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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Hartford men's basketball team grabbed its second win in three outings after defeating Central Connecticut State University, 80-77, in a showdown between two neighboring rivals at the Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.

The victory snaps a streak of six-straight losses to the Blue Devils (3-3), who have not conceded a win to Hartford in nearly 14 years. Hartford's last win in the series was on Dec. 4, 1998, an 89-82 final in a game that was played at the Hartford Civic Center.

For the second-straight game and fourth time this year, sophomore Mark Nwakamma led the way for the Hawks, scoring a career-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field while pulling down seven rebounds. He also assisted on five buckets, a personal-best for the forward.

Also finishing in double figures for Hartford was sophomore Yolonzo Moore II (16) and Evan Cooper (10). Moore made 3-of-4 from downtown while Cooper was clutch for the Hawks down the stretch, making 3-of-5 key free throws in the game's final 35 seconds.

Central Connecticut's Kyle Vinale's poured in a game-best 32 points, making 12-of-23 of his shots, including 4-of-8 from three point land and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Matt Hunter contributed 22 points for the Blue Devils, adding 12 rebounds to that number to complete the double-double.

It was a closely played game between the two local rivals as the lead changed hands 17 times with seven ties. The Hawks, which led by as much as four in the first half, found themselves down by a single point at the intermission after Brandon Peel's layup went off just as the shot clock sounded, making the score 38-37 in favor of the Blue Devils.

Out of the break, Central Connecticut grabbed its largest advantage (6) at 57-51 with 12:13 remaining before Hartford took charge, using a 20-5 run over the next eight minutes to go ahead by eight points at 70-62.

During that stretch, the Hawks held the Blue Devils to just two field goals, a three-pointer by Vinales and a layup by Terrell Allen.

After a three pointer by Moore was followed by a layup by sophomore Nate Sikma, closing the gap to one point at 57-56, Vinales pushed his team's lead back to four with a three at the 9:43 mark. Hartford then went on an 8-0 spurt, sparked by a Nwakamma layup, to go ahead 64-60 at the six minute mark before Allen ended that run with a bucket to cut Central Connecticut's deficit to three with just over five minutes remaining.

Nwakamma kept the scoring going for Hartford, reaching his career-high after drilling a long three-pointer and re-extending the advantage to five for the Hawks. On the ensuing play, sophomore Corban Wroe stripped Vinales at half court and outhustled the Blue Devil for the ball, securing possession for the home team after third-year head coach John Gallagher called for timeout.

Out of that break in play, rookie Taylor Dyson provided Hartford with its largest advantage of the game, 70-62, with 4:16 left to play after draining the Hawks' fifth shot from downtown.

In the final minutes of the game, Central Connecticut trimmed its disadvantage down to two points on two occasions, but Hartford remained steady and closed out the game by making eight of its final 13 free throw shots.

In the contest's final moments, Hartford, which led at 75-72 with 21 seconds left, moved ahead by four after Moore made the first of two attempts at the charity stripe. Cooper provided a cushion for the Hawks after coming away with a huge offensive board on Moore's missed free throw and went on to make both ensuing shots at the line after drawing the foul.

A three-pointer by Vinales made it a three-point game at 78-75 with 12 seconds to go, but Moore again made it a two possession game after converting on 1-of-2 from the line with 10 seconds left on the clock. Central Connecticut managed to cut its deficit to two at 79-77 with just three seconds to go, but Cooper pushed his team's lead to three with a free throw. In the final two seconds, the Blue Devils could not get a shot off, snapping a three-game win streak for the visiting team.

The Hawks shot 54.7 percent from the field (29-of-53), a season-best, including 50.0 percent from three (8-of-16), but was outrebounded, 40-31, on the evening. Central Connecticut scored 20 points off of Hartford's 15 turnovers and had 18 fast break points.  

Hartford hits the road for the first time in three games, but will remain within the borders of the state of Connecticut as it next plays at Yale on Thurs., Nov. 29. The Hawks will look to snap a four-game winless streak against their Nutmeg State foes.