Box Score
DURHAM, N.H. – Lundholm Gymnasium went from bedlam to stoned silence in five seconds flat. Joe Zeglinski banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer, just five seconds after New Hampshire's Alvin Abreu hit a fadeaway jumper from the left corner to tie the score and send the crowd of 2,073 into a frenzy. Zeglinski's bucket, launched from well beyond NBA three-point range, gave the Hawks a 57-54 victory and handed them their first season sweep of the Wildcats since 2004.
Zeglinski finished with a game-high 17 points, ten of which came in the last 6:30 of play. Milton Burton added 14 for the Hawks (7-16, 5-5), and Andres Torres scored eight in his first game back from a posterior cruciate ligament tear suffered in December.
“We really had a great practice getting ready for this, and I felt like we were ready,” head coach Dan Leibovitz said of winning the hard-fought road contest. “We're a veteran group and we should be ready to get wins like this. It's great to finish off a win like this against a great coach and a tremendous team that plays such good defense. Obviously we got a bit of a break with Joe's shot, but I think we deserved a break like that after playing the way we have.”
The Hawks led by as many as eight in the first half, but New Hampshire never let Hartford pull away. Like the first meeting between these two teams, the game was a defensive struggle, with the two teams pounding inside and out for loose balls and rebounds. Hartford forced the Wildcats into ten turnovers, while they had just six giveaways.
Milton Burton opened the game by finding a seam in the Wildcats' defense and driving down the lane to the hoop. It would be a sign of things to come, as Burton curled and slashed his way to 12 first half points to lead all scorers. The junior from Birmingham hit 5-of-7 shots in the period, including a powerful dunk that temporarily silenced the New Hampshire crowd.
Burton opened the game playing point guard for the Hawks, as he has for most of conference play. With just under 12 minutes remaining in the first half, though, Burton handed over the point guard duties to junior Andres Torres, who returned to action for the first time since injuring his right knee at #3/3 Kentucky on December 29. Torres missed ten games with a torn posterior cruciate ligament. He finished Saturday's game with 23 minutes, eight points and three assists.
“It's great to have him back,” Leibovitz remarked. “There's a comfort level between him and Joe and Morgan [Sabia]. He can get in the seams of defenses and create things, so we are happy to have that part of our team back on the floor.”
Despite the imposing presence of Wildcat center Dane DiLiegro, Hartford thrived by driving to the hoop and not shying away from contact. The aggressive play forced New Hampshire's Tyrone Conley to the bench with five fouls. At the time, he led the team with 12 points and was their only consistent outside option, hitting four of the Wildcats' seven three-pointers.
Hartford finished with a 24-18 advantage in the paint.
Although they converted just 62.5% of their free throws, the Hawks held a distinct advantage from the free throw line, knocking down 15-of-24 while New Hampshire managed just 7-of-15.
Nevertheless, the Hawks were not immune to foul trouble. Junior Anthony Minor, who finished with five rebounds, three points and a powerful block, fouled out with 3:23 remaining. Taking over for Minor, junior Kevin Estes drew a foul on the right block and knocked down two crucial free throws with 1:44 remaining to give the Hawks a 52-49 lead.
Earlier in the game, it was senior David Bookman who spelled Minor. The Fort Worth native had not seen any action during conference play, but provided a spark off the bench, grabbing a rebound and converting both of his free throw attempts in five first-half minutes.
Hartford's win gave them a two-game cushion over New Hampshire for sixth place in the America East with six games to play. The Hawks will look to make it back-to-back wins on Thursday, when UMBC visits Chase Arena at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the Malcolm and Brenda Berman Athletics Box Office at the Reich Family Pavilion, or by calling 860-768-HAWK.
