Vermont handles 6th-seeded Maine, 99-82; Advances to semis

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) Cam Ward came off the Vermont bench to knock down 6 of 9 shots from beyond the arc to spark the No. 3-seeded Catamounts to a 99-82 romp past No. 6 seed Maine in the quarterfinals of the America East Conference tournament Wednesday night.

The victory sends Vermont into the semifinals, where they host No. 4 seed New Hampshire Monday night.

The sophomore was 9 of 13 from the field and finished with 24 points to lead Vermont. Ethan O'Day hit seven of nine from the floor to finish with 21 points. He also gathered in 10 rebounds. Kurt Steidl finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Vermont (20-12) shot a blistering 65.5 percent from the field and was 12 of 21 from long range (57.1 percent).

Isaac Vann finished with 26 points to pace Maine (8-22) and Aaron Calixte added 17 more. The Black Bears shot 28 of 66 from the floor (42.4 percent).