The University of Maine men’s basketball team had its season ended at the hands of the Vermont Catamounts for the fifth straight season on Saturday night as the top-seeded Cats took down No. 8 UMaine 61-50 in an America East quarterfinal at Patrick Gym in Burlington, Vermont.
A Nedeljko Prijovic layup at the 11:21 mark of the second half brought Maine within one, as the Black Bears opened the half on a 17-6 run to claw back into the game. The Catamounts put the clamps on from there, holding Maine to just seven points over the final 11 minutes to advance to the America East semifinals.
In a game decided by 11 points, Maine was held to just three free-throw attempts (all in the second half), compared to Vermont’s 12 attempts. Andrew Fleming was forced to check out at the 11:55 mark of the second half with five personal fouls.
Prijovic led the Maine offense with 18 points on 7-for-17 shooting along with six rebounds and four steals.
Sergio El Darwich joined him in double digits, recording 14 points and seven assists in his final appearance in a UMaine uniform. Fleming recorded eight points, five rebounds, and a block in just 21 minutes.
Stephane Ingo set a new career-high with 14 boards, along with three steals and a block.
Everett Duncan and Anthony Lamb scored 19 points each to lead Vermont (25-7) and Stef Smith added 10 points.
UMaine concludes its 2019-2020 season with a 9-22 overall record and a 5-12 mark against America East opponents.