NEW HAVEN, CT ? Trailing by as many as 15 points in the second half, the University of Hartford men's basketball team rallied its way back to force overtime and defeat Yale University, 66-65, Monday night at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
The Hawks, who improved to 5-4 overall and have won five of their last six, took a 66-65 lead with 1:17 to go in overtime on a pair of free throws by freshman Joe Zeglinski. Hartford then forced Yale (2-7 overall) into two turnovers in the final minute, though the Bulldogs still had the final possession to claim the win. A jumper by Eric Flato, however, was off the mark, and the Hawks secured the rebound for the victory.
“I wish I could take credit for a win like that, but it really lies with the players,” said head coach Dan Leibovitz. “We continue to grow in the belief in ourselves. We didn't execute all the time on the offensive end, but our defense was good enough to get the job done. We're lucky to get out of here with the win, and I'm just so happy for my team.”
Zeglinski scored seven of Hartford's eight points in the overtime stanza. He finished with a team-high 18 points, including a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line, and added six rebounds.
Things didn't look so bright for the Hawks when Yale's Caleb Holmes opened the second half with a three-pointer to extend a 12-point halftime lead to 15. Hartford responded with a 13-1 run, including a stretch of 11 straight points that cut the deficit to 38-35 with 15:34 to go.
Yale quickly got back on track after the media time out, running a backdoor lob for Casey Hughes that resulted in an alley-oop slam that got the crowd back into the game. The Bulldogs then slowly built the lead back to nine at 52-43 with 6:58 to play.
The Hawks spent the remainder of regulation whittling down the deficit. A steal near the midcourt stripe led to a pretty pass from sophomore Jaret Von Rosenberg, who saved the ball from going out of bounds and flipped it behind his back to a streaking Bo Taylor. Taylor went to the basket for an uncontested dunk to cut the margin to four at 52-48.
Hartford used the charity stripe to its advantage in the final minutes. Senior Alex Zimnickas, who was being subbed out on defensive possessions because he was playing with four fouls, hit a pair of foul shots on consecutive trips down the floor to trim the deficit to two at 56-54. The Hawks then tied the game on a follow-up tip-in by Zeglinski with 2:10 to play.
Yale went back ahead on a pair of free throws from Matt Kyle, but Zeglinski answered with a layup to set the stage for the final seconds of regulation. Hartford had the ball with 1.9 seconds to play and had to go the length of the court. The inbounds pass sailed over Zimnickas' outstretched hands, though the ball did tip off his fingers before going out of bounds.
The referees huddled and took .1 seconds off the clock and gave Yale the ball under the Hartford basket. The Bulldogs attempted a fullcourt pass, though it, too, went out of bounds and gave the Hawks the ball back on their baseline with 1.8 seconds remaining.
A scramble on the inbounds pass went out of bounds and left Hartford with possession with .7 seconds to play. The ball then went to Fabrice Tafo at the top of the key, but the play was whistled dead as soon as it touched his hands. The referees conferred once again and, citing an error with the clock, gave the Hawks the ball again for another inbounds play. Junior Rich Baker got the ball on the second chance but couldn't get up a strong shot, and the teams prepared for overtime.
Flato put Yale back on top with the first shot of overtime, a three-pointer from the corner. Zeglinski later tied the game when he was fouled on a three-point attempt and converted all three free throws. He then put the Hawks up with another follow-up tip on the offensive glass, though Nick Holmes put the Bulldogs back up 64-63 with a three.
After Caleb Holmes made one of two from the line to put Yale up by two, Zimnickas made one of two from the stripe to make it 65-64. Zeglinski later added the game-wining freebies to put the Hawks up for good.
Zeglinski was one of three Hawks in double figures. Taylor finished with 17 points ? 15 in the second half ? before fouling out with 4:07 to play in regulation. Zimnickas added 11 points and went 7-of-10 from the foul line. Sophomore Fabrice Tafo finished with seven points and made key plays on the defensive end (three blocks).
Hartford shot 44 percent for the game and a dismal 20 percent (3-for-15) from three-point range. The Hawks committed 11 first-half turnovers but finished with 16 for the game.
Flato led Yale with 17 points while Nick Holmes pitched in with 13. The Bulldogs shot 42 percent for the game and made 23 turnovers.
Hartford jumped out to a small lead early in the contest until Yale tied the game at 14-14 on a three-pointer by Alexander Zampier with 10:30 to go in the first half. After the teams traded baskets, Yale ripped off 10 straight points, including back-to-back threes from Nick Holmes, to take a 26-16 advantage. Yale led by as many as 13 in the stanza and took a 34-22 lead into the locker room after Zampier scored on a drive at the buzzer.
Hartford will host St. Francis (NY) College on Sunday, December 17 at 2 p.m. Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion.
