BOSTON – Offense has been hard to come by all year for Hartford, and Saturday was no different in a crucial part of the game. The Hawks actually looked pretty good at that end save for shots not going, but they went ice cold more than halfway through the second half in a 61-50 loss at Boston University.
The offensive end is where the Hawks have struggled the most. They entered Saturday night shooting less than 38 percent from the field on the season, having shot 45 percent or better just three times all season. Turnovers haven’t been a major issue, although they average a little over 13 a game. They weren’t an issue on Saturday as they turned it over just ten times, but at a crucial juncture, the shots simply didn’t fall.
“I thought the difference in the game was that we couldn’t find our shot in the last eight minutes, and they closed the door on us,” head coach John Gallagher said.
It doesn’t help that Hartford has had to play the entire season without Andres Torres, the senior point guard who had a good junior season that was slowed by a knee injury. Torres is capable of getting other players good looks, and with him redshirting this season while recovering from off-season knee surgery, they’ve gone with something resembling a point guard by committee approach as no one has really distinguished themselves at the position.
Hartford has players who can make shots, but none have done so on a consistent basis. Senior Joe Zeglinski has put his name all over the school record books with a fine career, but he’s always been a volume shooter and this season hasn’t been any different. Morgan Sabia, who had some good looks on Saturday that didn’t go, has seen his shooting numbers drop from last season. Gensis Maciel can make shots facing the basket, but is only shooting about 35 percent from the field. Anthony Minor and Ryan Baker are the only regulars who shoot better than 45 percent from the field.
Like many teams, the Hawks are better at home (6-2) than away from home. Gallagher would rather that not be the case, but it does help them the rest of the way. Three of their final four games are at home, which gives them a chance to still manage a .500 record in conference play. And while finishing in the top three is pretty much out of the question now, finishing fourth is not as there’s a sizable drop-off after the top three of Vermont, Boston University and Maine in the standings.
“I like my team at home,” said Gallagher. “Here’s the positive. We’re 6-2 at home, and we’re a good home team.
There is an additional advantage to the Hawks being able to win at home. The conference tournament is held at their arena, so they will have an advantage in a few weeks. While it will be difficult for the Hawks to win their way to the final, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if they at least pulled off an upset. They have proven capable of it, and not just at home as they swept Maine, had a chance at Boston University on Saturday night and beat the Terriers in West Hartford earlier in the season.
The offense isn’t going to make a big leap in just a few weeks, although the Hawks can certainly get better at that end of the floor. Given their struggles at that end, their most likely path to success is defending, which they have done a reasonably good of in allowing opponents to shoot about 43 percent from the field while forcing more than 16 turnovers per game. That helped keep them in the game on Saturday night, until they just couldn’t get the ball in the basket.
