Vermont tops UMBC 80-71, on cusp of 5th straight AEC title
BALTIMORE -- — Ryan Davis scored 21 points as Vermont stretched its winning streak to eight games, beating Maryland-Baltimore County 80-71 on Thursday night, earning at least a share of the America East Conference title.
The Catamounts and UMBC play again Friday in the regular-season finale. Vermont needs a sweep to become the first team to win five consecutive AEC titles. The Retrievers can share the championship with a split.
Stef Smith and Ben Shungu added 20 points each for the Catamounts. Shungu also had eight rebounds. Isaiah Powell had 11 points for Vermont (10-3, 10-3 America East Conference).
R.J. Eytle-Rock had 23 points and seven rebounds for the Retrievers (13-5, 9-4). L.J. Owens added 12 points. Keondre Kennedy had 11 points.
Brandon Horvath, who led the Retrievers in scoring coming into the contest with 14 points per game, was held to only 7 points on 3-of-11 shooting. He made one basket in the first half, two in the second.
Vermont outscored UMBC 34—26 in the paint and was a perfect 12 of 12 at the free throw line. UMBC was 11 of 18 at the line.
------
For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP--Top25
------
Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
Game Information
- Referees:
- Earl Walton
- John Floyd
- Michael Kitts
2023-24 America East Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Vermont | 15-1 | - | 28-7 |
UMass Lowell | 11-5 | 4 | 22-10 |
Bryant | 11-5 | 4 | 20-13 |
New Hampshire | 7-9 | 8 | 16-15 |
Binghamton | 7-9 | 8 | 15-15 |
Maine | 7-9 | 8 | 15-17 |
UMBC | 6-10 | 9 | 11-21 |
UAlbany | 5-11 | 10 | 13-19 |
NJIT | 3-13 | 12 | 7-21 |