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Vermont wins America East, denies Stony Brook bid

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It’s not the biggest game in the state of New York this weekend, considering the Big East title game in Manhattan coming up on Saturday night, but the end result is the same: someone is going to the NCAA tournament.

Vermont held off a strong push from Stony Brook over the last nine minutes of regulation and have clinched their spot in the Big Dance, winning the America East title, 51-43.

Freshman Four McGlynn was the only Catamount in double figures, scoring 14 points, including 4-of-7 shooting from three.

For Vermont, this is their fifth trip to the NCAA tournament in the last decade and the first for first-year head coach John Becker.

On Saturday afternoon, it was all about defense for Vermont.

They held Stony Brook to just 29% shooting from the floor, most importantly a four-minute stretch down to the one-minute mark in the second half where the Catamounts put the brakes on a big Stony Brook run by holding them scoreless and preserving the win.

Stony Brook was previously 13-0 at home, and their NCAA hopes end with a 22-9 overall record, 14-2 in the America East. The Sea Wolves were denied their first-ever NCAA tournament berth.

Check out our latest NCAA tournament projections, which would likely place Vermont in the First Four games.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_