Reserves Glowiak, Sabia shine in star role
by Sam Perkins
HARTFORD, Conn. – Warren McClendon dominated every second that he was on the floor. Unfortunately for Hartford, the Hawks’ center only played seventeen minutes due to foul trouble. The loss of McClendon looked like it would prove disastrous, but the Hawks used a total team effort to overcome the loss of their star.
Hartford got solid contributions from the entire roster to complement breakout performances by bench players Brian Glowiak and Morgan Sabia en route to a 70 to 55 victory over the Sacred Heart Pioneers.
Preseason expectations for the Hawks were as high as they had been in a long time, as Hartford looked to finally turn the corner and establish themselves as a top tier team in the America East. Last season, Hartford often found itself in a position of having to come from behind, and while they have displayed the ability to take the lead out of the gate this season, they had yet to show that they could hold on to a lead. In their first two games, Hartford had jumped out in front from the opening tip. However in both games the Hawks had squandered large second-half leads, falling to St Francis 62-59 at the buzzer, and losing an eleven-point lead late in the second half before going down in double overtime to Quinnipiac 85-79.
As soon as Hartford took the floor for their pre-game warm-ups, it was clear that they were playing with a sense of urgency, as an incredibly vocal Hawks team flew through their lay-up lines at break neck speed. Hartford was not only reeling from opening the season with two losses, but also from the loss of starting guard Jaret Von Rosenberg, who injured his knee in the opening game and is out indefinitely. The college basketball season is long and grueling, and an 0-3 start certainly wouldn’t spell doom for a team, but the Hawks prepared for their home opener as a “must win.” As Glowiak, a senior co-captain, put it, “I think it was (a must win) especially being on our home floor, we want our fans to come back and support us, and I think it was great just to get out on the right foot. And being our first home game, because having all the students there, we feed off that. Our little runs that we go on (the students) really get us pumped.”
In basketball, momentum can be huge, as the Hawks missed three straight three-pointers, and the Pioneers jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead as guard Drew Shubik nailed a long three and Chauncey Hardy finished off a fast break with a slam. But Warren McClendon stopped the Pioneers’ momentum from growing, as the junior transfer put his teammates on his massive shoulders and took over the game. McClendon scored Hartford’s first bucket hitting a fade away from the left block after taking hard contact. McClendon then skied over two defenders to score on a hook from the right block while once again getting hit hard.
Senior co-captain Rich Baker then got in on the action, as the six-foot guard drove right down the lane and converted a beautiful finger roll to put the Hawks up six to five. After a Sacred Heart three, McClendon once again took the game into his own hands, as he drove in from the free throw line before displaying a beautiful spin move before laying it in off the glass. McClendon once again took a vicious shot while finishing in traffic, and once again there was no whistle.
Leibovitz’ offensive game plan revolves around McClendon, an incredible physical talent, getting the ball in the low block and making things happen. McClendon can score in so many different ways, as he has terrific touch with both hands, can put the ball on the floor, possesses tremendous physical strength, and is the team’s best athlete. However, in Hartford’s first two games McClendon has also struggled greatly with foul trouble, as he is almost too strong for his own good, and whenever there is contact underneath, most referees at the mid-major level are going to call the foul on the bigger, stronger player, which always works against McClendon. Hartford’s game versus Sacred Heart once again followed the troubling trend for the Hawks, as McClendon picked up his first foul six and a half minutes into the game and was forced to the bench.
When McClendon checked out, Hartford was up 11-9, and pushed the lead to five on a 25-foot Rich Baker three. However, losing McClendon was huge not only offensively, but defensively as well, as Leibovitz put it, “We go a little small out there, and it’s a challenge for us to keep Warren McClendon out on the floor, in terms of foul trouble, and when he comes off we become a lot smaller and a lot less physically imposing.”
Sacred Heart went on a run, scoring five straight, and forced Leibovitz to sub McClendon back in to try to stop the surge. However, less than a minute after checking back in, McClendon picked up his second foul, and with almost ten minutes remaining Leibovitz would have to go the rest of the half without him. McClendon’s second foul came on a spin move near the hoop, much to the dismay of his coach. Said Leibovitz: “He picks up one (foul) spinning, which he just had no business doing because he’s too important.”
