Abreu’s 1,000th spoiled by Hawks’ buzzer-beater

It took seemingly the entire game for junior guard Alvin Abreu to find a rhythm with his jump shot, connecting on a few here and there. Finally, with just over five seconds left in regulation, his fade away from the baseline fell through, tying the game at 54. It took Hartford junior Joe Zeglinski about half that time to steal away the momentum, and quickly deflate the crowd at Lundholm Gymnasium.

Saturday's 57-54 loss to Hartford on Zeglinski's last-second buzzer beater dropped the Wildcats' overall record to 8-13, with a 3-7 mark in America East play. The loss is only their second at home so far this season.

And in the shadows of the heartbreaking defeat was Abreu's outstanding accomplishment: becoming the 27th player in Wildcat history to score 1,000 career points. He finished with 13 on the day against the Hawks.

UNH head coach Bill Herrion said after the game that not only is Abreu an unbelievably hard worker, but also a great kid on and off the court.

"If there's ever someone deserving of a milestone like that, it's him," Herrion said. "I firmly believe in this game that good things happen to good people that work hard, and he does that. You get out of this what you put into it, and he puts an awful lot into it, so he gets an awful lot out of it."

UNH called a timeout with 14 seconds remaining in the game and Hartford up by two, 54-52. The ensuing inbounds pass went to Abreu, who dribbled to the baseline and pulled up for a mid-range jumper, burying the shot and tying the game up with about five seconds left. The Lundholm crowd erupted with the shot that appeared to send the game into overtime.

As the clock continued to run down, Hartford frantically inbounded the ball to Zeglinski, who sprinted up the court, pulled up from about 30 feet away with a Chandler Rhoads' hand in his face, and banked in the game-winning shot as the buzzer sounded. 

Stunned, with their hands on their heads, the crowd at the Lundholm watched as Hartford players celebrated at half court.

"It's disappointing, but I think we really lost the game defensively in the first half," Herrion said. "They shot 47 percent from the floor, and I think they had 12 points from layups in the first half. Yes, it's a heartbreaker, and the shot was a dagger, but in a way I'm not surprised the kid made the shot. He made the three at the end of the first half from about 30 feet, and he made the three to win the game. It's a tough loss, but I think we really hurt ourselves."

The Hawks led by five at halftime, 29-24. UNH struggled to find their groove in the first half, shooting 30 percent from the floor, including 2-17 from beyond the three-point arc. Seven turnovers also haunted the Wildcats, which resulted in seven points off turnovers for Hartford. 

Junior guard Tyrone Conley turned up the shooting effort in the second half, going 4-6 from long range, which accounted for all 12 of his points. However, foul trouble kept UNH's hottest shooter on the bench for the majority of the half. Conley fouled out with 2:27 remaining.

This is the Wildcats' third-straight conference loss, and second of the year to the Hawks, who won 56-53 earlier this year at the Chase Arena. UNH looks to bounce back on the road, which has not been a friendly place this season, against Albany tonight.

"We've just got to pick these guys up the next couple of days and go to Albany and really try to fight and win a basketball game on the road," Herrion said.

Game time for the Wildcats is scheduled for 7 p.m.