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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Hartford men's basketball team played its most complete game of the season on Thursday night, leading from start to finish as they defeated Brown, 58-46. The Hawks jumped out to an 11-0 lead before Brown got on the board just over four minutes into the game. Senior Anthony Minor had a career game, scoring 15 points and pulling down nine rebounds. Both numbers, along with his four steals and four blocks, were career highs.

Minor was named the America East Player of the Game. Morgan Sabia also finished in double figures for the Hawks, scoring 11.

Hartford raced to an 11-0 lead to open the game, with Milton Burton getting things started with a three-pointer just eight seconds into the game. Minor then hit a layup and was fouled, and Joe Zeglinski made it 9-0 with a trey with 16:33 remaining in the first. That forced Brown head coach Jesse Agel to use a timeout, but the Hawks forced a quick turnover and Ross Erickson layed in a bucket to push the score to 11-0.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Hartford's victory was not the runs they went on to build their lead, but rather their response to Brown's offensive flurries. After the Hawks went up 11-0, Brown answered with nine points in the span of 1:07 to make it 11-9. Erickson answered with a three pointer, giving him five points on the day, a new career high.

The Hawks finished the half as strongly as they started it. After leading 23-20 with 4:14 to play in the first, Minor slammed home a thunderous dunk to push the lead back to five. That started an 8-2 run to end the half, leaving Hartford up 31-22 going into the break.

Hartford made it a 10-point lead right ouf of halftime as Clayton Brothers sunk one of two free throws. Once again, though, Brown had an answer. They went on a 10-2 run powered by five points from Andrew McCarthy to push back to within a bucket at 34-32. This time, it was Zeglinski and Sabia providing the answer, as Zeglinski hit a long jumper to make it a four point game, and Sabia followed a Brown basket with a three-point play of his own to push the lead to five.

Brown would not get closer than three points down the rest of the way.

For Hartford, the win was especially important considering the tough stretch they have coming up. The Hawks hit the road starting Sunday night at Florida State out of the ACC, and play their next five games away from the friendly confines of Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion. Hartford is 2-1 this season at home, but is still searching for its first victory on the road.

Sunday's game at Florida State tips at 7:00 p.m. Fans in the Florida area or with DirecTV can watch the game on SunSports, the Fox Sports affiliate in the Sunshine State. As always, the game will be broadcast on the flagship station of Hartford men's basketball, WDRC-1360 AM. Jeff Dooley and Randy LaVigne have the call.