Vermont 65, Binghamton 57

3/8/2008 3:57 PM

VESTAL, N.Y. (AP) -Marqus Blakely scored 18 points, seven of them in the final 4:58, to lead fourth-seeded Vermont to a 75-67 win over No. 5 Binghamton Saturday.

With the win, Vermont gets a spot in Sunday's America East conference semifinals.

The Catamounts, who won four of their last five games, will face top-seeded UMBC in the first of Sunday?s two semifinal games.

Blakely, pressured throughout the game by intense physical pressure from the Bobcats, delivered when it counted and finished with nine rebounds, six blocked shots and three assists as Vermont (16-14) beat Binghamton (14-16) for the third time in as many tries this season.

The Catamounts trailed by 11 points at 38-27 with 16:39 left and were still down six with 10:23 remaining. But their defense stiffened and they were finally able to make plays on offense to get the job done.

Mike Trimboli added 13 points for Vermont, which takes a 0-2 season record against UMBC into the semifinals.

Mike Gordon scored a game-high 23 points for the Bearcats, who had won four of their last five coming into Saturday's game. Lazar Trifunovic added 10 points and seven rebounds, but was just 4-for-15 from the field.

In the final moments of the game, celebrating Vermont fans broke out in a chant of ``This is our house,'' aimed at the home crowd. Despite playing on its home floor, Binghamton wore its road uniforms.