While McClendon’s spin move may have been ill-advised, the foul call was even more baffling, as there was no contact. In fact, McClendon’s man appeared to trip over his own feet as he was shuffling to try to get into position.
Unfortunately for McClendon, the word is out on how ref’s are going to call him, and Hartford fans should get used to seeing defenders flopping early and often. Defenses are going to now do their best Vlade Divac impressions when playing the Hawks, and McClendon is going to have to make adjustments, as Leibovitz described it.
“It’s just a matter of teaching him (McClendon), that his first move can’t be at (an opponent): a back in, because he’s so strong, and everybody knows how important (he is to us), so if his first move is back then they’re just going to fall,” said Leibovitz. “So his first move has to be up-hill, get up in the lane, and if he can turn and shoot his hook, or turn the corner then even better.”
The Hawks had lost the lead and momentum, and facing almost ten minutes without their star player, Hartford was in danger of letting the game get out of hand. The Hawks would need someone to step up just to keep the game close. Instead of one player, the Hawks got a team effort, with everyone replacing certain aspects of McClendon’s game.
One of the biggest voids left by McClendon was the sheer physicality of his game, and freshmen Kevin Estes stepped in and did a fantastic job. Estes’ final line of the night (three rebounds, four points) doesn’t seem impressive, but he put a body on someone every trip down the court, and set some wicked screens to open up jump shots for his teammates. Estes also did a tremendous job boxing out, often occupying two Pioneers and allowing Hartford’s quicker guards to grab uncontested rebounds. Leibovitz was incredibly impressed with Estes’ game.
“Kevin Estes did an excellent job tonight, really fought down their hard, set good screens, and really played the game,” said Leibovitz. “He threw a couple jumpers that I think I might have lived without, but I guess he earned those.”
While Estes picked up the slack by providing Hartford with a physical presence in the post, the Hawks still had a tremendous scoring void to fill, a void which only got worse with sophomore guard Joe Zeglinski, already suffering through a tough shooting night, picking up his second personal foul as wel.
A trio of Hawks stepped up in the first half, as Michael Turner, Baker, and freshman Morgan Sabia all made huge offensive contributions. Sabia provided five points when the Hawks lost McClendon early in the half, on a deep three and a nice baseline jumper. Turner, a junior forward, is a lock down defender, but is also Hartford’s last option on offense. However, he got to the free-throw line and knocked down all four from the charity stripe en route to a team-high 7 points before the half. Glowiak provided the Hawks with the lead going into the intermission, as he buried a three off of a jump step to put the Hawks up 28-27 with a minute and a half left. Zeglinski provided a little breathing room going into the half, as he nailed a jumper in traffic to put the Hawks up three at the break.
Hartford got an immediate boost when the second half began, as McClendon was back on the floor, and the burly center immediately went to work, showcasing his full repertoire. McClendon opened the half by drawing a foul on a beautiful spin move in the post and converting one of two free throws. The next time down the court McClendon swished an NBA range three to push Hartford’s lead back to five at 34-29.
But Sacred Heart wasn’t done, as the Pioneers went on a run of their own behind behind seven straight points by Corey Hassan, whose three in traffic put the Pioneers up 37-36. Estes responded for the Hawks with a beautiful hook off of a spin move to put Hartford back up one. Sacred Heart fired back, with Brice Brooks converting a lay-up in traffic to take back the lead. Things took a huge turn for Hartford on their next possession, as McClendon got the ball in the low block, and another Pioneers flop drew a third offensive foul call on the Hawks’ hulking center.
With almost sixteen and a half minutes left in the game, and their star once again relegated to the bench, the Hawks seemed to be in big trouble, and were in a position in which their goal was to simply keep the game close until they could bring McClendon back in.
“We have to try to keep the music going when Warren’s out of the game,” Leibovitz reflected. “We don’t have to make a run without him, we just have to be able to hang on.”
