UMBC, Vermont, UNH Post Comeback Wins; Albany Holds Off Hartford

It was a wild Wednesday in America East that concluded the first half of the conference season.


Vermont trailed Maine by 10 in the first half and didn't grab its first lead till there was 8:25 remaining in the game, but behind a performance from Marqus Blakely reminiscent of last season, the Catamounts downed the Black Bears 75-65 at Patrick Gymnasium for their sixth straight victory. Blakely finished with 23 points and 20 rebounds, his second career 20-20 output. Mike Trimboli, who had 9 points set Vermont's all-time assist mark, passing Kenny White. Mark Socoby led Maine with 20 points, while Junior Bernal poured in 10 on 5-of-6 shooting.

UMBC rallied from 17 points down late in the first half to beat Binghamton, 84-78, in Baltimore. Darryl Proctor, the second-best scorer in the league (19.8 ppg) and third-best rebounder (8.7 rpg), scored 20 of his 26 in the second half and added 9 rebounds to key the comeback. Jay Greene contributed 18 points and 7 assists, while Justin Fry had his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. D.J. Rivera came within one of his career-high (28 points) for the Bearcats, who set a school record with 15 three-pointers. Emanuel Mayben set a career high with 20.

New Hampshire trailed Stony Brook by 9 at the break, but went on an extended 27-8 run to start the 2nd en route to a 71-68 win. Eric Gilchrese, who hadn't played since Dec. 6 had a season-high 22 off the bench to pace the Wildcats. Tyrece Gibbs added 18, while Alvin Abreu had 17. Muhammad El-Amin was the only Seawolf in twin figures with 24.

Will Harris recorded his fourth double-double of the season to lead Albany to a 59-50 win over Hartford and improved to 9-1 this season at SEFCU Arena. Tim Ambrose added 11 in just 19 minutes because of foul trouble and Anthony Raffa, who was questionable coming in with a toe injury, had 10. Michael Turner led a balanced Hartford attack with 14 points. Jaret von Rosenberg and Morgan Sabia each added 13.