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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Harford men's basketball team suffered its first home loss in America East play on Sunday afternoon as the University of Vermont Catamounts came out of Chase Arena with a 72-59 defeat of the Hawks. Hartford drops to 1-2 in league play, 1-14 overall, while the Catamounts move to 8-9 on the season and 2-1 in the America East.
The Hawks boasted a balanced scoring attack with four players reaching double figures for just the third time this year. Andres Torres, Yolonzo Moore II and Wes Cole led the way with 11 points each. Junior Ryan Baker was named the America East Player of the Game after scoring a season-best 10 points on an impressive 4-of-6 performance from the floor while pulling down five rebounds.
Ten unanswered points in the opening minutes put the Hawks ahead of the Catamounts 10-2 but Vermont would claw back and eventually respond with a 12-0 run that gave it a 21-13 lead with 6:15 left to play in the first. During that six minute stretch, Matt Glass, who led Vermont with 15 points, added three points and Ben Crenca contributed four. The Catamounts maintained their advantage and pushed it to 12 to go into the halftime break with a 33-21 cushion.
Hartford played the second half without starting forward Nate Sikma who went down in the final minute of the opening half with an ankle injury. Despite being down another big for a large portion of the final stanza as a result of Jamie Schneck picking up his fourth foul early on, the Hawks hung with the Catamounts and trimmed a 15-point deficit down to eight mid-way through the half.
Vermont regained its double digit advantage which Hartford managed to again shrink to single digits with 5:44 remaining. The Hawks would come no closer than eight points however as the Catamounts outscored their opponents, 10-5, to put the game away.
In the battle of the boards, the Hawks were outdone by the Catamounts by a margin of 43-25, including a 12-7 advantage on the offensive glass. Vermont slightly edged Hartford, 22-20, in the paint.
Vermont was aggressive taking the ball to the basket as it reached the free throw line 36 times and cashed in on 30 of those attempts. The Hawks made 14 visits to the charity stripe, connecting for eight points from the line.
Hartford committed just six turnovers, a season-low, while Vermont recorded 10.
Baker's five rebounds tied Torres for the team lead. Torres also led the Hawks with five assists. Despite the absence of Sikma in the second half, Schneck and classmate Mark Nwakamma provided a strong presence in the post for the Hawks.
The Hawks will take a week off before their next contest, a Sunday afternoon matinee at Binghamton on Jan. 15 (2:00 p.m.). Last season, the two teams split a pair of games with each squad falling on their own home court.
