A Thriller in Vermont, Boston U. Snaps Skid

We had a pretty good idea coming into to today's Albany-Vermont matchup that it would be an entertaining game. The last three meetings had been decided by a total of 5 points with the Great Danes taking all three. That trend continued as Albany pulled out an 82-77 thriller to improve to 2-1 in league play. Anthony Raffa tied his career-high with 22 points and Will Harris added 20 for the Great Danes, who shot 48.1 percent from the floor and a season-high 72.7 percent from 3-point lant (8-of-11). Colin McIntosh tied his career-high with 25 for Vermont, which fall to 0-2 in conference play for the first time since the 2000-01 campaign.

Earlier in the day, Boston University snapped its 5-game losing skid with a 68-37 trouncing of New Hampshire. The Terriers, who held the Wildcats to 2-of-33 shooting from deep, jumped out on a 16-2 run and never looked back. John Holland scored 25 points for the second straight game and Scott Brittain added 15. Tyrone Conley led UNH with 8.

Monday is an off day in America East, but stayed tuned to the blog for the league's weekly award winners.

UNH Snaps Losing Skid

New Hampshire snapped a four-game losing skid with an impressive 58-54 victory over West Coast Conference power Santa Clara at Lundholm Gymnasium. Alvin Abreu poured in a career-high 28 points and hit all 7 of his 3-point attempts, a UNH record for makes without a miss. Tyrece Gibbs added 12 points and 6 rebounds. The Wildcats open up league play against Hartford at home on Wednesday.

Binghamton, Vermont Post Quality Wins

In the first action since Christmas, Binghamton and Vermont added to the league's strong non-conference resume with wins over Conference USA and Atlantic 10 opponents.

D.J. Rivera continued his impressive season with 22 of his 24 points in the second half and grabbed 8 boards to help the Bearcats hold off Tulane 74-73 in New Orleans. Dwayne Jackson, who poured in 13 points, hit a pair of key baskets with his team leading 65-64 with just under two minutes left to seal the outcome. Malik Alvin also had a strong all-around game with 14 points, 6 assists and 5 steals.

All five Catamount starters had strong games, combining for all but 15 of their teams points in a 83-72 win over George Washington in the first round of the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic at the University of Hawaii. Maurice Joseph had one his strong games in green and gold with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Mike Trimboli scored 15, while Colin McIntosh contributed 15 points and 8 boards. Mr. Everything, Marqus Blakely, added 13 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and a pair of steals. Nick Vier rounded out the starting five's production with 9 points and 7 assists.

New Hampshire came oh so close to making it a perfect day for the league. The Wildcats led by 1 with 3 minutes to play but were held scoreless the rest of the way as Hofstra pulled it out 62-57. Rony Tchatchoua tied his career high with 17 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting and Dane DiLiegro added a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Stony Brook takes on St. Peter's at 2 tomorrow in the lone action of the day.

Albany Snaps Skid, Boston U. Takes Notre Dame to the Wire

Tim Ambrose led four players in double figures with 15 points to lead Albany to a 74-48 win over Canisius at SEFCU Arena. Will Harris and Anthony Raffa each had 14 points, while Mike Johnson poured in a career-high 13 off the bench. Boston University led No. 12 Notre Dame with just 3:25 remaining, but the Fighting Irish scored 10 of the game's final points to hold on for the win. Corey Lowe scored a team-high 19 points, including the 1,000th of his career, for the Terriers. Darryl Proctor tallied 13 points in UMBC's 91-56 loss at No. 3 Pitt. Tyrece Gibbs scored his 1,000th point in New Hampshire's 76-72 loss at Long Island U.

Binghamton Beats Rutgers For First Win Vs Big East Foe

D.J. Rivera scored 23 points to help Binghamton earn its first-ever victory over a Big East opponent with a 66-56 win over Rutgers in New Jersey. Malik Alvin added 17 points and 6 assists for the Bearcats. The win was the first against a Big East foe for any conference team since Vermont's win over Syracuse in the 2005 NCAA tournament. Tyrece Gibbs, Tyrone Conley and Alvin Abreu combined for 51 of New Hampshire's 64 points in a 64-61 win over Brown at Lundholm Gym. Corey Lowe scored a career-high 36 points, but it wasn't enough for Boston University, which fell to Marshall 84-80 at Agganis Arena. Morgan Sabia had a season-high 17 points and Jaret von Rosenberg added 16 in Hartford's 70-64 loss to La Salle. Marqus Blakely recorded his second straight double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds, but No. 3 Pittsburgh downed Vermont 80-51. Albany clawed back from 15 down against Siena to close within 5 in the final 5 minutes, but Siena outlasted the Great Danes 71-64 in front of 13,251 fans at Times Union Center.

This and That About Saturday's Action

A lot of intriguing angles surrounding each of Saturday's games. All six squads in action are coming off victories. In fact, conference teams have combined to go 9-1 to start the month of December. Here's a look at the matchups:

• Brown at New Hampshire kick things off at 1 at Lundholm Gym. The Bears' coaching staff is certainly familar with America East. Assistant coach T.J. Sorrentine earned Player of the Year honors in 2002 and buried Syracuse with his legendary 30-footer in the 2005 NCAA tournament. Volunteer assistant Kyle Cieplicki was a four year standout for the Catamounts and head coach Jessie Agel was an assistant for all three of Vermont championship squads.
• Binghamton, fresh off back-to-back wins looks for its first-ever win against a Big East foe when they take on Rutgers at 2
• Boston U. hosts Marshall at 3. The will be the second of at least 6 to be played at Agganis Area this season. The Terriers have won four of six to start the season after compiling a 1-5 mark through the first 6 games of last seasson.
• Hartford's tilt with La Salle will be televised on NESN at 4. Explorer's coach John Giannini was the head coach at Maine for 8 seasons.
• In the game of the day, Albany, winners of 5 straight, renews its rivalry with Siena at 7 at the Times Union Center. Over 10,600 tickets had already been sold as of 1 p.m. yesterday.
• Vermont faces the No. 3 team in the country in Pittsburgh at 7. The Cats have won 2 of their last 4 games against ranked opponents, knocking off Boston College in 2006 and the afore mentioned upset of the Orange in '05.

Terriers, Wildcats Win On Road

Corey Lowe, Jake O'Brien and John Holland combined for 55 of Boston University's 75 points en route to a 75-59 victory at Harvard Wednesday. Lowe led the way with 20, while Brien had 18 points and 8 rebounds. John Holland rounded out the trio's output with 17. With his team trailing by 4 with just over 2 minutes to play, New Hampshire's Tyrece Gibbs scored canned a pair of huge 3-pointers to to turn the deficit into an advantage and lead the Wildcats to a 57-54 win at Colgate. Gibbs finished with 19 points overall and Tyrone Conely added 11. In Baltimore, freshman Chauncey Gilliam tied his career high with 17 points and Darryl Proctor added a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, but UMBC fell to crosstown-rival Towson 82-65.

Hartford and Maine are in action Thursday. The Hawks host Patriot Leage foe Lafayette, while the Black Bears host state system partner Maine Presque Isle, both at 7.

Vermont, Stony Brook Win In Blowout Fashion

Vermont won its third straight with a 88-71 victory over Dartmouth in which it shot 59 percent from the field. Marqus Blakely led the charge with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Mike Trimboli had 23 points and 9 rebounds, while freshman Garvey Young tallied a career-high 19 points. Stony Brook won consecutive games for the first time since in a year with a 60-39 win over New Jersey Tech. Freshman Bryan Dougher scored 18 of his career-high 24 points in the first half. Muhammad El-Amin added 13.

A pair of crosstown-rivalries highlight Wednesday's action. MASN will televise the battle between Baltimore rivals UMBC and Towson. Tip is set for 7:05. Boston University will go toCambridge to face Harvard at 8. Also on Wednesday, New Hampshire travels to Colgate at 7.

Hartford Wins at Philly Classic

Behind a game-high 17 points from Joe Zeglinski, Hartford posted a 50-38 victory over New Jersey Tech in the Liberty bracket of the Philly Hoop Group Classic at the famed Palestra in Philadelphia. Mark Socoby scored a game-high 28 points, but Maine fell to host South Alabama in the USA Basketball Classic in Mobile.

All 9 America East teams are in action on Saturday. Vermont hosts Loyola at 1, while Hartford faces Niagara in the title game of the Liberty bracket in the Philly Classic at 2. Binghamton entertains Utah Valley State and Stony Brook goes to Columbia, both at 2, Toledo visits UMBC at 2:05 and Maine takes on Tulane in the consolation game of the USA Basketball Classic at 6. Boston University goes for its fourth straight win against Mount St. Mary's, Albany takes on Penn at SEFCU Arena, both at 7. In the final game of the night, New Hampshire travels to Marist for a 7:30 tip.

UHN Drops Road Contest at Penn State

In the lone game of the day, Tyrece Gibbs scored 14 points for New Hampshire in a 70-50 loss at Penn State. Eric Gilchrese added 13 and hit 3-of-5 three-point tries.