FINAL SCORE: Vermont 59, UMBC 74
TJ Long led Vermont (22-12, 12-4 AE) with 17 points as they lost 74-59 to UMBC (24-8, 14-2 AE) in the America East Championship at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Noah Barnett was hurt in the first 30 seconds of the game, but he was able to make a return, checking in at the end of the first media timeout. Vermont held an 8-7 lead with Gus Yalden scoring two paint buckets inside.  
• Noah Barnett and Lucas Mari each knocked down a free throw as the game remained at a standstill, 10-10, with 11:28 remaining in the first half.
• At the 8-minute media timeout, TJ Long knocked down a three, but UMBC responded as the game remained tied at 17.
• Gus Yalden got two more paint buckets to go in the next four minutes of play as Vermont held a slight edge, 23-22, with less than four minutes to play in the first half.
• Long knocked down his second three-pointer of the game as the Catamounts went into halftime down 30-28. Gus Yalden led Vermont with a team-high 10 points in the first half.
• UMBC started with urgency out of the gate, going on a 9-4 run, leading 39-32 at the 16-minute media timeout.
• With 14:58 remaining, a Noah Barnett layup made it UMBC 41 and Vermont 35. Vermont successfully challenged an out-of-bounds call.
• Sean Blake got a layup to go, but the Catamounts still trailed the Retrievers 44-37 at the 12-minute media timeout.
• Vermont stormed back, taking a 51-48 lead at the 8-minute media timeout after Noah Barnett's momentum-shifting dunk.
• In the next four minutes, UMBC hit a three-pointer to extend its lead to six points. TJ Hurley quickly answered with a three-pointer of his own, making the score 57-54 in favor of UMBC with 3:22 left in the game.
• UMBC closed the game on a 17-5 run.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TJ Long recorded a team-high 17 points. Long also notched a team-high two steals.
• TJ Hurley (11) and Gus Yalden (11) were the only other Catamounts in double figures.
• Momo Nkugwa and Sean Blake each had two assists.
• Lucas Mari put up a team-high eight rebounds.
• Vermont shot 42.4% from the field; UMBC shot 41.2%.

 
Vermont Federal Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of 2025-26 Vermont Men's Basketball Season