Catamounts punch ticket
Burlington, Vt.
Vermont learned from its loss last year on its home floor to Maryland-Baltimore County in the America East Tournament title game — a result that paved the way for an even bigger win by UMBC.
Anthony Lamb scored 28 points, and Vermont beat UMBC 66-49 on Saturday to win the America East championship and earn an NCAA Tournament bid.
It was the seventh conference title overall and second in three years for the Catamounts (27-6), who got their revenge on the anniversary of 16th-seeded UMBC's shocking upset of top-seeded Virginia in last year's NCAA Tournament.
"I'm impressed how well we grew over the season and today was a full team effort," Vermont coach John Becker said. "These games are surreal because of the crowd and noise. We were tougher this year because of that game. We had a lot of young guys, so credit our new leadership."
Lamb, the America East player of the year, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He went 8 for 16 from the field and had nine rebounds, and he led a strong defensive effort from the Catamounts, who held the Retrievers to 34-percent shooting.
Big Sky: Sayeed Pridgett scored 18 points and Montana overcame a 12-point deficit to beat Eastern Washington 68-62 for its second straight Big Sky Tournament title and NCAA bid.
Conference USA: Xavier Green scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the second half to lead Old Dominion to a 62-56 victory over Western Kentucky in the championship game.
MEAC: Zacarry Douglas scored all 10 of his points during a 25-6 second-half run and North Carolina Central won its third consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament with a 50-47 victory against top-seeded Norfolk State.
Mountain West: Sam Merrill scored 24 points,...