BOSTON – All top four seeds may have prevailed, but it was a wild day in the 2024 Jersey Mike’s America East men’s basketball quarterfinals as the top two seeds were pushed to the brink before advancing.
No. 1 Vermont trailed No. 8 UAlbany nearly the entire contest and took the Great Danes’ best punch before eking out a 75-72 win. No. 2 UMass Lowell needed overtime to get past No. 7 UMBC, 94-89, as the Retrievers refused to go away.
The other two top seeds earned double-digit wins to advance to the semifinals with No. 3 Bryant shooting lights out on its way to an 84-58 win over No. 6 Maine and No. 4 New Hampshire rode a double-double from America East Player of the Year Clarence Daniels to a 77-64 victory over No. 5 Binghamton.
The semifinals will take place on Tuesday with No. 1 Vermont hosting No. 4 New Hampshire at 5 p.m. on ESPN2 while No. 2 UMass Lowell hosts No. 3 Bryant at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
The two semifinal winners will play for the America East title and an automatic NCAA bid on Saturday, March 16 at 11 a.m. at the highest remaining seed’s home court. For full playoff coverage, including box scores, highlights, photos and more, visit #AEPlayoffs Central
#1 Vermont 75, #8 UAlbany 72
- UAlbany came out firing, looking for the first victory by a #8 seed in 20 years. The Great Danes led just 13-12 before going on an 11-2 run for a 24-14 advantage at 11:40. Vermont climbed back within three but went into the half down 37-31.
- The Catamounts grabbed back the lead five minutes into the second and it was a back-and-forth contest over the next ten minutes.
- UAlbany trailed 67-64 late, but scored six consecutive points for a three-point lead with just two minutes left in regulation.
- Vermont answered with six straight, including a go-ahead three by TJ Long with just 30 seconds left. The Catamounts made just enough free throws in the final seconds to escape with the win.
- Sebastian Thomas led UAlbany with 31 points on 11-for-16 shooting as the Great Danes shot 46.6 percent overall.
- Vermont was just 4-for-16 from deep, but Long finished with 20 points and six boards. Shamir Bogues came through with 16 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds.
#2 UMass Lowell 94, #7 UMBC 89 (OT)
- UMBC scored the first eight points of the game and Dion Brown hit a three for a 17-7 Retriever lead at 12:35. The River Hawks slowly clawed back into the contest over the next ten minutes. Quinton Mincey gave UMass Lowell their first lead with 1:10 left and his team went into the half up 32-31.
- The second half was back-and-forth, and the score was tied 54-54 with just 10:38 remaining. No team held a lead greater than four points for the rest of regulation. Yuri Covington made a layup with 32 seconds left for the 76-74 lead but Dion Brown answered with a baseline jumper and a last-second shot was off to send it to OT.
- UMass Lowell scored the first four points of overtime and pushed their lead to seven with 1:45 left. UMBC managed to pull within three points twice in the last minute, but couldn’t get any closer.
- Quinton Mincey finished with 27 points and 16 rebounds as one of six players to score in double figures. Ayinde Hikim added 12 points and 12 assists. The 12 helpers are tied for the fourth most ever in the conference tournament.
- Marcus Banks Jr. had 24 points, seven rebounds and three steals in the loss while Dion Brown added 18 points, eight assists and five rebounds.
#3 Bryant 84, #6 Maine 58
- The Black Bears jumped out to an 8-4 lead three minutes into the contest and led until a Miles Latimer three with 12:08 left in the period.
- Another Maine basket tied it up, but Bryant went on a 19-4 run to grab a 35-20 advantage with 6:29 remaining in the period. The Black Bears managed to close the gap to 47-36 at the half though Rafael Pinzon finished the opening period with 21 points for Bryant.
- The Bulldogs took control in the second half, outscoring Maine 37-22 as they cruised to the 85-58 victory.
- Rafael Pinzon led Bryant with a career-high 35 points, shooting 6-for-8 from three. Daniel Rivera added 12 points and 13 rebounds.
- Peter Filipovity paced Maine with 16 points and six rebounds as the Black Bears shot just 32.2 percent for the game
#4 New Hampshire 77, #5 Binghamton 64
- New Hampshire took a 21-14 lead at 10:38 and led 29-21 five minutes later. However, Binghamton closed the half on a 13-3 run, including a late three by Dan Petcach for a 34-42 advantage at the break.
- The Bearcats took a four-point lead early in the second half, but the Wildcats responded with ten straight points to pull in front 44-38. Binghamton closed the gap to two points midway through the half.
- New Hampshire was able to stretch the lead to nine points with 7:12 left and Binghamton never got closer than six points the rest of the half as the Wildcats came away with the 13-point victory.
- Daniels had 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to the semis for the second-straight year.
- Tymu Chenery led four Bearcats in double figures with 18 points.
ABOUT AMERICA EAST
Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
- America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -