Tournament Time: Day 1

It is officially tournament time here in Albany! Thanks to a solid three inches of snow here in the capitol region, roads are slick and the walk from the Dutch Gold lot over to SEFCU Arena is a cold one. But none of that matters because America East hoops is about to take center stage. We've got three women's quarterfinal matchups coming you way today and they should all be exciting games. Make sure you tune in to every game this weekend on ESPN3, as play-by-play guru Eric Friede will guide you through this crazy weekend. With all of that in mind, let's take a quick look at the matchups today.

Championship Preview

Quarterfinal #1: No. 7 Binghamton vs. No. 2 Hartford

The Hawks are 2-0 and versus the Bearcats this season, but don't expect an easy win for Jen Rizzotti and co. In the first conference game of the season, Binghamton played Hartford right down to the wire in a 46-44 loss in Vestal. When the matchup traveled to West Hartford, the Hawks had an easier go of it, winning 65-50.

Keep an eye on Sharae Swinson from Binghamton, who poured in 11 points in the first matchup of the year and will be a tough matchup for the Hawks. For Hartford, Nikkia Smith has been the answer versus Binghamton this year, averaging 13.5 points in the season series.

Raven Harris

Quarterfinal #2: No. 6 Vermont vs. No. 3 UMBC

Both teams finished the conference season with a 6-10 record in conference and the Retrievers earned the No. 3 seed thanks to a tiebreaker. With that in mind, expect this to be a tight game. Both teams defended their home court in the season series, with the Catamounts claiming a 63-60 win in Burlington and UMBC winning 71-55.

Raven Harris will continue to be the go-to player for the Retrievers, as she averaged 21.5 points this season against Vermont. The Catamounts will turn to Tierra Shumpert to help combat the UMBC guard play. The sophomore averaged 11 points in the two games this year.

Quarterfinal #3: No. 5 New Hampshire vs. No. 4 Stony Brook

The Seawolves are one of the most improved teams anywhere this season and earned a series sweep of the Wildcats this year. After a 48-44 win in Durham, Stony Brook then held serve with a 60-47 victory at home. Both squads were 6-10 in conference play.

Chikilra Goodman led the Seawolves against New Hampshire, averaging 14.5 points between the two games. For New Hampshire, Cari Reed averaged 11 against the quarterfinal foe and her versatility will be important in this matchup.

Leading the Pack: Men's Basketball

Now that the regular season is over, it's always fun to have a look at the statistics. We had some great performances this year by the usual suspects and a crew of freshman that burst on to the scene. Check below for the top three in some important men's basketball stats and see where your favorite player ranked.

Men's Basketball

Jordan Reed

Scoring

1. Justin Edwards, So. (Maine): 16.7 ppg
2. Jordan Reed, Fr. (Bing): 16.7 ppg
3. Mike Black, Sr. (Alb): 15.1 ppg

Rebounding

1. Jordan Reed, Fr. (Bing): 9.6 rpg
2. Brian Voelkel, Sr. (UVM): 8.9 rpg
3. Tommy Brenton, Sr. (SBU): 8.7 rpg

Assists

1. Maurice Watson Jr., Fr. (BU): 5.4 apg
2. Tommy Brenton, Sr. (SBU): 4.9 apg
3. Brian Voelkel, Sr. (UVM): 4.8 apg

Steals

1. Justin Edwards, So. (Maine): 1.9 spg
2. Chase Plummer, Jr. (UMBC): 1.8 spg
3. Maurice Watson Jr., Fr. (BU): 1.7 spg

Blocks

1. Mike Allison, Sr. (Maine): 1.6 bpg
2. Jameel Warney, Fr. (SBU): 1.6 bpg
3. Alasdair Fraser, Jr. (Maine): 1.5 bpg

Field Goal %

1. Jameel Warney, Fr. (SBU): 62.4%
2. Dom Morris, Jr. (BU): 56.6%
3. Sam Rowley, So. (Alb): 55.1%

3-Point FG%

1. Marcus Rouse, Sr. (SBU): 43.6%
2. John Papale, Fr. (BU): 42.7%
3. Scott Morris (UNH): 41.5%

Free Throw %

1. Luke Apfeld, Jr. (UVM): 86.2%
2. Ryan Cook, Sr. (UMBC): 84.0%
3. Jacob Iati, Sr. (Alb): 83.1%

Linked Up

Stony Brook women's lacrosse came in at No. 18 in the latest Inside Lacrosse Power Rankings.

