BOSTON ? The University of Hartford men's basketball team couldn't shake off the rust following an eight-day layoff, falling 97-66 at Boston University on Thursday night at The Roof.
Hartford (15-15 overall, 9-6 America East) drops into a three-way tie with Boston University (13-15 overall, 9-6 America East) and Albany for second place in the conference standings. The Hawks can clinch second place in the America East and the second seed in the upcoming conference championship with a win over UMBC on Sunday at Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion.
BU's John Holland scored a career-high 38 points to lead all scorers while sophomore Joe Zeglinski led Hartford with 14 points. Each was named America East Player of the Game for their respective squads. Holland also added 11 rebounds and two steals in 31 minutes.
The Terriers shot 49 percent for the game and made 13 three-pointers, including four apiece for Holland, Corey Lowe and Carlos Strong. The trio combined for 75 points as Lowe finished with 21 and Strong chipped in with 16. The last time a BU team scored more than 90 points was during the 2004-05 season.
Hartford came out sluggish after the tip while BU got off to a fast start behind the play of Holland. The Terriers' rookie scored his team's first 10 points of the game and threw down a pair of dunks during the stretch, though BU led by only a point after a three-pointer by sophomore Joe Zeglinski with 16:16 to go.
Boston University led the rest of the way and extended its lead with a 14-4 run to close the half. The Terriers led 49-29 at the intermission as Holland, Lowe and Strong combined for 41 points. BU shot 56 percent in the stanza and made 8-of-19 three-point attempts. The Hawks shot just 35 percent and hit only 2-of-11 from long range.
The Terriers picked up right where they left off after the break, opening the second half with a 20-5 run to take a 35-point lead at 69-34 with 12:33 to play. Junior Jaret Von Rosenberg got the Hawks out of their funk by scoring their next 10 points, but the combination of Lowe and Holland kept BU comfortably in front.
Von Rosenberg and junior Michael Turner scored in double figures for the Hawks with 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Hawks shot 41 percent from the floor but made only 6-of-21 from behind the arc. Hartford was also outrebounded by its largest margin of the season at 47-26.
Hartford wraps up the regular season against UMBC on Sunday, March 2 at Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and seniors Rich Baker and Brian Glowiak will be honored prior to the contest in a special senior day ceremony.
