BALTIMORE ? The University of Hartford men's basketball team dropped a 73-68 shootout at UMBC on Thursday night at RAC Arena.
The loss dropped the Hawks to 9-9 overall and 3-3 in the America East. UMBC improved to 7-12 overall and 3-3 in the conference. Freshman Joe Zeglinski finished with 19 points and was named America East Player of the Game for the Hawks. Brian Hodges led the Retrievers with a game-high 20 points while Chris Pugh added 15 points five rebounds and five steals. Pugh was named UMBC's America East Player of the Game.
UMBC led from the opening tip to the final buzzer, though Hartford only trailed 68-66 with 3:36 to play in the game. However, the Hawks came up with only two points in the final three minutes, going 1-for-5 from the floor and 0-for-3 at the free throw line while committing a pair of turnovers.
Both teams shot well in the contest, with UMBC finishing at 48 percent from both the floor and three-point range. Hartford shot 46 percent from both the field and long distance but hit only 6-of-14 (43 percent) from the free throw line.
UMBC pulled out to a 20-10 lead on a jumper by Brian Hodges with 8:51 to go in the first half. Sophomore Michael Turner and Zeglinski kept the Hawks in the game, combining for 22 of Hartford's first 26 points. Zeglinski caught fire and hit three straight treys during a two-minute stretch to cap an 11-2 run and draw Hartford to within a point at 24-23 with 4:51 remaining.
The Retrievers answered with seven straight points to cushion their lead, though senior Bo Taylor scored Hartford's final six points of the half to cut the deficit back to one at 33-32 with under 30 seconds to play. UMBC's Jay Greene ended the first-half scoring with a deep three to give the Retrievers a 36-32 halftime lead.
Turner finished with 19 points and a team-high nine rebounds while Taylor added 16 points. Sophomore Jaret Von Rosenberg had seven points and dished out a career-high seven assists. Hodges and Pugh led five Retrievers in double figures.
Hartford will next play at the University at Albany on Sunday, January 21 at 2 p.m.
