Following a gut-wrenching 56-52 overtime loss to rival Albany in the quarterfinals of the America East conference tournament, it seemed as if the UVM men’s basketball season was finished, save for the NIT.
When selection Sunday rolled around, and the Cats were shunned even from what has become the knockoff of the NCAA tournament, it seemed as if their season truly was finished and that seniors Mike Trimboli, Colin McIntosh, Jordan Dean and Ryan Shields would never don the green and gold again.
Then the College Basketball Invitational came calling.
The tournament, more commonly known as the CBI, is single elimination with a best-of-three championship series and features a 16-team field. 
It is in its second year of existence and essentially serves as a postseason avenue for squads shunned by both the NCAA and NIT selection committees.
In the first round, UVM took to the road to face Horizon League runner-up Wisconsin-Green Bay and, behind a career high 24 points from Maurice Joseph and some clutch shooting from Trimboli, the Cats moved on to the CBI quarterfinals where they will face the Oregon State Beavers.   
The winner of that matchup will face the winner of the Richmond-Charleston game on Wednesday.