The Hawks did more than hang on, as they went on a tear that put the game away thanks to an unlikely duo of scorers. Morgan Sabia and Brian Glowiak combined for a total of eight points during the Hawks’ first two games of the season, but they both exploded to put the game away.
With Hartford up 46-42, and a little over fourteen minutes to go, Glowiak took over. The senior co-captain has spent his entire career at Hartford out of the limelight, playing a supporting roll to star players, but Wednesday night was his time to shine. In a two-minute span Glowiak blew the doors open, and not only expanded the lead, but gave Hartford a huge momentum boost. Glowiak’s first three was set up by freshman guard Andres Torres, who blew past his man before kicking it back to Glowiak for a contested three that fell. Glowiak was once again set up beautifully by a teammate, as Rich Baker penetrate down the lane before kicking out to Glowiak, who swished a three from the right wing. Glowiak then buried a third straight three, this one from roughly 26 feet out, bringing the crowd to their feet, and pushing Hartford up 52-46.
Sabia then pushed the lead to eight on a beautiful move, as he up fake his man off his feet, then blew by him and buried a fifteen foot jumper.
Glowiak once again was involved with a momentous basket, one which put the game away. But Glowiak’s bucket was a mere afterthought following the pass that set it up, as Torres’ And1-caliber bounce pass was easily the play of the game, and was the backbreaker that Sacred Heart couldn’t recover from. Torres threw a one handed pass, which he skipped like a stone over water, from well behind the three-point arc. Torres’ pass, which he threw in-between three defenders, hit Glowiak perfectly as he cut underneath the hoop. Glowiak then finished it off with a pretty reverse lay-up which pushed the lead to ten.
Torres’ pass resulted in an eruption from the crowd, and left his coach in awe, as after the game Leibovitz gushed, “I thought it was a beautiful pass. Andres definitely has a special knack for making great passes out there and seeing the court and pushing, and we can really play up-tempo when he’s in the game. It’s just that he’s a freshman, so he does one like that, and then the next time he throws a one-handed hook that goes straight up in the air.
“He’s exciting, you never know what he’s going to do, and right now your just hoping that 3 our of 4 times it’s a positive and that you can live with that one mistake for now.”
With a ten-point lead and ten minutes left, Hartford now simply had to hang on, something they had failed to do in their first two games of the season. But Wednesday night was different, and Hartford got a huge scoring boost down the stretch from Sabia to keep the Hawks in command and put the game away. Sabia had wowed the Hartford staff with his ability to score in a variety of ways during the preseason, as at 6’8″ with long arms, a big-time outside shot, and the ability to penetrate and get to the hoop, he has a world of potential.
However, in his first two collegiate games Sabia seemed to lack confidence and shy away from taking big shots when the Hawks needed them. But on his home court Sabia stepped up, and displayed all of his offensive game, hitting a barrage of mid-range jumpers, while complementing them with big shots from outside and some strong takes to the basket to put the game out of reach. Hitting two shots in the first half may have helped give Sabia the confidence to take big shots down the stretch.
“Just coming in and hitting those shots really built my confidence knowing that I could come in and help the team on the offensive end,” Sabia reflected.
He clearly has the confidence of his coach, as Leibovitz remarked, “Morgan does some very grown up things out there, he’s poised, he comes to stops with the dribble, but he also does some things that I can’t say I taught him. He has a natural knack for scoring, he made a couple of great shots on the baseline where he stopped, took his time, and made baskets.”
The only downer, as the Hawks closed out the game, was when McClendon picked up his fourth foul on what appeared to be a clean blocked shot. McClendon wrapped his entire hand around Gene Pettway’s hook shot, before authoritatively slamming the ball into the ground. Despite a lack of contact, McClendon was once again whistled for a foul. McClendon got a small measure of revenge, as he closed out the game with a tremendous rejection, sending Chauncey Hardy’s lay-up all the way back to Hartford’s side of the court.
Hartford was lead by Glowiak, who was named the America East player of the game, and Sabia, who each scored a game-high 14 points. Guard Rich Baker pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, and McClendon scored 12 points in only 17 minutes on the court.
Sacred Heart was lead by Corey Hassan, who scored 14 points.
