Men's Basketball Loses to Conference-Leader Vermont

Albany, N.Y. - Maurice Joseph had 19 points and Marqus Blakely added 14 as Vermont extending its winning streak to five straight with a 71-54 America East Conference victory over UAlbany on Sunday, Jan. 10 at SEFCU Arena.

Vermont (12-5, AE 3-0) led 44-37 midway through the second half, but then pulled away with 11 of the game's next 13 points. Joseph, a 6-foot-4 senior, made one of his three 3-pointers from the right wing to ignite that run. Garvey Young later added another three-pointer and Joey Accaoui sank a pair of free throws for a 16-point advantage.

The Catamounts, who have won 10 of their last 11 outings, jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the first half, as UAlbany (5-12, AE 0-2) made just one of their opening eight field goal attempts. Vermont led by as much as 11 on three occasions, including 24-13 when Joseph connected on two foul shots.

The Great Danes, who made just 7-of-30 from the floor before the break and 30.4 percent overall, would run six straight to close the gap to 26-22. Fran Urli drilled a three-point field goal from the left corner. Scotty McRae, a 6'8" senior who had a career-high 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, later split two free throw attempts.

Vermont regrouped with eight unanswered to end opening stanza. Evan Fjeld and Garrett Kissel each canned two free throws. Simeon Marsalis converted a drive, before Joseph hit a reverse layup from Blakely in transition. Blakely, the two-time America East player of the year, added nine rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots to his scoring total.

"We couldn't get ourselves in a situation to make a run," explained UAlbany coach Will Brown, whose made less than 35 percent from the field for second straight game. "We got some good shots and couldn't make them, and then we missed free throws in the first half. When we broke down defensively they made us pay by hitting three's."

Young finished with eight points and nine rebounds for the Catamounts, who shared last year's conference regular-season title. UAlbany's Tim Ambrose had 14 of his 16 points in the second half. The Great Danes have dropped six of their last seven contests.

"It was frustrating not to make any shots and are spirits were down," said McRae, who scored in double figures for the fifth time as a collegian. "We tried to take it to the rim more in the second half. But we were on the losing end of the back and forth.

Paw Prints: UAlbany had won five of the six games in this series with Vermont, including last year's overtime win in the America East Conference quarterfinals ... the Catamounts, who were picked second in the conference preseason poll, have won eight consecutive road games ... UAlbany shot 30.4 percent from the field, the second-lowest mark of the season ... Fran Urli, a 6-foot-8 junior, had eight points and six rebounds off the bench ... Big Brothers Big Sisters was recognized as an organization at Sunday's game as part of National Mentor Month.

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information