Tournament finals roundup: UMBC tops Vermont to win America East
DJ Armstrong Jr. scored 33 points as top-seeded UMBC beat second-seeded Vermont 74-59 on Saturday in Baltimore to earn its first America East Conference tournament title since 2018 and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
UMBC (24-8) ended the contest on a 26-8 run to post the third conference tournament title in program history.
Armstrong Jr. went 9 of 11 from the field, including a championship-game record seven 3-pointers, to earn the Most Outstanding Player honors in the tournament while he averaged 17.6 points per game and shot 64% from the floor.
Jose Roberto Tanchyn grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and Ace Valentine added 13 points for the Retrievers, who have won 12 straight games.
UMBC led 30-28 at halftime against Vermont (22-12), which got a team-high 17 points off the bench from TJ Long plus 11 apiece from Gus Yalden and TJ Hurley.
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Bryce Harris had 14 points with 10 rebounds and Cedric Taylor III finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds to lead top-seeded Howard to a 70-63 victory over No. 3 seed North Carolina Central in the title game at Norfolk, Va.
The Bison (23-10), who have won eight games in a row, advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time. Their most recent appearance was in 2024.
Dionte Johnson had a team-high 14 points for the Eagles (14-18).