BURLINGTON, Vt. – Top-seed and regular season champion Vermont (22-10) closed the first half with a 27-8 run and defeated fifth-seeded Binghamton (13-18) 79-57 in the America East semifinals Tuesday night at Patrick Gym.

It was the third time in the last five years that the teams have met in the semifinals and the Catamounts were too strong on their home floor, where they are 12-1 this season. They will host UMass Lowell Saturday for the America East title and accompanying NCAA bid.

The Bearcats struggled out of the gate, missing seven of their first nine shots and turning the ball over six times, but trailed just 12-10 midway through the period. The Catamounts, however, erupted for the big run to end the half, fueled by all-conference guard Dylan Penn's 20 points. Vermont shot 57 percent, held BU to six field goals and led 39-18 at break.

"Congratulations to Vermont … they played really well offensively and defensively and kept coming at us," head coach Levell Sanders said. "Early on I thought we were hanging in there and guarding well. But then Penn got loose and made some threes. In the second half they were feeling pretty good about themselves and everyone joined in the action. But it was really the first half that did us in."   

In the second half, BU shot 54 percent but couldn't slow down Vermont, which wound up shooting 60 percent from the floor for the entire game. The Catamounts held a 40-39 scoring edge in the second half.

Senior guard Jacob Falko netted 19 points and graduate forward Miles Gibson had 16 points. Junior forward Armon Harried added eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.

The Bearcats close the season with their second straight semifinal berth and third in the last four tournament appearances. Binghamton enjoyed its highest conference win percentage in 13 years and won a tournament road game for the second straight postseason. The team's final America East place (T-4^th) was the highest in 14 years.