Men's Basketball Loses to Hartford in Battle for Third in America East Conference Standings

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Albany, N.Y. – Sophomore guard Joe Zeglinski scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half as Hartford defeated UAlbany, 68-63, in America East Conference play on Saturday, Feb. 9 at SEFCU Arena. The Hawks moved into third place in the conference standings.

Zeglinski, who made 5-of-7 from three-point range, drilled a long-range jumper from right of the key to snap a 56-56 deadlock with 5:07 remaining. Hartford (13-13, AE 7-4) still led 63-61 in the final minutes, when UAlbany’s Jerel Hastings missed a layup on the left baseline. The Hawks answered on the other end when Anthony Minor converted in the lane off a pass from a driving Jaret Von Rosenberg.

UAlbany (11-12, AE 6-5) stayed within one possession when Brian Lillis made a baseline jumper to close the gap to 66-63. Lillis, who connected on 8-of-9 from the field, finished with 17 points. But Morgan Sabia made a pair of free throws with 12.2 seconds to play to seal the outcome. The victory avenged a 73-63 loss in the first meeting of the season on Jan. 19 and ended the Hawks’ eight-game losing streak in the series.

“We feel very fortunate to win,” said Hartford coach Dan Leibovitz, whose team shot 50 percent from the field while employing a small lineup. “We dug ourselves a big hole in the first game and part of that was our own doing. Joe (Zeglinski) is pretty special; he’s just a winner.”

The Great Danes led by as much as 11 points in the opening half. Lillis hit a 16-foot jumper and freshman guard Josh Martin made a conventional three-point play when he was fouled on a drive from the right side in providing their team with a 31-20 lead. Brian Connelly had eight of his 10 points in the period as his team settled for a 33-28 halftime advantage.

Hartford trailed by six early in the final stanza, but wiped that out when Zeglinski nailed a 3-pointer and Minor delivered a slam dunk. Sabia, a 6-foot-8 freshman who had 10 points, put his team ahead 42-41 with a turnaround on the left baseline. Zeglinski made another three-pointer from the right wing for a 56-51 lead, but the Great Danes would drew even. Brent Wilson, who scored 10 off the bench, sank a three-point shot from the top of the arc, before Lillis made a bank shot to finish off a fastbreak.

“Their pressure bothered us and we were not aggressive against it,” explained UAlbany coach Will Brown, whose team has not been able to climb over the .500 mark since mid-December. “We dribbled into traps and made some bad decisions, but the biggest difference was that they shot 50 percent. They are difficult to defend, especially when they go to a smaller lineup.”

Michael Turner was the third Hartford player in double figures with 13 points. The 6-foot-5 junior totaled five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Von Rosenberg added nine points, seven rebounds and six assists. The Hawks recorded their first victory at SEFCU Arena since Feb. 22, 2003.



Hartford 68, UAlbany 63 (2/9/08 at SEFCU Arena)

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Official Basketball Box Score
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Official Basketball Box Score
Hartford vs Albany
2/9/08 2:05 p.m. at Albany, N.Y. (SEFCU Arena)
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VISITORS: Hartford 13-13, AE 7-4
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
23 Sabia, Morgan....... f 3-8 1-5 3-4 0 1 1 4 10 0 5 0 1 28
25 Minor, Anthony...... f 4-7 0-0 1-1 1 3 4 3 9 0 2 0 2 25
01 Von Rosenberg, Jaret g 3-7 1-3 2-2 1 6 7 1 9 6 5 0 3 37
03 Turner, Michael..... g 3-3 0-0 7-10 0 5 5 1 13 4 0 0 4 40
24 Zeglinski, Joe...... g 7-13 5-7 0-1 1 5 6 3 19 0 1 0 0 31
10 Torres, Andres...... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 11
11 Glowiak, Brian...... 1-2 1-2 3-3 0 0 0 0 6 2 0 1 0 21
31 Estes, Kevin........ 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 7
TEAM................
Totals.............. 22-44 8-18 16-21 3 20 23 15 68 12 15 1 10 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-21 42.9% 2nd Half: 13-23 56.5% Game: 50.0% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-9 33.3% 2nd Half: 5-9 55.6% Game: 44.4% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 7-8 87.5% 2nd Half: 9-13 69.2% Game: 76.2% 2

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HOME TEAM: Albany 11-12, AE 6-5
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 Hastings, Jerel..... f 2-4 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 3 4 1 0 0 0 24
33 Connelly, Brian..... f 5-9 0-0 0-0 1 5 6 3 10 1 1 0 0 35
55 Turley, Al.......... c 3-4 0-0 1-3 1 0 1 1 7 0 0 0 0 5
21 Lillis, Brian....... g 8-9 0-0 1-2 2 3 5 3 17 4 3 0 2 39
23 Ambrose, Tim........ g 1-6 0-2 1-2 3 2 5 2 3 1 0 0 0 12
03 Martin, Josh........ 3-7 0-3 3-3 0 2 2 3 9 1 4 0 1 20
14 Iati, Jon........... 1-6 1-5 0-0 2 3 5 0 3 1 3 0 1 27
34 Wilson, Brent....... 3-10 2-9 2-2 0 3 3 2 10 3 2 0 2 29
42 Covington, Jimmie... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 9
TEAM................ 1 1 1
Totals.............. 26-55 3-19 8-12 11 22 33 18 63 12 15 0 6 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-26 50.0% 2nd Half: 13-29 44.8% Game: 47.3% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-10 20.0% 2nd Half: 1-9 11.1% Game: 15.8% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-5 100 % 2nd Half: 3-7 42.9% Game: 66.7% 2

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Officials: Robert Adams, Jeffrey Anderson, Gray Pucino
Technical fouls: Hartford-None. Albany-None.
Attendance: 3069
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Hartford...................... 28 40 - 68
Albany........................ 33 30 - 63
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