America East Conference Tournament Quarterfinals: No. 1 Maryland-Baltimore County was hitting on all cylinders as the Retrievers bulldozed No. 8 Stony Brook 76-60 in quarterfinal action at the America East Conference Tournament. Darryl Proctor, Cavell Johnson, Matt Spadafora and Ray Barbosa all scored in double figures, led by Proctor’s 17 points, while Jay Greene dished out 12 assists to only one turnover. UMBC shot a blistering 56 percent from the floor and 52 percent from behind the arc.
No. 4 Vermont and No. 5 Binghamton went to war in the second game of the quarterfinals, with Vermont coming from behind for a 65-57 win. Conference Player of the Year Marqus Blakely had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Catamounts. Mike Gordon was phenomenal for most of the game, scoring 23 points, but he got little support on offense from a banged up Bearcat squad, and Vermont’s Kyle Cieplicki and Mike Trimboli hit daggers down the stretch, capped by a thunderous Blakely dunk with 12 seconds left.
No. 2 Hartford and No. 7 New Hampshire went down to the wire in a gripping battle, with Hartford hanging on for a 68-65 win. Hartford guard Joe Zeglinski scored 22 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, and center Warren McClendon had 18 points, 10 rebounds, and one huge dunk for the Hawks. Hartford held the Wildcats to less than 27 percent from behind the arc, and the Wildcats missed three good looks from behind the arc in the final seconds.
No. 6 Boston University took down No. 3 Albany in overtime 68-64. The Great Danes controlled much of the first half but couldn’t put away the Terriers, allowing Boston to crawl back with stingy defense. John Holland erupted for 14 points in the second half and overtime after being held to two in the first half. Boston could have won the game in regulation, but poor free-throw shooting left the door open for the Great Danes, and Jon Iati buried a 25-foot three-pointer to send the game into overtime. But Boston never trailed in overtime. Carlos Strong scored 17 points to lead the Terriers. [3/08/08]
