So first-year coach Pat Chambers knew if his fourth-seeded Terriers were going to have any chance of winning their first conference title since 2002 and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in yesterday’s conference final against second-seeded Vermont, they were going to have to contend with senior forward Marqus Blakely.

“We knew he’d be terrific today,’’ Chambers said after BU (19-13) suffered an 83-70 loss before a sellout crowd of 3,266 at Patrick Gym. “So we tried to throw different things at him. But he played a great game and he played like a player of the year should play.’’

Blakely, who earned America East player of the year honors as a sophomore and junior, tallied 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field (10 of 17 from the foul line), grabbed 18 rebounds (one shy of matching the tourney record set by former Drexel star Malik Rose in 1996), and had five assists (a team high) to lead the Catamounts (25-9) to their first tourney title since 2005 and fourth in the last seven years.

“I don’t think words could really describe it,’’ Blakely said of his first trip to the NCAA Tournament in his last go-round at Vermont. “Being a freshman and getting to the championship game and losing by 1, at home, it’s always in the back of your mind when you go out and play. Just the fact we’re going to the NCAA Tournament, I hope we make some noise.’’

The victory was particularly uplifting for Vermont junior forward Evan Fjeld, who soldiered on this season knowing his mother, Susan, was terminally ill with cancer. Fjeld kept it to himself until he stunned his coaches and teammates Monday night with the news of her grave condition. She died Tuesday morning.

“Everybody says they’re amazed how I handled it, which I really don’t understand and can’t take any credit for that, because that was all her,’’ said Fjeld, who wound up with 9 points and six rebounds before fouling out with 1:54 to go. “Maybe I didn’t handle it so well, because I didn’t have the greatest game, but these guys have picked me up all week and were there for me. I told them before the game that we had already been through the trial for the week and this was just a victory lap.’’

“I’m very, very proud of our team,’’ said Vermont coach Mike Lonergan, whose team controlled a 42-31 halftime lead. “But I’ve got to give Boston University a lot of credit. It’s not easy when you’re picked to win a league. They had a new coach and I thought he did a great job and they got hot at the right time.’’

The Terriers advanced to the tournament championship for the first time since 2003, winning eight of their nine previous games. It included an 87-46 rout of Hartford in the quarterfinals last Saturday and was followed by a 70-63 victory in last Sunday’s semis over top-seeded Stony Brook. “Watching them play Hartford, it was a little scary how good they were playing,’’ Lonergan said. “But I knew we had a chance at home and we have a great team, with a special player.’’

Mindful of the 21 points and 12 rebounds he had in a 76-75 victory over the Terriers Feb. 9 at Agganis Arena, Chambers was intent on subjecting Blakely to myriad defensive looks. “We tried to trap him sometimes, we tried to let him go one-on-one sometimes, we brought a blitz from the baseline side sometimes,’’ Chambers said.

“At times on the catch, they would try to double me, and other times on the dribble they would try to double me,’’ Blakely said. “I just tried to read and react.’’

When Blakely was unable to get off a shot, he found an open teammate, such as senior guard Nick Vier (who chipped in 15 points, knocking down all four of his 3-point attempts). “He’s not selfish, even with the double coverage,’’ said senior guard Corey Lowe, who led the Terriers with 24 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field (3 of 7 from the 3-point arc). “He’s not going to force up a shot. He found the guy on the opposite side for open threes.’’

After Jake O’Brien (17 points) chipped in 8 points to key a 12-3 run that pulled the Terriers within 53-50, Lowe answered a foul shot by Blakely with a huge 3-pointer that cut Vermont’s lead to 54-53 with 10:20 remaining. But the Catamounts outscored outscored the Terriers, 29-17, the rest of the way.

“Overall, this was a great year for us,’’ Lowe said. “We’ve never made it this far and so we can take a lot of positives out of it, but right now it hurts a little bit.’’

Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.