College Insider announce their 2013 men's basketball conference awards. Check out who they had in the America East.

Hartford women's soccer standout Amelia Pereira has been invited to try out with the Boston Breakers.

Congratulations to Allison Barwise and Katie Matthews, who are headed to the indoor track & field NCAA Championships!

A former Albany football standout will be holding a pro day for NFL scouts.

AEC Rewind: 3/4/13

Nate Sikma propelled Hartford to the No. 3 seed.

Not only was this the final weekend of conference basketball play in the America East, there were playoff implications in nearly every game. It's hard to believe that after nearly five months of basketball, championship seeding and matchups come down to one game. But that's exactly what happened and that's exactly what this weekend so much fun. Now, we are four days away from America East Championship basketball in Albany and the brackets are finally set. Let's take a look at how we got here with today's AEC Rewind.

Box Scores, Recaps and Highlights

Men's Basketball

Hartford 61, at Vermont 58: Box/Recap/Highlights

• Top Performer
• Nate Sikma (Hart): 15 points (4-8 FG; 4-7 3FG; 3-4 FT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
• Big Stat
• This was a close game the entire way and Sikma's three-pointer at the buzzer to win the game was emblematic of the difference between the two teams on this day. The final shot of the game, which gave the Hawks a 61-58 victory, was their 12th three-pointer. Vermont only made three on the day.
• Supporting Cast
• Yolonzo Moore II led all scorers with 16 points and also added in six assists for Hartford. The Catamounts were led by 13 points from Trey Blue on Senior Day while Luke Apfeld also threw in 10.
• Local Media
• Hartford Courant
• Burlington Free Press

at UMBC 59, Binghamton 49: Box/Recap/Highlights

• Top Performer
• Ryan Cook (UMBC): 24 points (7-14 FG; 4-7 3FG; 6-7 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist
• Big Stat
• How about the seniors from UMBC? Cook and classmate Brian Neller combined for 41 of the team's 59 points in the victory over Binghamton. 15 of Neller's 17 points came on three-pointers, which pushed his season total from distance up to 82, good for the second-best single season total in UMBC history.
• Supporting Cast
• You know about Neller, but Chase Plummer nearly tossed in a double-double, registering nine points and 12 boards. For Binghamton Jordan Reed gathered his league-leading 13th double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
• Local Media
• Baltimore Sun
• Press and Sun

at New Hampshire 79, Maine 74: Box/Recap/Highlights

• Top Performer
• Ferg Myrick (UNH): 27 points (8-17 FG; 3-7 3FG; 8-8 FT), 7 rebounds, 2 assists
• Big Stat
• The New Hampshire defense came to play in this one and took advantage of nearly every turnover it was able to force. While playing the Black Bears into 10 turnovers, the Wildcats racked up 14 points off of those turnovers. In comparison, New Hampshire turned the ball over just seven times and Maine had only two points on those turnovers.
• Supporting Cast
• Chandler Rhoads (13 pts, 6 rebs, 5 ast) and Patrick Konan both had 13 points for the Wildcats. Justin Edwards wrapped up the scoring title with a huge 29 point effort and Alasdair Fraser poured in 22 points for the Black Bears.
• Local Media
• Seacoast Online
• Bangor Daily News

at Stony Brook 75, Albany 70: Box/Recap/Highlights

• Top Performer
• Carson Puriefoy (SBU): 17 points (5-8 FG; 1-1 3FG; 6-6 FT), 2 rebounds, 1 assist
• Big Stat
• Puriefoy led the charge that was the Stony Brook bench in this game. The Seawolves' reserves racked up 34 points compared to just 11 for the Albany reserves. Puriefoy played 24 minutes and poured in 15 of his career-high 17 points in the second half as Stony Brook sealed the victory.
• Supporting Cast
• Fellow freshman Jameel Warney joined Puriefoy in double-digits with 10 points. For Albany, Mike Black and Jacob Iati each had 17 points and Sam Rowley chipped in an even 10 points.
• Local Media
• Newsday
• Albany Times Union

