BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Joe Sherburne scored 20 points and UMBC beat Vermont 74-61 in their first matchup since the American East Conference tournament championship last season but it was the Catamounts that made history Wednesday night.
Vermont was without leading scorer Anthony Lamb because of a concussion and Robin Duncan started in his place, joining his older brothers Ernie and Everett. The Duncan's are the second trio of brothers in Division I history to start the same game and just the fifth trio of brothers to play on the same D-I team in the same season. The only other starters were Villanova's Larry, Keith and Reggie Herron against Colgate on Feb. 26, 1977.
The last time the teams met, UMBC won on a last-second 3-pointer and then went on to become the first 16-seed to beat a No. 1 (Virginia) in the NCAA Tournament.
The Catamounts opened on a quick 12-2 run but the Retrievers tied it at 32 on Brandon Horvath's late 3-pointer.
UMBC scored the first 14 points of the second half. By the time Everett Duncan canned three free throws at the 12:15 mark, the Retrievers were up 46-35. The lead was 53-36 before Vermont made its first field goal, a 3 by Ernie Duncan at 8:42.
The Retrievers (12-9, 4-2) shot 61 percent in the second half and 52 percent for the game. Jose Placer added 14 points and Arkel Lamar 13.
Ernie Duncan had 22 points and Everett Duncan had 16 points and 10 rebounds and the brothers combined to go 7 of 12 from 3-point range. Robin Duncan's only points were from his one 3-point shot. Everett's twin brother Stanley is a senior basketball player at Division III Anderson University in Indiana, the family's home state.
The Catamounts (15-5, 5-1), who had won six straight, shot 30 percent in the second half, 34 percent for the game. They are now 41-2 in regular-season conference games dating to the end of the 2015-16 season.
Lamb leads Vermont in scoring (20.6), rebounding (7.5) and total blocked shots (42). He has been the league player of the week five times this year and was the preseason player of the year.
