FINAL SCORE: No. 4 Hartford 71, No. 2 Vermont 66
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Second-seeded Vermont nearly overcame a double-digit second-half deficit but fell to fourth-seeded Hartford 71-66 in the 2021 Hercules Tires America East Semifinal on Saturday evening. The Catamounts end the season with a 10-5 record. The Hawks improve to 14-8 and will host No. 6 UMass Lowell in the America East Championship Game next Saturday (March 13).
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score: Web | PDF
CatamounTV: Game Highlights | Postgame Press Conference
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"It was a tough loss but Hartford played great and they were the better team today," said Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker. "Hartford made the plays down the stretch and we did not play well enough to win the game."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cats and Hawks played to a low-scoring defensive battle for most of the first half. UVM built an 8-2 edge in the opening five minutes, but Hartford's Traci Carter scored four of the team's next six points to tie the game at 8-8 by the 12:51 mark.
• With the Hawks leading 15-14 with nine and half minutes left in the period, the Catamounts netted eight unanswered points with five points coming Tomas Murphy and a left-wing three from Ben Shungu to give the home team a 22-15 lead.
• Hartford's Austin Williams drilled two triples as a part of 7-2 run to get the Hawks back within a bucket, 24-22.
• With the game tied at 29-29 with 1:49 to go in the first half, Hartford's Hunter Marks hit a long jumper but Stef Smith answered with a deep triple to give the Cats a 32-31 edge with 15 ticks left on the clock. Williams banked in a runner in the final seconds as Hartford led 33-32 at halftime.
• The Hawks opened the second half with a 13-6 run and stretched their lead to 46-38 by the first media timeout. Ryan Davis helped the Cats draw within six after using some low-post moves, but Hartford continued its hot streak and led 53-42 by the 12-minute media timeout.
• The Catamounts came back with an 11-4 surge and whittled the deficit to 57-53 in a five-minute stretch. As quickly as the home team clawed back into the game, the visitors started to heat up again with two triples for a 63-54 lead near the four-minute mark.
• UVM showed some tenacity once again and clawed back. Davis and Smith teamed up to score eight of Vermont's next 10 points to cut the margin to 65-64 with 1:39 left to play.
• The game came down to the wire in the final minute. Williams hit a mid-range jumper with 26 seconds left to put the Hawks up 67-66 but Isaiah Powell answered on the other end of the floor after banking in a jumper of his own near the charity stripe. The Cats were forced to foul with nine seconds remaining as Carter made both attempts, extending Hartford's lead to 69-66. Shungu tried to tie the game with a triple in the final seconds but misfired. Williams came down with the defensive rebound and made both free throws to ice the game after UVM had to foul one more time.   

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Shungu paced the offensive attack with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting. He dished out six assists and recorded two steals.
• Davis followed with 16 points and made 6-of-8 attempts from the floor. He pulled down four boards and blocked one shot.
• Smith was the third Catamount in double figures with 11 points and two rebounds.

Key Motors of South Burlington is the presenting sponsor of the 2020-21 Vermont men's basketball season