BOX SCORE



FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The search for a road victory will have to wait a little longer. The Hartford men's basketball team held a 20-point lead in the second half at Sacred Heart on Wednesday night, but could not hold it as the Pioneers came back to score a 56-55 victory in the game's final second. Joe Zeglinski led the Hawks with 16 points. Morgan Sabia added 13 and Genesis Maciel put in 12, but it was not enough as Hartford committed too many turnovers in the last four minutes, allowing the Pioneers extra possessions.

Zeglinski's 16 points marked his 91st career double-digit game. That ties him with Justin Bailey (1996-99) for the most in school history. It was Zeglinski's first game in double digits over the last three contests as he attempted to tie the record.

With 8:17 to play, Zeglinski buried a three-pointer to give Hartford a 20-point lead, 51-31. From there, the Pioneers came alive. They began forcing the action, driving to the hoop and putting Hartford in foul trouble. Besides a Clayton Brothers free throw, the Hawks would not score again until 1:11 remained. Sacred Heart, meanwhile, cut the lead to 12 with 5:57 left.

Sacred Heart's next 11 points came via free throws as they were aggressive with the ball. The Pioneers were 11-of-12 from the line during that stretch, which saw Hartford senior forward Anthony Minor foul out.

It was 52-50 with 1:11 to play when Brothers slashed to the hoop. Zeglinski, running the point at the top of the key, threaded a beautiful pass into Brothers, who layed it in and drew a foul. When he hit the free throw, the Hawks were back up 55-50 and it looked like crisis might be averted.

With 38 seconds to go, Jerrell Thompson knocked down a 10-foot jumper, the Pioneers' first field goal since a three-pointer with 6:10 to go. After the Hawks could not knock down the front end of a one-and-one, Sacred Heart drove down and tied the score with 24 seconds to play thanks to a Thompson three.

It was only the third trey of the game for Sacred Heart, which finished 3-of-21 from beyond the arc.

Hartford had a chance to hold for the last shot and a chance at the win, but the ball was thrown away, and Sacred Heart's Stan Dulaire picked it up and streaked to the hoop. He was fouled with 0.2 seconds on the clock, and hit one of two free throws to essentially seal the game.

The Hawks were playing Wednesday's game without regular starter Milton Burton. Along with reserve guard Ben O'Neill, Burton did not make the trip as he was sidelined with the flu. Maciel stepped into  his starting role, and despite tweaking his left ankle late in the first half, hit two big three-pointers early in the second to propel Hartford to its big lead.

Hartford returns to the court once more before exams provide a 17-day break. They will travel to Monmouth on Saturday for an afternoon tip in West Long Branch. The Hawks and their counterpart Hawks will tip at 4:00 p.m. All the action will be on WDRC-1360 AM, with Jeff Dooley and Randy LaVigne at the mics.