WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Hartford men's basketball team led with less than five minutes remaining, but it was unable to avenge its earlier league loss to the University at Albany on Saturday afternoon. The Great Danes charged back and erased its deficit with an 18-2 run to score a 72-60 defeat of the Hawks at Chase Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday's conference clash served as the men's basketball team's annual Coaches vs. Cancer fundraiser. The Hawks and their fans raised $2,358 for the American Cancer Society.

Hartford drops to 4-17 (4-5 AE) while UAlbany improves to 6-3 in the league, 14-9 overall.

Andres Torres, a senior, led all scorers with 18 points, including three from behind the arc. He added four steals, three rebounds and a pair of assists to that total. Rookie Mark Nwakamma contributed 12 points for the Hawks while veteran Genesis Maciel rounded out the top scorers with seven.

The first half saw just two lead changes with a 6-0 run pushing the Great Danes ahead at 27-20 with 3:20 left. The teams entered the halftime break with a score of 31-27 in favor of UAlbany.

Just when it looked like the Hawks had hit the danger zone in the second half with a nine point deficit with 14:45 to go, Torres converted on a UAlbany turnover and tickled the nylon from three-point land to put the game at 43-37, sparking what would be a 10-0 Hartford run.

Huge stops on the defensive end would continue to fuel Hartford's streak as it forced UAlbany into turnovers on three consecutive plays, which then translated into seven more points for the Hawks. Nwakamma added to the run when he kissed one off of the glass to make it 43-39 and after another defensive stop by the Hawks, he converted on a three-point play the old-fashioned way to bring Hartford within a single point with 12:42 left to play.

Torres capped the run and provided Hartford with its first lead of the half at 44-43 at the 12:14 mark before John Puk helped his team regain its lead at 45-44 on the next possession.

Jacob Iati then silenced the Hawks with back-to-back treys to extend the Great Danes' advantage to six at 51-45 with 9:19 on the game clock. With just over eight minutes to go, Nate Sikma answered with a long three – his first points since the Boston University game a week prior – to bring the Hawks within three.

The rookie came up huge again for Hartford, first providing the pass on a Nwakamma alley-oop before drawing a charge against Gerardo Suero on the defensive end. The next play down, he stuck his second three-pointer of the game to put the Hawks up by one. Torres followed suit when he banked in a three with the shot clock expiring to push the Hawks' lead to 58-54 with just over six minutes remaining.

Following a Suero lay-up, Hartford's put its last points of the afternoon up on the scoreboard on a layup by Nwakamma to again push its lead to 60-56. From that point on, the Hawks were held scoreless down the stretch, going 0-of-8 in the last 5:02. UAlbany put the game away with a 16-0 run to erase its deficit and take the lead for good.

Logan Aronhalt finished with 17 to lead the Great Danes and grabbed eight rebounds, a game-best. Suero would close out the game with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field.

UAlbany shot 55.6-percent from the floor (25-of-45), including an impressive 68.4-percent effort in the final stanza. Hartford shot 41.1-percent on the game and was outrebounded, 35-22.

Hartford hits the road for its next three games, starting off with a trip up north to Durham to face the New Hampshire Wildcats on Wednesday evening. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. Fans who can't make the trek can follow the action from Lundholm Gymnasium on WDRC 1360 AM. Jeff Dooley, the voice of the Hartford Hawks, will have the play-by-play and Randy LaVigne will be joining him with the analysis.