DURHAM, N.H. - The Hartford men's basketball team looks return to its winning ways on Saturday, when they take on the New Hampshire Wildcats at Lundholm Gymnasium at 4 p.m. The Hawks (6-16, 4-5) defeated New Hampshire (8-11, 3-5) earlier this season, 56-53 in West Hartford.
The Hawks are coming off a 54-44 loss at the hands of first-place Stony Brook on Wednesday night. Although Hartford played strong defense, keyed by freshman Charles White, they could not get anything going on the offensive end, hitting at a season-low 18.2% from three-point range. Morgan Sabia led the team with 12 points, the only Hawk to finish with double figures. Hartford, last in the America East in rebounding, battled strong with the conference's best rebounding team, finishing with 35 boards to Stony Brook's 36.
Last month, the Hawks welcomed New Hampshire into Chase Arena, where it was also a defensive struggle. This one, however, was claimed by the Hawks as Joe Zeglinski scored 21 of his season-high 26 points in the second half to lead Hartford to a 56-53 win over the Wildcats. Sabia pulled down 11 rebounds, which tied his career high, as he held New Hampshire big man Dane DiLiegro to 1-of-9 shooting.
New Hampshire has split four games since that matchup, defeating UMBC in Baltimore and taking a home game from Vermont. The Wildcats currently sit seventh in the America East, a game behind sixth-place Hartford. Alvin Abreu leads the 'Cats with 14.1 points per game, while DiLiegro is pulling down 8.4 boards a contest.
Saturday's game could see the return of junior point guard Andres Torres, who tore his posterior cruciate ligament at No. 3/3 Kentucky on December 29. Torres has missed 10 games since then, but was in uniform on the bench against Stony Brook. At that point, he had participated in just two practices, and head coach Dan Leibovitz opted not to push his point guard too quickly. In Torres' absence, junior Milton Burton has performed well, sitting fourth in the conference with 3.9 assists per game during league play.
The Hawks and Wildcats tip off at 4 p.m. on Saturday with all the action carried live on the flagship of Hartford men's basketball, WDRC-1360.
