Three-time America East Player of the Year Taylor Coppenrath scored 37 points to lead Vermont to its third-straight America East Men's Basketball Championship with a 80-57 win over Northeastern at soldout Patrick Gymnasium.
Box Score
Coppenrath, who earned the Reggie Lewis Award as the championship's Most Oustanding Performer for the second-straight year, scored 25 of the top-seeded Catamounts' first 27 points of the second half. The senior forward was 17-of-24 from the floor and added nine rebounds. He averaged 34.7 ppg in the three Vermont wins.
The Catamounts (24-6) led wire-to-wire thanks to 61.8 percent shooting in the first half and a surprising 15 points from Martin Klimes in the first 20 minutes. The sophomore, who came into the game averaging 4.1 ppg, added five rebounds and five assists.
Coppenrath and Klimes were joined on the all-championship team by teammates T.J. Sorrentine (18.7 ppg in the three games) and Germain Mopa Njila, and Northeastern's Jose Juan Barea, who scored 14 points in 24 minutes before leaving the game with an ankle injury. Barea scored 41 points in the Huskies' quarterfinal win over Stony Brook and added 20 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists in the semifinal win over Maine.
Vermont awaits Sunday's NCAA pairings. Northeastern (21-9) and Boston University (20-8) hope for NIT berths.