The start of conference play brought out the best in several of America East's top men's basketball stars as standout performances highlighted opening night. Albany, Maine, UMBC and Stony Brook rode such performances to wins and all moved to 1-0 in the league standings.
Reigning America East Player of the Week Gerardo Suero picked up where he left off, tallying 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead the Great Danes to an 88-63 victory over Hartford. Albany, who has won seven of its last 10 games overall, improved to 5-0 at home by shooting 56 percent from the floor. Logan Aronhalt added 17 points, while Mike Black had 15 and nine assists. Andres Torres paced three Hawks in twin figures with 13 points.
Alasdair Fraser scored 25 points and added eight rebounds to lead Maine to a 76-61 win at Binghamton. The win was Maine's fourth in its last five games and fourth straight in a conference road opener. The Bearcats came back from a 16-point deficit to get within three at 51-48 midway through the second half but the Black Bears outscored them 26-13 the rest of the way. Justin Edwards had 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Maine. Ben Dickinson led Binghamton with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Brian Neller's three-pointer from the top of the key with 31 seconds left gave UMBC a one-point lead and the Retrievers held on for an 82-76 comeback win at New Hampshire. Chase Plummer led the way with 23 points, seven rebounds and a key block on Jordon Bronner's game-tying attempt with 22 seconds left. The Retrievers, who posted their first win in an opener since 2009 and also snapped a fou-game losing skid, outscored UNH 50-37 after halftime. Both teams had five players in double figures as Neller added 17. Patrick Konan paced the Wildcats with 20 and five rebounds.
Stony Brook held Vermont to just 37 percent shooting and got 17 points and six rebounds from Al Rapier en route to a 65-59 win at Pritchard Gym. The Seawolves, who have won three straight, improved to 6-0 at home this season. Stony Brook's defense was even better in the second half when it held UVM to just 31 percent shooting. Dave Coley added 15 points for the winners, while Bryan Dougher had 14. Luke Apfeld returned from a minor injury and led Vermont with 18 points off the bench. Sandro Carissimo had a season-high 16 and five assists.
Recent Results
Monday, January 2
at Albany 88, Hartford 63 -- Box Score
Maine 76, at Binghamton 61 -- Box Score
UMBC 82, at New Hampshire 76 -- Box Score
at Stony Brook 65, Vermont 49 -- Box Score