WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The sweat on Boston University men’s basketball coach Patrick Chambers’ forehead said it all.
Sitting at the podium alongside junior forward Patrick Hazel, junior guard Matt Griffin and senior forward John Holland for BU’s postgame press conference, Chambers breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that his squad is just one win away from a trip to the NCAA Tournament and will host fifth-seeded Stony Brook University in the conference title game next Saturday at Agganis Arena.
The Terriers earned that right Sunday night, when they escaped Chase Family Arena with a valiant and hard-fought 55-49 victory over sixth-seeded University of Hartford before a hostile crowd of 2,169 in the semifinal round of the America East tournament.
“Wow, that was a battle,” Chambers said. “That was a battle. I give a ton of credit to Hartford and coach [John] Gallagher. They didn’t give up an inch…That’s one of those games that you say it’s a shame somebody has to win or lose because both teams competed so hard and gave everything they had in that 40 minutes.”
Holland poured in a game-high 16 points, Griffin added nine of his own and Hazel recorded three blocks to pace the second-seeded Terriers (20-14), whose 10th consecutive win propelled them to BU’s America East-record 15th championship game, their second straight with Chambers as their bench boss.
Reduced to spectators during BU’s 2009-10 postseason run due to NCAA transfer regulations, Hazel and Griffin appreciate the opportunity of being at the doorstep of the Big Dance.
“It feels great, man,” Hazel said. “We like to say a lot that we don’t get these chances back. I feel like we’re taking advantage of it.”
“Sitting out, we learned from some great seniors,” Griffin said. “We had some great senior leadership last year, and those guys really paved the way for us. It’s nice to come back here and try to do the same things they had already accomplished.”
An AE First-Team All-Defensive honoree, Hazel stuffed the stat sheet all weekend long on the offensive end, piling up 19 points on 5-of-6 shooting in BU’s tournament victories against the seventh-seeded University of New Hampshire and Hartford (11-20). The transfer from Marquette University also snagged 14 rebounds and contributed five blocks.
“It’s that time of year that brings the best out of us,” Hazel said. “Defending and rebounding was a big key for us, and I feel like that’s what it got it done tonight. We just kept grinding. Those are our principles, man. We just stick to that. That’s our foundation. I feel like that’s going to get it done the rest of the way, too.”
Senior forward Morgan Sabia and junior forward Genesis Maciel netted 13 points apiece to lead the Hawks, picking up the slack for 2,000-point scorer Joe Zeglinski, who struggled from the field all evening long and finished with only seven points on an uncharacteristic 3-of-16 shooting performance.
Behind the hot hand of Maciel, Hartford clawed its way back from an early 11-5 deficit and rattled off six unanswered points to tie the game. Both teams traded baskets throughout the first half, and Holland’s two free throws with 32 seconds remaining in the first allowed BU to enter halftime with a 26-24 advantage.
The second half had a flair for the dramatic and all the traits of a heavyweight bout as the final session saw the score tied four times and eight different lead changes.
With BU trailing 43-42 at the 13:03 mark, Griffin buried a 3-pointer to give the Terriers a two-point cushion. Seconds later, Griffin, the transfer from Rider University, connected on another bomb from downtown.
When the Terriers needed a timely basket down the stretch, they turned to their co-captain, Griffin, who had no trouble answering the bell.
“Coach, throughout the game, was telling me that I needed to shoot,” Griffin said. “I was just looking for an opening, trying to get my shot off. . .I just wanted to do what Coach told me to do and that was shoot with a lot of confidence. That’s what I tried to do with those two shots.”
Down 51-49 with 11 seconds left, Zeglinski brought the ball upcourt, drove past freshman guard D.J. Irving and rose for a baseline jumper that would not fall and sealed the Hawks’ fate. Holland would convert his freebies to secure the victory.
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