Women's Basketball

at Albany 60, Stony Brook 49: Box/Recap/Highlights

• Top Performer
• Chikilra Goodman (SBU): 19 points (8-13 FG; 3-5 FT), 7 rebounds, 4 steals
• Big Stat
• Albany came flying out of the games to the tune of a 65 percent field goal percentage over the first 20 minutes. While the Great Danes slowed down a little bit throughout the course of the game (they still finished at 53.5 percent), the big start was enough to carry them through to an undefeated conference season.
• Supporting Cast
• Ebone Henry led Albany with 15 points, while Shereesha Richards (12 pts) and Megan Craig (13 pts) also had big games. For Stony Brook, Sabre Proctor joined Goodman in double-figures with her 14 point showing.
• Local Media
• Albany Times Union
• Newsday

at Binghamton 62, UMBC 45: Box/Recap

• Top Performer 
• Morgan Murphy (Bing): 14 points (5-5 FG; 4-7 FT), 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist
• Big Stat
• The Binghamton defense held UMBC to just seven field goals in second half that it won 35-22. Over the final 20 minutes the Bearcats shot just under 40 percent and made three of their five triples on the day.
• Supporting Cast
• Mallory Lawes had 13 points to help lead the Binghamton victory. For UMBC, Kristin Coles had a double-double (14 pts, 11 reb) and Ashley Lambert had 12 points.
• Local Media
• Press and Sun

at Hartford 59, Vermont 33: Box/Recap/Highlights

• Top Performer
• Daphne Elliott (Hart): 17 points (6-10 FG; 3-5 3FG; 2-2 FT), 6 steals, 2 rebounds
• Big Stat
• The Hawks made the most of their opportunities to turn defense into offense, racking up 30 points on 36 Vermont turnovers. Meanwhile Hartford turned it over only 13 times and yielded just 3 points off of those plays.
• Supporting Cast
• Nikkia Smith also had a nice day for Hartford, netting 14 points and eight rebounds. For Vermont, Niki Taylor led the way with 10 points.
• Local Media
• Burlington Free Press

New Hampshire 86, at Maine 63: Box/Recap

• Top Performer
• Kelsey Hogan (UNH): 15 points (6-11 FG; 3-5 3FG), 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
• Big Stat
• New Hampshire had a huge edge on the glass (55-34) and was able to control the tempo throughout. One of the big benefits of this was a 20-9 advantage in second chance points on the Wildcats' 22 offensive rebounds.
• Supporting Cast
• Cari Reed had a big game, pouring in 18 points for New Hampshire. Her teammates Morgan Frame and Ariel Gaston both had 10 points a piece. For Maine, four of the five starters reached double figures with Lauren Bodine leading the charge. The freshman had 18 points.
• Local Media
• Seacoast Online
• Bangor Daily News

America East Championship

It's that time again! As a result of the action you just read about, the tournament fields are set. Click below for a look at the men's and women's bracket:

• Men's Championship Bracket
• Women's Championship Bracket

Linked Up

Don't miss this look at New Hampshire Coach Bill Herrion in his element. Herrion made 23 of 25 free throws to advance past his brother in the 'Shots From the Heart head coaches free throw competition. While we're on the subject check out the bracket which also includes Albany men's coach Will Brown.

Vermont men's basketball senior Ben Crenca has had his fair share of injuries throughout his career, but he's keeping things in perspective, writes the Burlington Free Press.

Tommy Dempsey says that Binghamton's goals aren't out of reach.

Check out this opinion piece on UMass Lowell joining the America East from the Boston Globe.

Make sure to visit our Facebook page and vote for the Fan's Choice Players of the Year in men's and women's basketball!