ALBANY, NY ? The University of Hartford men's basketball team picked up a 68-63 victory at the University at Albany on Saturday afternoon at SEFCU Arena.
Hartford (13-13 overall, 7-4 America East) snapped an eight-game losing streak to Albany (11-12 overall, 6-5 America East) and won for the first time at SEFCU Arena since 2002-03. The Hawks have won three in a row and remain in third place in the conference.
“This was probably the best win we've had in my two years at Hartford,” said head coach Dan Leibovitz. “Albany is a program I have a lot of respect for, and they're the two-time champions of our conference. It means a lot to beat a team like that on the road.”
Sophomore Joe Zeglinski scored 14 of his game-high 19 points in the second half, including four of his five three-pointers. He was named America East Player of the Game along with Albany's Brian Lillis, who finished with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting.
Hartford led by five points in the early stages of the contest before Albany jumped ahead with a 16-2 run to lead 18-9 with just over 10 minutes to play in the half. The Great Danes led by as many as 11 points in the stanza, though Hartford narrowed the margin with eight straight points and trailed 31-28 with less than a minute to play. Albany tacked on a pair of free throws to close the half and take a 33-28 lead into the locker room at intermission.
The Hawks quickly erased the deficit in the second half, as Zeglinski connected for two early threes and freshman Anthony Minor added a pair of layups. Hartford took its first lead of the half on an up-and-under move by freshman Morgan Sabia to go ahead 42-41 with 16:06 to play.
The rest of the game was closely contested, as neither team led by more than five points and the score was tied five times. Lillis evened things up at 56-56 with 5:24 remaining, but Zeglinski answered on the other end with a three and was fouled. Though he missed the ensuing free throw, the Hawks never trailed again.
Hartford led by two with under a minute to play and held the ball until the final eight seconds of the shot clock. Junior Jaret Von Rosenberg then drove the lane and dished off to Minor, who gave the Hawks a 65-61 lead with a layup. After an Albany miss on the other end, Sabia pulled down the rebound and was fouled with 23 seconds left. He made one of two from the line to put Hartford up five.
Lillis made it a one possession game with a short jumper with 17 seconds to go. The Great Danes then fouled Sabia again on the inbounds, and the Hartford rookie made both freebies to seal the victory. He finished with 10 points.
Hartford shot 57 percent in the second half and turned the ball over only five times after giving it away 10 times in the first half. The Hawks shot 50 percent for the game but were outrebounded 33-23. Junior Michael Turner also finished in double figures with 13 points while Von Rosenberg had nine and added seven rebounds and six assists.
Albany shot 47 percent for the game and also committed 15 turnovers. Brian Connelly and Brent Wilson each finished in double figures with 10 points apiece.
Hartford will next play at Stony Brook University on Thursday, February 14 at 7 p.m.
