Box Score
BALTIMORE – The scene has repeated itself over and over again during the early part of the 2009-10 season. The Hartford men's basketball team went on the road, playing tough in a hostile environment as the game went down to the final minutes. This time, though, it was the Hawks who emerged victorious. Hartford earned its first America East victory on Thursday night, defeating UMBC, 74-68. Joe Zeglinski led all scorers with 18 points as the Hawks snapped an 11-game losing streak and won their first road game of the year.
Hartford (3-13, 1-2) earned the victory at the Retriever Activities Center, a place where they fell in the program's only trip to the America East title game two years ago. UMBC (1-15, 0-3) tested the Hawks throughout, hitting five first-half three-pointers to grab a 35-34 halftime advantage. The Retrievers led by as many as five, 28-23. They couldn't go on an extended run, though, thanks in large part to one of the best rebounding performances the Hawks have put on all season. Hartford pulled down 33 boards in total, compared to just 26 for UMBC.
Although UMBC held the lead at the intermission, Hartford had already made an important statement going into the break. With UMBC on offense up by three with the clock winding down, Hartford stepped out on the Retrievers' long-range sharpshooters and cut off any attempts to feed the ball inside. The smothering defense led to a shot-clock violation with 15 seconds remaining, and junior Anthony Minor scooped in a lay-up as time expired to pull Hartford within a point.
Zeglinski, who along with UMBC's Adrian Satchell was named the Nestle PurinaONE America East Player of the Game, knocked down 14 of his 18 points in the first half. In the second, the Retriever defense keyed on the junior guard, forcing the rest of the Hawks to beat them.
Quickly, Hartford proved itself up to the challenge. Two long-range bombs from junior Morgan Sabia helped the Hawks grab a 44-41 lead early in the second half. Junior Joel Barkers, a Washington, DC native who had a sizeable contingent of family and friends in attendance, pounded home 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out a career-best three assists as he became a force down low in the second half. He hit six-of-six free throws, part of a season-best 18-of-21 performance for the team.
Junior Milton Burton, who opened the game by tickling the nylon with a three-pointer, finished with 13 points, five rebounds and six assists. He added a block and a steal in what head coach Dan Leibovitz referred to as “his best game as a Hawk.”
After UMBC's Matt Spadafora hit a three-pointer to cut the Hawks' lead to one at 65-64 with 3:12 remaining, the Hawks buckled down. The lead was quickly back to six as Zeglinski and Barkers each hit two free throws and Burton added a jumper, and UMBC could not take advantage of two offensive rebounds in the final minute.
As the buzzer sounded, the bench exploded out onto the floor in celebration of the first victory since November.
Hartford is now 1-2 in the America East, with a chance to even their league record at home on Saturday against New Hampshire. The Wildcats are also sitting at 1-2, and are 6-8 overall. Game time is set for 4 p.m. Tickets are available at the Brenda and Malcolm Berman Ticket Office at Reich Family Pavilion, or by calling 860-768-HAWK. Fans who cannot make it to Chase Arena can listen to all the action on the flagship station of Hartford basketball, WDRC-1360.
