Once again, the Catamounts find themselves standing at the top of the America East conference with their third straight conference championship.
After defeating the UAlbany Great Danes and the UNH Wildcats in close games to secure their place in the final, they faced off the morning of March 16 against the No. 2 seeded UMass Lowell River Hawks in their home court of Patrick Gym.
The sold out crowd of 3,000 spectators was loud from the start, and the play on the court matched that intensity.
From the opening tip off, both teams set an aggressive style of play. Attacking the paint, bullying defense and driving to the rim were common sights throughout the match.
Junior guard Shamir Bogues opened the scoring for the Catamounts when he stole a pass at mid-court and drove to the hoop for a dunk, drawing a foul in doing so.
This jump-started an impressive run of scoring for UVM, whose defense kept the River Hawks at bay while the offense was able to obtain a 19-11 lead.
However, the offense would hit a rough patch before the half was over. Missed 3-pointer after missed 3-pointer led to a five minute scoreless drought, allowing UMass Lowell to not only crawl back from their deficit, but take a 32-29 lead going into the half.
The energy was noticeably high when the second half began. Junior guard TJ Long started swishing 3-pointers. Graduate guard Aaron Deloney was near perfect with free throws, going 7 for 8. Bogues continued to be a defensive presence and offensive playmaker. All of this led to UVM gaining a 10 point lead with five minutes remaining.
Then Bogues and Long were each charged with their fourth foul of the day, taking the pair off the court for a few crucial minutes. In those minutes, UMass Lowell crawled back within five points and threatened to tie it up.
However, the lead was proven too large to overcome. The final buzzer of the match rang out, and Patrick Gym erupted in celebration as UVM secured the America East title, punching their ticket to the NCAA March Madness Tournament with a final score of 66-61.
