BURLINGTON, Vt. – Facing first-seed Vermont in a hostile environment at Patrick Gymnasium, the University of Maine men's basketball team saw its season come to an end with a 73-57 loss to the Catamounts in the America East Playoff quarterfinal round on Saturday night.
 
The Black Bears (5-27, 3-13 AE) shot nearly 60 percent from the floor (13-22 FG), in the second half outscoring the Catamounts (25-6, 14-2 AE) 35-32 in the second half, but Vermont had built a 41-22 cushion in the first half to earn the win.
 
Isaiah White knocked down 6-of-10 shots he took from the field for a team-high 18-point performance. Vincent Eze added 14 points, 12 coming in the second half alone. He grabbed seven boards to lead Maine off the glass.
 
Dennis Ashley sunk all three 3-pointers he attempted for nine points, while Sergio El Darwich scored eight points and earned five caroms.
 
The Catamounts raced to an early 15-2 lead after five minutes, but the Black Bears would respond to cut the deficit to nine after an Ashley triple to make it a 20-11 game. The two longtime rivals would trade buckets, until Vermont finished the half on a 15-7 sprint to take a 41-22 advantage into the locker room.
 
The Black Bears fought back to get the deficit to 16 at four different occasions in the second half, but that's close as Maine could get, falling to Vermont 73-57.
 
America East Player of the Year Anthony Lamb drained 12-of-23 attempts from the floor for 34 points. Fellow first America East All-Conference first-team member Ernie Duncan poured in 12 points.
 
The Black Bears finish the 2018-19 campaign with a 5-27, 3-13 America East record.
 
-UMaine-