University of Albany Pulls Off Overtime Upset in America East Basketball Tournament's Quarterfinal Round - UAlbany Sports 2009

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Albany, N.Y. – Mike Johnson made the go-ahead free throws with one minute and 18 seconds remaining in overtime, as UAlbany knocked off Vermont, 56-52, in the America East Conference Tournament’s quarterfinal round on Saturday, March 7 at SEFCU Arena. The UVM Catamounts were seeded second after sharing the conference regular-season title.

Marqus Blakely, the conference’s player of the year and top defender for the second consecutive season, gave his club a 52-51 lead when he split a pair foul shots in the extra period. Blakely finished with 22 points and nine rebounds. Johnson, a junior guard, was then fouled in the lane and hit two free throws to put his team ahead for good.

The teams traded turnovers when Blakely was called for an offensive foul and UAlbany’s Will Harris committed a turnover when the ball was poked from behind. Vermont’s Garvey Young then missed a jumper from left of the lane with 20 seconds to play. Johnson was fouled in the backcourt and canned two from the line for a 55-52 advantage. The junior college transfer then stole Colin McIntosh’s inbound pass and made the first of two free throws to seal the upset.

“Vermont is the best team in the league, but I thought we were the tougher team today,” said UAlbany coach Will Brown, whose squad became the first seventh seed in the history of the championship to defeat the No. 2 seed. “I told these guys they could win. I just didn’t know if we could score enough points.”

Vermont (23-8) rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half. McIntosh, who had 13 points, nailed a three-point field goal to close his team within five and later converted a cut in the lane to tie the contest at 44-all with 3:37 left.

The Great Danes, who had lost seven of their last eight regular-season games, trailed 47-44 in the final minutes. But Harris, who recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds, scored in the lane from a driving Tim Ambrose to draw his team even at 48 apiece. Each team never got a shot on their last possession of regulation. In the overtime, McIntosh put his team ahead, 51-48, with a three-pointer, but Ambrose later connected on the right baseline to force the seventh tie of the game.

UAlbany (15-15) played a nearly perfect opening half by shooting 60 percent from the field. The Great Danes led 18-13, but then scored 13 of the game’s next 16 points. Ambrose, who totaled 15 points and five rebounds, drilled a 15-foot jumper to give his team a 10-point cushion. Harris added a three-pointer from the top of the arc, before Louis Barraza made two free throws for a 31-16 margin. UAlbany led by 14 at halftime, as the Catamounts were held to 30.4 percent from the floor.

“I haven’t been this happy all season,” said UAlbany senior Brian Connelly, who played on clubs that defeated Vermont in the America East championship final in 2006 and 2007. “We could have folded and called it a season, but we never gave up. The crowd gave us energy and we gave them energy back.”

The Great Danes will meet UMBC on Sunday at 2:04 p.m. in the semifinal round. The Retrievers upended third seed Boston University, 79-75 in overtime. The conference tournament semifinal will be televised on the America East TV Network. Fans can also listen to the game on Fox Sports 980, WOFX-AM.