Vermont 85, Maryland-Baltimore County 72
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Maryland-Baltimore County stayed in the game with its 3-point shooting, but it didn't have an answer for Vermont's inside presence, as the Catamounts pulled out an 85-72 win Sunday in the semifinals of the America East tournament.
The second-seeded Catamounts (21-10) will face the winner of top-seed Stony Brook and fourth-seed Albany. The Retrievers finish their season at 8-23.
Vermont was led by Candon Rusin's 18 points, while Ethan O'Day and Luke Apfield each had 16 as the Catamounts shot 53 percent from the field (28 of 53) and were 7 of 14 on 3-pointers.
Ryan Cook led the Retrievers with 20 points, five assists and four rebounds. Cook was 7 of 12 from the field, as the Retrievers shot 45 percent from the field (23 of 51) and a blistering 12 of 22 on 3-pointers.
The Retrievers, looking for their second consecutive upset in the tournament, took a 40-37 lead at halftime, and after going scoreless for four minutes, rallied to tie the game at 62-all on a Brian Neller 3-pointer.
But once again, the Catamounts had an answer, going on a 10-2 run to take a 72-64 lead with 4:48 left.
The Catamounts, looking to defend their conference championship and reach the NCAA tournament, were too strong for the Retrievers down the stretch.
