WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – It took two overtimes to decide which team was going to advance to the title game of the America East Championships, and unfortunately for the Hartford Hawks, they fell short of making the program's second championship appearance as the Vermont Catamounts mustered the 77-73 victory after 50 grueling minutes of basketball on Sunday evening.

The second seed in the tournament, the Catamounts grinded out the double overtime win at the Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion and will meet up with top-seeded Stony Brook on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

Four players reached double figures in the scoring column for the Hawks led by Andres Torres. The veteran point guard, who had to sit and watch the final 10 minutes and 53 seconds of his college career from the bench, scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting while tying a season-best in steals with five. In addition, with three assists, Torres closed out his career tied for second place in Hartford history with 331 helpers.

In a game that saw 11 ties and 26 lead changes, Hartford led in both overtimes but Vermont came back each time. The double overtime game was the first in the conference tournament since 1983, and the only game in tournament history to go into multiple extra periods.

The first overtime saw the Hawks take a three point lead thanks to Wes Cole's three-pointer midway through but Vermont went 4-of-4 from the free throw line to regain the edge at 66-65. With 24 seconds to go, Genesis Maciel completed a three-point play however the Catamounts again provided the answer as Sandro Carissimo's jumper with seven ticks on the clock knotted the score at 68-68.

Yolonzo Moore II nearly won the game for the Hawks with a jumper in the lane but his shot rolled out as the buzzer sounded.

The Hawks led by two at 73-71 with 1:43 to go in the final overtime, a Glass lay-up, a Hartford turnover and a bank shot by Sandro Carissimo with 12 seconds remaining proved to be the difference in the contest. Down two, the Hawks went for the win with a three, but Maciel, who had buried four three-pointers in as many attempts leading up to that play, fell short of the rim and Luke Apfeld sealed the game for the Catamounts with a pair of free throws.

Maciel finished 5-of-7 from the floor for 15 points in 20 minutes while fellow senior classmate Clayton Brothers added 10, including 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. Mark Nwakamma, who fouled out with 1:30 to go in the first overtime, joined the trio of seniors in double figures with 14 points and added eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and a pair of blocks to that number.

Carrisimo led Vermont with 18 points while Four McGlynn, the America East Rookie of the Year, added 16. Matt Glass and Apfeld rounded out the Catamounts' leading scorers with 16 and 13 points, respectively.

The first half see sawed back and forth as the Hawks shot a blistering 71.4 percent from three point land in the first 15 minutes of the game to take a 29-25 edge over the Catamounts in the opening half. Nate Sikma's three – the Hawks' fifth of the half – at the 4:57 mark provided that four point advantage but that was short-lived as Vermont got hot and closed out the period with a 12-1 run which saw the Catamounts nail three from downtown during that stretch.

Down eight points at the half, the Hawks needed to dig themselves out of that hole and would accomplish that feat quickly as they used a 9-0 rally to knot up the score and regain the lead at 39-38.

Hartford would enjoy that edge for only a moment though as Vermont regained its edge and McGlynn tallied 13-straight for the Catamounts, including seven in a row that helped the home team go from a 46-46 tie to a seven point lead at 53-46 with 10:32 left in the second half. The Hawks countered with 11-straight, capped by back-to-back Maciel treys, to go back on top at 57-53 with 6:10 to go.

Apfeld provided the fifth tie of the contest at 57-57 with a lay-up and helped the Catamounts regain the lead after converting on the three point play with 2:51 to go, but Torres responded when he was fouled on a made lay-up and scored the extra point from the charity stripe to make it a two point game in favor of the Hawks with 72 seconds to play. Unfortunately for the senior point guard, those would be the last points of his career as he was whistled for his fifth foul while going up for a rebound on the defensive end.

In the ensuing free throws, Apfeld converted to again tie up the game, this time at 60-60. With just 33 seconds remaining, Nwakamma gave his team the advantage at 62-60 but on the other end, Apfeld spun on the baseline and had a dunk that tied it up with nine ticks left on the clock. The Hawks had a final look but failed to get a shot up before the buzzer sounded, sending the contest into overtime.  

The Hawks, who started their season 0-13, finished 9-9 down the stretch to compile an overall record of 9-22.

The game ended the careers of four Hartford seniors as Clayton Brothers, Maciel, Torres and Charles White played their final game in the Scarlet and White. The foursome helped lead the Hawks to two-straight America East semifinals appearances.