America East Quarterfinal: Maine at Vermont 3/7/20

Vermont 61 Maine 50

Everett Duncan saves the day.

Survive and advance.

Vermont shook off a sluggish second half and defeated Maine to advance to the America East semifinal on Tuesday versus UMBC. In the first half Maine came out hot, starting 4/4 from three. Vermont weathered the storm thanks to a strong first half from Anthony Lamb. To start the second half the wheels kinda fell off Vermont's offense and Maine was able to climb back into the game. Ryan Davis hit a clutch three to give the Cats some breathing room before Everett Duncan's late game heroics. Everett finished with 19 points (4-8 from three), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals. He came up with big play after big play and made an impact all over the floor. Lamb finished with 19 points and 6 rebounds on the strength of the big first half. Ryan Davis was big on the boards and finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds. He really struggled to finish at the rim against Maine's interior defense. The rest of the team really struggled on offense especially Stef Smith and Ben Shungu. Smith finished 4-15 from the field and Shungu didn't score at all and looked out of sorts on offense. On the defensive side of the ball Shungu was great and the Vermont defense locked in when they needed it. They really played Maine tough down the stretch. The offensive struggles were concerning considering the situation. There were times where they just couldn't generate open shots. Vermont finished shooting only 36% from the field. Considering the offensive struggles the Cats had the last time they played UMBC, they are going to have to spend some time over the next few days working out the kinks. Survive and advance is the tournament tagline and that is exactly what Vermont did. The Cats definitely want another shot at UMBC so they will be fired up for that one. Tuesday night is gonna be rocking.