Men's Basketball Drops Turnover-Plagued Game to Hartford, 64-49

(boxscore)

11/30/06 -- Senior James Williams (DeSoto, Texas) scored a game-high 21 points but the Long Island University men's basketball team could not overcome a season-high 24 turnovers as it fell to Hartford, 64-49, at the Chase Arena on Thursday evening.

Williams also tied for the team lead in rebounding with eight. The Blackbirds outrebounded their opponent for the third consecutive game (44-35) but were limited to 33 percent shooting from the floor.

Both teams struggled from the floor in the first half, each shooting around 30 percent. The Hawks, however, held a 28-23 lead at the break thanks to a 6-0 run in the final three minutes of the stanza. Williams had eight of his points in the opening period.

The Hawks turned up the defensive intensity in the second half, forcing LIU to miss eight of its first nine shots while committing seven turnovers in the first nine minutes. Joe Zeglinski scored a team-high 18 points for Hartford, including 10 in the final frame.

The Blackbirds look to get back on track as they return home to face another America East squad, New Hampshire, on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 4:00 p.m.