WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Second-seeded Boston University and sixth-seeded Hartford grabbed the final two spots in semifinals of the 2011 America East Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Newman’s Own with quarterfinal wins Saturday at Chase Family Arena. The Terriers and Hawks will meet in the tournament for the second straight year during the second men’s semifinal tomorrow at 7:34 p.m.
In day’s third quarterfinal, New Hampshire (12-18) got off to a quick 12-3 start and held the lead until the middle of the first half. Boston U. (19-13) took the lead on a three-pointer by sophomore Matt Griffin, who contributed nine points and eight rebounds off the bench, with nine minutes left in the period and never relinquished it, earned a 69-60 win.
However, the Wildcats would claw their way back into the game at the end of the stanza, and capped the run on a three at the buzzer to make it 33-30 Boston University at the break.
UNH, which was in search of its third straight semifinal appearance, got to within two midway through the second half but several missed free throws (7-of-14 as a team) hurt their chances of completing the comeback.
“They were tough and they were so physical,” said Boston U. head coach Patrick Chambers. “It was an America East old-fashioned battle.”
America East Player of the Year John Holland, who sat out the final regular season game with an ankle injury, returned to lead all scorers with 17 points. He grabbed an offensive rebound and dunked home the miss with a minute left to solidify the win.
“We gave up 30 points and we try not to give up that many,” said Holland on the difference in the team after the intermission. “We just went out there and played our hearts out and left everything on the floor.”
New Hampshire’s Tyrone Conley led his team with 16 points, all coming in the second half. The senior contributed four board, three assists, a block and a steal in his final game as a Wildcat.
Sophomore Chandler Rhoads provided 15 points for New Hampshire, adding three boards and four assists. Junior Brian Benson posted a game-high 11 rebounds, adding seven points before fouling out.
In the final quarterfinal, Hartford junior Genesis Maciel hit a three from the corner with 30 seconds on the clock to give the Hawks a 66-62 lead, which ultimately sealed the 66-63 outcome. The junior finished with a career-high 19 points, including 5-of-7 shooting from behind the arc, to lead all scorers.
“I wasn’t hitting shots earlier in the year, but I just kept my mind right, kept coming back,” said the three-point specialist Maciel. “My mind was right tonight.”
Hartford (11-19), which is making its first semifinal trip since 2008, became the fifth No. 6 six seed in seven years to knock off the number three seed in the first round of the tournament. Both teams clicked offensively, as the Hawks shot 52 percent from the field and Maine hit 50 percent of its attempts.
Maine (15-15) had five players in double digits, with Raheem Singleton, Gerald McLemore and Terrance Mitchell all contributing 13 points. Senior Sean McNally led the game in rebounds with nine to go with his 10 points in his final game at Maine.
Hartford senior Joe Zeglinski became the 14th player in America East history to score 2,000 career points, reaching the milestone on a first-half free throw. Zeglinski, whose late free throws put Hartford in position to win, finished with 10 points and five boards. Fellow senior Anthony Minor tallied 14 points, five boards, five steals and three assists.
“I was waiting all day for this game. I was watching other games, seeing teams’ seasons end, seeing seniors go out,” said Minor on extending his career one more game. “I don’t want to go out like that, I want to go out on top.”
Earlier in the day, Stony Brook and Vermont won to advance to the semifinals and will meet at 5:04 p.m. for a trip to the title game. Both semifinal contests will be televised on Time Warner Cable Sports in Central New York and WCAXtra in Vermont. The Boston U.-Hartford semi will also air on MyTV in New England. Both games will be available on ESPN3.com, ESPN Full Court and for free at AmericaEast.com.