BOX SCORE
WORCESTER, Mass. – The University of Hartford men's basketball team dropped an 80-66 decision to the Holy Cross Crusaders on Wednesday evening at the Hart Center. The Hawks drop to 0-5 on the season while the win puts the Crusaders at 2-3 overall.
The Hawks led early but did not have an answer for Holy Cross' transition offense in the first half as they found themselves down 18 points at the intermission. During that opening stanza, the Crusaders lit up the scoreboard with a 54.8-percent shooting performance (17-of-31), including a 72.7-percent effort from beyond the arc (8-of-11). Hartford, which shot 29.6-percent in that half, finished the game at 36.1-percent.
Senior Andres Torres came off the bench to net a team-best 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-4 from long range. He added four rebounds and matched a career-high with five steals, also a game-best. Yolonzo Moore II also finished in double figures for the third time this season with 11 points while classmates Jamie Schneck and Wes Cole joined senior Genesis Maciel with eight points apiece.
The contest was close from early on with neither team leading by more than four points for the opening 10 minutes of play. Hartford jumped ahead of Holy Cross early using Moore's lay-up out of the opening tip followed by a long three pointer by the rookie to take a 5-2 lead at the 16:25 mark. The Hawks held on to their advantage and pushed it to four points at 11-7 with 13:40 remaining before Holy Cross took its first lead of the contest in the next minute at 13-11.
Schneck broke open the game's fourth tie with a jumper in the paint to put the Hawks ahead at 19-17 however Holy Cross went off for an 18-0 run to erase that deficit for good at 35-19. Burrell's three at the 9:25 mark sparked the rally that kept Hartford off the scoreboard for more than six minutes and provided the Crusaders with their 16 point cushion. Moore ended the Hawks' scoring drought with a trey with 3:07 remaining in the half.
The Crusaders were quick to push their 18 point halftime advantage to 22 as they outscored the Hawks, 8-4, in the opening minutes of the second stanza. The Hawks refused to go down without a fight as they managed to cut the gap down to 10 at 68-58 with 6:01 to play but were never able to bring the deficit to single digits. After trading buckets for the next three minutes, Holy Cross' Dave Dudzinski drilled a long three pointer with 2:31 minutes to put the game away for the home team.
Four Crusaders registered double figure point totals led by Devin Brown and Jordan Stevens who each came off the bench to tally 17 to their credit. Justin Burrell and R.J. Evans rounded out the top scorers with 10 points apiece.
The Hawks' 66 points was the best offensive output this season however the Crusaders' 80 points marks the most allowed by an opponent in 2011-12. Hartford finished 12-of-13 from the charity stripe (92.3-percent), also a season-best effort, while limiting its turnovers to just 13.
The Hawks return to the hardwood on Saturday when they take-on neighboring rival Central Connecticut State in non-conference action in New Britain. The Hawks will have a chance to avenge last year's season opening setback, a heartbreaking two-point loss suffered at the hands of the Blue Devils, when the two teams tip-off at 2:00 p.m. Jeff Dooley and Randy LaVigne will have the call on WDRC 1360 AM from Detrick Gymnasium.
