the game on an 11-4 run in the final nine minutes.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Lamb registered a game-high 19 points and made 7-of-14 attempts from the floor. The senior nailed two triples, pulled down six rebounds, and dished out two assists. On the defensive end, Lamb recorded two steals and swatted away one shot.
Duncan matched Lamb’s output with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting. The captain was 4-of-8 from deep and tallied seven rebounds. The guard produced four assists and had a team-high three steals.
Stef Smith was also in double figures with 10 points. The junior drilled two three-pointers and picked up three defensive rebounds.
Ryan Davis led the Catamounts with eight rebounds on the night. The sophomore had a game-high five offensive boards and tallied eight points.
With the victory, the Cats Win, Community Wins campaign and Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to a Vermont charity, bringing the 2020 total to 41 wins totaling $4,100. A special thank you to Vermont Mutual Insurance for their support, protecting Vermonters since 1828.
WHO’S NEXT
The Catamounts will host fourth-seeded UMBC in the semifinal round of the 2020 Hercules Tires America East Tournament on Tuesday (Mar. 10). The opening tip is slated for 7 p.m. at Patrick Gym. All of the action will be streamed on ESPN+ and ESPN app with a paid subscription. Fans can watch the game on ESPN+ with a paid subscription. Fans can also listen live on the Vermont Sports Network, from Learfield IMG College, on 101.3 The Game or online at Catamounts All-Access with Jake Marsh on the call.