The top two teams in the America East standings held serve Sunday as Vermont and Stony Brook each posted wins, setting up a battle for first place on Thursday in Burlington.
Vermont (19-9, 13-1 AE) trailed early in the second half to Hartford (14-15, 8-6 AE) but outscored the Hawks, 46-18, the rest of the way en route to a 72-47 win. The victory was Vermont's eighth in a row and 15th in its last 16 games. Sandro Carissimo and Candon Rusin each scored a game-high 17 points and led the second-half charge with 12 of Carissimo's points and all of Rusin's coming after halftime. Taylor Dyson's 13 points paced Hartford, which fell for the first time in five games.
Stony Brook (20-8, 12-2 AE) used a 16-2 second-half run to build a lead on Maine (5-21, 3-11 AE) and held off a late charge from the Black Bears on its way to an 83-79 win. The victory gave the Seawolves their fourth 20-win season in their last five. Carson Puriefoy led the way with a career-high 24 points. Xavier Pollard's double-double of 21 points and 11 boards paced Maine.
The Catamounts and Seawolves will meet on Thursday at 7 p.m. (ESPN3) with first place on the line. UVM would lock up the regular-season crown with a with a win, while a SBU win would result in a first-place tie, but Stony Brook would hold the tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed in the America East Championship with one game remaining.
Recent Results
Sunday, February 23
Stony Brook 83, at Maine 79 - Box Score
at Vermont 72, Hartford 47 - Box Score | Highlights