WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Boston University men’s basketball coach Patrick Chambers knew that he would need to recruit some experience for his second-year squad when he took the helm for a Terrier team with nine seniors last season. With just four returning players lined up for his second year leading the team, Chambers recruited junior transfer students Patrick Hazel, Matt Griffin and Darryl Partin, and on Sunday night, they returned the favor in a big way, each putting his signature on a 55-49 America East tournament semifinal victory over University of Hartford.
In one of the most closely contested games of the tournament thus far, the Terriers’ three journeymen each posted impressive numbers. They radiated poise and composure all game long on their opponent’s home court and with more than 2,000 Hawks fans doing their best to distract them.
“I’m really proud of these guys because when things were against us they kept a great attitude,” Chambers said of his team following the victory. “They kept grinding. They kept playing. They didn’t get down. They didn’t hang their heads once. They really showed their maturity. I’m really proud of them.”
Although senior forward John Holland dominated the stat sheet with a game-high 16 points and a team-leading seven rebounds, it would be hard to argue that BU would be hosting the AE championship game on Saturday without any of the three transfers.
Hazel was BU’s leading presence under the basket all game long. Not only did Hazel do what he does best to the tune of two dunks for a perfect 2-for-2 shooting clip from the field, four rebounds and the game’s only three blocks, he also did well in one aspect where he has struggled all season long: free-throw shooting.
The big man shot 6-for-6 from the charity stripe to earn the majority of his 10 points. For Hazel, a 48.3 percent free-throw shooter, that sort of statistic points to a healthy dose of hard work and an incredible amount of focus in a hostile environment.
“This time of year brings out the best in us,” Hazel said. “Defending and rebounding was a big thing for us, and I feel like we got it done tonight. We just kept grinding. Those are our principles. We just stick together and I feel like that is what is going to get it done for us the rest of the way.”
Hazel’s points and blocks always seemed to come at key, game-changing moments throughout the game. He made each of his dunks in the opening two minutes of the first and second half, and both of them resulted in a lead change in BU’s favor.
His free throws with 13:09 remaining in the game also brought the Terriers from down one to up one, and his final points of the game with 2:24 from the charity stripe extended the Terriers’ lead to three. Without those freebies, Hartford senior guard Joe Zeglinski’s jumper with 56 seconds remaining would have tied the game instead of cutting it to two.
“Pat Hazel, when he plays with great confidence, is one of the best players in this league,” Chambers said. “There’s no question in my mind. The way he blocked that shot towards the end there, I couldn’t believe how high he went up to get that. And for him to make his free throws. . .He has worked so hard on his free-throw shooting this year, and it finally came together for him this week.”
Griffin also showed a knack for clutch shooting, posting a perfect 3-for-3 mark from the field. All three of his shots came from beyond the arc, with his second giving the Terriers a two-point lead with 5:29 to play and his third breaking a deadlock with 4:10 to go. BU held that lead for the remainder of the game.
Despite being heckled and singled out throughout the game by a rowdy Hawks crowd, Griffin exuded confidence and quieted the nay-sayers the old fashioned way by putting the ball in the hoop.
His confidence was contagious.
“I was just trying to keep [my teammates] poised and calm,” Griffin said. “We needed to stay poised out there because if you lose your head in a game like that, it’s hard to get back into it.”
While Partin’s eight points on 2-for-8 shooting hardly met his season average of 14.6 per game, they also came at key moments in the battle, catching Chambers’ eye. His triple with 1:16 left in the first half tied the game and allowed BU to take a lead heading into halftime following two Holland free throws.
“I want to give a compliment to Darryl Partin,” Chambers said. “Maybe he didn’t get 20 or 15 [points] today, but he played within himself. He didn’t take too many bad shots. He did exactly what I asked him to do today. I was really proud of him because some guys, put in that situation as [the other half of the] dynamic duo [of Holland and Partin] and the first team all-conference [would have had more trouble].”
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