ALBANY, N.Y. -- Strong second-half efforts were the theme of Saturday's quarterfinals of the 2013 America East Men's Basketball Championship presented by SEFCU at SEFCU Arena as four teams advanced to Sunday's semifinal. No. 2 Vermont, No. 4 Albany and No. 6 UMBC all overcame deficits to advance for a trip to the league title game, while Stony Brook overwhelmed Binghamton from the get go to advance.
Visit Championship Central for box scores, postgame quotes, photo galleries and highlights for all games as well as live coverage links for Sunday’s semifinals, which will air on ESPN3 and WatchESPN.
Quarterfinal Recaps
#2 Vermont 61, #7 New Hampshire 42
On the heels of a 27-3 second-half run, Vermont is heading to the America East men's basketball semifinals for the 11th time in the last 12 years. The second-seeded Catamounts overcame a six-point halftime deficit to beat seventh-seeded New Hampshire, 61-42, in the first quarterfinal contest Saturday.
Candon Rusin was one of two players in twin figures for Vermont (20-10), which earned its 10 20-win season in the last 12 years. Third-team all-leaguer Sandro Carissimo added 10 points. Ferg Myrick (15 points) and Patrick Konan (12 points) paced UNH, which fell to 9-31 all time in championship play.
The Wildcats built a 26-20 halftime advantage by shooting 50 percent, while holding the Catamounts to just 26.9 percent from the floor. UNH opened that lead to 30-22 before Vermont, the reigning champion, scored 27 of the game's next 30 points to pull away, including a 15-0 run to pull away.
The Cats, who advanced to play for their seventh America East title game appearance in 12 years, shot 58.3 percent in the second half while holding UNH to only 17.4 percent.
Vermont will face sixth-seeded UMBC in the semifinals Sunday at 5 p.m. at SEFCU Arena.
#6 UMBC 69, #3 Hartford 62
Behind 24 points from Ryan Cook and a red-hot shooting effort in the second half, UMBC earned a spot in the semifinals for the first time since 2009. The sixth-seeded Retrievers shot a scorching 78.9 percent in the second half en route a 69-62 win over third-seeded Hartford in the second quarterfinal contest Saturday.
Brian Neller joined Cook in the 20-point club, scoring 20 and canning six three-pointers. Nate Sikma had 17 for Hartford, while first-team all-conference choice Mark Nwakamma had 13 points and six rebounds, but fouled out with 6:02 remaining.
UMBC (8-22), the sixth-straight No. 3 seed and ninth in 10 years to advance to the semifinals, trailed by as many as eight in the second half as Hartford's John Peterson canned a three-pointer with 17:23 left to give it a 32-24 lead before taking control. The Retrievers used an 18-7 run to take a 46-29 lead on a pair of Cook free throws with just over 11 minutes left.
Hartford (17-13), which fell one win shy of tying its Division I-program standard of 18 wins, would draw within one twice, but never could tie or take the lead in a game that featured seven ties and nine lead changes.
The Retrievers, who shot a season-high 54.5 percent, will face Vermont in the semifinals Sunday at 5 p.m. at SEFCU Arena.
#1 Stony Brook 72, #8 Binghamton 49
Anthony Jackson led a balanced Stony Brook attack, which had four players double figures, as the Seawolves advanced to the America East semifinal round for the fourth-consecutive year Saturday. Top-seeded Stony Brook shot 52.9 percent from the field en route to a 72-49 win over eighth-seeded Binghamton in the third quarterfinal matchup Saturday.
Scott King added a season-high 13 points, while America East Rookie of the Year added 12 points and nine rebounds and third-team all-conference standout Dave Coley added 11 points and eight boards to round out the twin figure scorers. Third-team all-league choice Jordan Reed paced Binghamton with 16 points and eight boards while Taylor Johnston had 13 and Jimmy Gray chipped in with 11.
Stony Brook (24-6), winner of seven straight and 11 of the last 12, came out firing right out of the gate. The Seawolves scored 16 of the game's 20 points and never looked back, putting up 37 points by the half and holding the Bearcats to just 14 points, which tied for the second fewest in championship history.
The Seawolves, the league's regular season champion, grew their lead to as many as 31 in the second half, capped by Jackson's three-pointer with 10:37 left that gave them a 60-29 lead. The Seawolves, who held their 11th foe under 50 points, held on for the 23-point win.
SBU will face fourth-seeded Albany in the semifinals Sunday at approximately 7 p.m. at SEFCU Arena
#5 Albany 50, #4 Maine 49
Sam Rowley's layup with just 19 second left completed Albany's comeback from 13 points down as the Great Danes advanced to the America East men's basketball semifinals for the second-straight season. Fourth-seeded Albany outscored fifth-seeded Maine, 16-7, over the final quarter of the game en route to a 50-49 win in the final men's quarterfinal game Saturday.
Rowley led all scorers with 19 points and added eight rebounds. Mike Black added 11, including the 1,500th of his career, becoming just the 44th player in league history to hit that mark. Justin Edwards paced Maine with 18 points and seven rebounds.
Maine (11-19) controlled the first half, shooting 58.3 percent from the field while holding Albany (22-10) to just 32.1 percent. Edwards gave the Black Bears, who have dropped eight-straight tournament games, its largest lead (30-17) on a layup with 3:47 left in the first half.
The Black Bears took a nine-point advantage into halftime and stretched it back to double digits less than four minutes into the half. But the Great Danes, whose 22 wins are their second most in their Division I history, chipped away and held Maine to just one field goal of the game's last 9:43, setting up Rowley's game winner.
Edwards had a chance at the buzzer after a pair of Rowley missed free throws, but his runner from the right side missed the mark.
The Great Danes will take on top-seeded Stony Brook in the semifinals on Sunday at approximately 7 p.m. at SEFCU Arena. The Seawolves have knocked Albany out of the tournament each of the last three years.