FINAL SCORE: #1 Vermont 66, #2 UMass Lowell 61
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Vermont men's basketball (28-6, 15-1 AE) captured the America East Championship for the third straight season, defeating No. 2 UMass Lowell (22-10, 11-5 AE) 66-61 on Saturday at Patrick Gym. The Catamounts three-peat as conference champs for the second time in program history.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score
CatamounTV: Highlights | Postgame Celebration
Postgame Press Conference
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"Yeah, really hard-fought championship game win today. I'm so proud of this group," Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker said. "You know, we've faced a lot of adversity. A lot of teams do. UMass Lowell had their adversities this year also with their injuries, and you know, but this group I think we're 10-4 when we're trailing at halftime and you know, TJ Long had probably five game-winning shots throughout the course of the year. But this group is just so resilient and so tough and (Ayo-Faleye and Bogues) epitomize that as much as anybody in our program. Two of the best defenders I've ever coached. I'm not, going to let anyone in this program be comfortable with what we did, or have done, you know. We want to do the next thing. So, I'm going to continue to dream big here."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• UMass Lowell opened scoring a minute into the matchup after a made basket from Ayinde Hikim. Shamir Bogues responded with 18:43 remaining after posting an and-one dunk, making the free throw and handing Vermont its first lead of the game, 3-2.
• On the next offensive possession, Ileri Ayo-Faleye dunked over a UMass Lowell defender who was standing under the rim, giving Vermont the 5-2 lead with 18:25 remaining.
• Three-pointers from TJ Long and Ayo-Faleye earned Vermont an 11-6 lead. Bogues followed with a floater, extending the Catamount advantage to 13-6 with 15:53 remaining prior to the first commercial timeout.
• TJ Hurley got rewarded driving hard to the rim on the right side, finishing the right-handed layup while being fouled to earn the and-one call. Hurley made his free-throw, putting the Catamounts ahead 19-11 with 12:00 left in the first half.
• UMass Lowell orchestrated an 11-2 scoring run following Hurley's and-one layup, gaining the lead, 22-21, with 5:58 remaining in the opening half.
• A layup from Bogues and an Aaron Deloney three-pointer coming out of the timeout put Vermont back up, 26-22, with 5:11 left in the half.
• Three made free-throws from Deloney stabbed into a 10-3 scoring run for UMass Lowell to conclude play in the first half. Vermont trailed by three, 32-29, going into halftime.
• Long responded to the UMass Lowell opening bucket to begin the second half with a three-pointer of his own to bring the Catamounts within two, 34-32, with 19:09 to go in the game.
• Both teams battled back and forth for a little over the next three minutes, trading buckets before Long drilled a three-pointer with 16:00 of gametime remaining to bring Vermont within one point, 39-38.
• A steal from Ayo-Faleye set up Vermont on the other end to regain the lead, 42-41, after a made floater in the paint from Long with 13:06 left in the final half.
• A block from Sam Alamutu set up the Catamounts in prime position to take a four-point lead after Long swished his fourth three-pointer of the game with 10:47 remaining in gametime, earning the 47-43 edge.
• Nick Fiorillo knocked down his second three of the game with 7:45 of gametime remaining to lift Vermont's lead to six, 54-48, forcing UMass Lowell to call a short timeout and regroup.
• Ayo-Faleye kept the offensive pressure on, scoring a smooth reverse layup through traffic to maintain the Vermont lead, 56-50, with 6:50 left of gametime on the clock.
• An athletic steal from Bogues allowed for the Catamounts to put two more points on the board coming out of a short timeout call from UVM. Bogues successfully executed his floating jump shot attempt to take a 58-50 lead with 5:32 of gametime remaining.
• The Catamounts went up by 10 points after Ayo-Faleye made his hook shot with 4:01 left of gametime to give Vermont a 60-50 advantage.
• Prior to the final two minutes of gametime, UMass Lowell dialed up a 7-2 scoring run to come within five points, 62-57, with 1:59 left on the clock.
• A sold-out Patrick Gym erupted with 0:43 left when Deloney maneuvered his way down the lane, to the basket, making his right-handed layup to put Vermont ahead, 64-57, with less than a minute to go.
• Made free-throws from Bogues and Deloney down the stretch sealed the deal, earning Vermont the 66-61 America East Championship victory over UMass Lowell

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Catamounts last earned three straight America East titles from 2003 to 2005. It is the fourth three-peat in conference history.
• Becker moves to the top of the list in America East Playoff wins, earning his 26th victory. The reigning Coach of the Year extends his record to seven America East Championships – the most in league history.
• Bogues was named Reggie Lewis Most Outstanding Player after tallying a team-high 15 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists.
• Ayo-Faleye and Long also received America East All-Championship recognition.
• Ayo-Faleye recorded nine total points, five rebounds, a game-high four assists, game-high three blocks, and two steals for the Catamounts.
• Long had 14 points, shooting 5-11 from the field, 4-10 from distance, while also tallying three boards, and three assists.
• Deloney finished with 12 points, one rebound, and two steals.
• Fiorillo registered 11 points while grabbing four rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
• With the win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to Vermont Children's Trust Foundation as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. Since its inauguration in 2017, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group has donated over $94,000 to local non-profits through the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative.

UP NEXT
After capturing the America East Championship Saturday afternoon, the Catamounts have punched their ticket to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Vermont will know its opponent and location on Selection Sunday, which will air live on CBS at 6 p.m. ET. Fans can visit go.uvm.edu/ncaa now to request tickets for each of the eight potential locations.
 
McGee Automotive Family is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's basketball