America East Heads to Basketball Stretch Run
Basketball teams in America East are heading to the stretch run as the final two weeks of the regular season begins. The Vermont Catamounts continue to outdistance the entire conference. Red-hot is an understatement when describing how the Catamounts have been playing. Imagine losing your best player shortly before the conference schedule begins and never losing a stride. Sophomore Anthony Lamb was a Preseason All-Conference Team selection who went down with a fractured foot near the end of the non-confererence schedule but the team never stopped winning. The Catamounts are 13-0 since his injury and continue their lead in the conference with a record of 11-0 and 21-5 overall.
The Catamounts are currently ranked 10th in the nation's mid-major rankings. Trae Bell-Haynes, another Preseason All-Conference selection, is fifth in scoring in America East averaging 17.9 points per game. He has been named the America East Player of the Week this week for the third time this season and continues to be the catalyst for Vermont.
The UMBC Retrievers are in second place with a 9-3 slate and are paced by the conference's second- leading scorer in Jairus Lyles with a 21 points per game average. Hartford is in third place with a 7-4 slate followed by Albany at 7-5. New Hampshire is 6-6 followed by Stony Brook at 5-7, UMass Lowell at 3-8, Maine with a 3-9 record and Binghamton at 1-10.
The first eight teams get a conference tournament bid with the top four hosting quarterfinal round games.