Vermont basketball’s America East championship hopes halted by Maine in semifinals

• Maine’s strong defense suffocated Vermont’s shooters, holding them to a season-low 42 points.
• The Catamounts, known for their defense, struggled offensively all season, ranking 319th out of 355 Division I schools in points per game.
• The loss marked the end of Nick Fiorillo’s six-year career at Vermont, during which he won four America East championships.

Vermont basketball’s championship four-peat dreams are over. And so is the Catamounts’ long stranglehold over Maine.

Unable to handle Maine’s defensive pressure and suffering through one of its worst shooting performances of the season, second-seeded Vermont trailed from start to finish Tuesday night, falling to the No. 3 Black Bears, 57-42, in an America East tournament semifinal in front of 2,071 at Patrick Gym.

The Catamounts entered the conference playoffs in search of their fourth straight league championship and seventh NCAA Tournament berth in John Becker’s 14-year tenure. Instead, Vermont struggled from the opening tip and couldn’t close the deficit to under seven points in the second half.

“Tough loss and a tough way to end the season,” Vermont coach John Becker said. “It hurts that we just didn’t have it (Tuesday) and a lot of that credit needs to go to Maine.”

Kellen Tynes (13 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks) and A.J. Lopez (12 points) led the Black Bears, who ended a 30-game losing skid to Vermont that dates back to 2013. The Black Bears will play at No. 1 Bryant in Saturday’s America East title game. Game time is 11 a.m. on ESPN2. The winner earns the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

“That’s a great team. It’s hard to beat them, especially at their place,” said Tynes of playing Vermont.

Ileri Ayo-Faleye’s 14 points and six rebounds and Sam Alamutu’s eight points and 21 rebounds paced Vermont, which shot 14 of 54 from the floor, including 4 of 26 from beyond the arc.

Vermont also committed 17 turnovers, leading to 21 Maine points. The Catamounts (21-12) also saw its 10-game winning streak halted.

Maine’s defense suffocates Vermont basketball’s shooters

Maine jumped out to a 6-0 lead on a series of mid-range jumpers. Vermont, meanwhile, committed two early turnovers and looked uncomfortable against Maine’s man-to-man defense from the jump.

Even Jace Roquemore’s one-handed, high-flying dunk over a Maine defender couldn’t spark the Catamounts. The slam, with 9:14 left in the first half, brought the hosts to within 13-10, but Maine proceeded to uncork a 10-0 spurt highlighted by Jaden Clayton’s 3-pointer and Burns’ transition layup off a Catamount turnover.

Maine took a 27-19 margin into the break and quickly built a double-digit lead as Vermont racked up turnovers and missed field-goal attempts.

Vermont did close to 38-31 with 10:35 to go, but Lopez tossed in a heave inside the paint for two to ignite a 7-2 spurt to return the margin to double digits.

“We just stuck to the grind defensively,” said Maine coach Chris Markwood, a former assistant coach under Becker from 2011-2014. “Fortunately we were able to do that and proud of that effort and execution the guys showed.”

TJ Hurley, Vermont’s leading scorer this season, went 1 of 15 from the floor (0 of 7 on 3s). Ayo-Faleye also misfired from deep, hitting just two of his 10 3-point attempts.

The 42 points were a season low.

“They just were really physical and they were just closing out to everyone and forcing us inside the 3-point line,” Becker said of Maine’s defense. In the spirit of trying to make a play and do something positive for the team, we didn’t make good decisions and we were trying to score and we kind of got away from what had been really working for us in the last month.”

Injuries, poor offense finally catches up to Vermont basketball

Senior guard Shamir Bogues, a first-team all-league selection along with Hurley, missed his third straight game Tuesday with a lower-body injury suffered on March 1. Bogues’ absence was felt, but it also summed up the Catamounts’ unfortunate injury luck that plagued them since the spring.

Vermont brought in transfer Shy Odom from Howard to help its frontcourt presence. Odom played a total of 19 minutes this winter. Last year’s leading scorer, TJ Long played in just eight games, and none since December.

And while he made 28 starts, Bogues had surgery in the fall to remove bone spurs and didn’t look 100% until later in the season — when he started to play at high level on both ends of the floor — before suffering another injury that ended up being a season-ender.

“For him not to be able to end his career at least on the floor — your heart breaks for that kid,” Becker said of Bogues. “He would’ve done anything to be on the court with his teammates.”

Not being full healthy and a lack of a bench hurt Vermont’s offense. And while its defense remained true to its core and tradition — top-ranked in America East and 15th in the country in scoring — Vermont was 319th out of 355 Division I schools in points per game.

“It’s been a grind all year offensively. It’s no secret it’s been our worst offensive team and there are a bunch of reasons for that and it reared its ugly head (Tuesday),” Becker said.

Becker said he expects Long will get an NCAA waiver and return to Vermont next season.

Fiorillo closes out sixth-year Vermont basketball career

After six years in Burlington, Nick Fiorillo played his last game for the Catamounts on Tuesday night. A member of four America East championship teams and three NCAA Tournament squads, Fiorillo earned a spot on all-league third team this winter after averaging career highs in points (10.4) and rebounds (5.0) per game and starts (28).

In Tuesday’s news conference, Fiorillo expressed the impact Vermont had on him as a player and person. Fiorillo went from walk-on to scholarship player.

“I’ve spent a quarter of my life here at this program. Teams can always say it’s a family and stuff, but this program it really is,” Fiorillo said. “Those aren’t coaches, those aren’t teammates — that’s family.

“These have been the best years of my life. I came in as a skinny kid who didn’t really know high-level basketball until I got here.”

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.