BURLIGTON, Vt. (AP) Everett Duncan scored a career-high 28 points and No. 1 seed Vermont beat UMBC 81-74 in the semifinals of the America East Conference Tournament on Tuesday night to advanced to the championship game.

Vermont hosts third-seed Hartford on Saturday.

Stef Smith scored 20 points and Anthony Lamb had 19 for the Catamounts (26-7). Smith's jumper with 5:50 before halftime broke a tie at 24 and Vermont went to the break with a 39-34 lead. Later, Smith hit a jumper with 15:38 to go and the Catamounts extended their lead to 48-38. UMBC then went on a 19-9 outburst to tie it at 57.