WEST HARTFORD, CT ? The University of Hartford men's basketball team came away with a 69-67 victory over the University of Maine on Wednesday night at Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion.
Hartford (12-13 overall, 6-4 America East) led by as many as nine points in the second half but trailed 67-66 with 30 seconds to play in the game. Freshman Morgan Sabia put the Hawks on top with his third three-pointer of the contest with 17 seconds remaining, and Maine (6-16 overall, 2-7 America East) missed on two chances in the closing seconds before the ball went out of bounds with a tenth of a second left on the clock.
Sabia, who finished with 15 points and a game-high eight rebounds, was 6-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Mark Socoby, who led Maine with 20 points and added six boards, shot 7-of-14 from the field and 5-of-10 from long range. Both Sabia and Socoby were named Nestle PurinaONE America East Players of the Game.
The Hawks are now tied with Albany and Binghamton for third place in the conference standings. Hartford also matched its America East win total from a year ago and secured a winning home court record (8-3 overall) for the seventh straight season.
Neither team could pull away in the first half. Sparked by six straight points from freshman Anthony Minor to start the game, Hartford led by six in the early going until Maine answered with a 7-0 run to snatch the lead. The Black Bears then led by six later in the half when the Hawks responded with a 7-0 run of their own, capped by back-to-back three-pointers by sophomore Joe Zeglinski and senior Brian Glowiak.
Hartford closed the half on yet another 7-0 run, with the duo of Glowiak and Zeglinski again nailing threes in the final 2:33. The Hawks shot 54 percent in the stanza and took a 35-30 lead into the locker room at the intermission. Maine shot just 35 percent from the floor but made 7-of-11 free throws to stay close.
The Hawks pushed the lead to nine on a Sabia three-pointer just under five minutes into the second half. Maine countered with a 10-0 run which came behind three-pointers from Socoby, Sean McNally and Kaimondre Owes on consecutive possessions. Hartford came right back and took the lead on a pair of free throws from junior Warren McLendon, who finished with nine points in 10 minutes.
Neither team would lead by more than four points in the final 13 minutes of the game. Hartford led until a layup by Troy Barnies gave Maine a 60-59 advantage with 4:52 remaining. The Black Bears pumped the lead to four on a Socoby three, though a Sabia jumper and a pair of Zeglinski free throws tied the game at 63-63 with 2:50 to play.
The final minute saw the lead change hands three times. Socoby nailed a jumper to put Maine up two with 57 seconds remaining, but junior Jaret Von Rosenberg answered with a trey on the other end to put the Hawks up 66-65. Philipe Tchekane Bofia then hit a scoop shot in the paint?his only basket of the game?to put the Black Bears up a point with 30 seconds remaining.
Following a Maine timeout, Hartford put the ball in Von Rosenberg's hands for the final sequence. He drove the lane before stopping and kicking back out to the top of the key to Sabia, who sank the go-ahead three with a hand in his face. The Black Bears gave the ball to Socoby on their final possession; he pump faked behind the arc and tried to draw contact on his three-point attempt, but the shot was long and no foul was called. Sean McNally had a chance to tie the game on a tip-in but couldn't get it to fall, and the ball bounced out of bounds with a fraction of a second remaining.
Zeglinski led Hartford with 20 points while Von Rosenberg tied a career high with seven assists. Owes and McNally joined Socoby in double figures for Maine with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Hartford will next play at Albany on Saturday, February 9 at 2 p.m.
