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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Hartford men's basketball team scored its third-straight win and improved to 4-3 on the season after defeating the visiting Holy Cross Crusaders, 48-45, at the Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion on Saturday evening. Sophomore Mark Nwakamma paced the offense with 12 points while classmate Yolonzo Moore II added 10 to help lead the Hawks to their best start since the 2005-06 campaign.

Saturday's victory puts Hartford over the .500 mark, marking the first time in four years that a Hawks' team has owned an overall record that was better than even. The last team to own a sub-.500 record was the 2007-08 squad, which was 14-13 through its first 27 games and finished 18-16 on the season.

With his third consecutive double-digit scoring game, Moore, who shot 3-of-7 from the field, also pulled down a team-best seven rebounds while snagging five steals, a career-best. Nwakamma scored in double-figures for the fifth time this year and matched a personal-best in steals with three. Pacing Holy Cross (4-4) offensively was Dave Dudzinski, who tallied a game-high 13 points and pulled down 15 boards, including seven off the offensive glass, to complete the double-double.

The Hawks struggled to convert early in the game, shooting 24.1 percent in the opening half, but managed to build a 19-14 lead with less than five minutes to go until halftime. Holy Cross got hot in those closing minutes, though, as it closed out the stanza by outscoring Hartford, 8-2, to grab its first lead of the game and go into the halftime break ahead, 22-20.

For the second time in as many games, things clicked again for the Hawks after the intermission as they opened the second half with an offensive burst to push ahead of their opponents and claim their first double-digit lead of the game. After Malcolm Miller provided Holy Cross with its largest advantage of the evening at 24-20, the Hawks came back and reclaimed their advantage using a 7-0 run to move ahead with 16:20 to go.

Nwakamma sparked that rally with a jumper at the 18:18 mark while Moore broke open a 24-24 deadlock with a shot from downtown to make it a 27-24 contest in favor of Hartford.

The Crusaders tied things up one last time, 27-27, with a free throw followed by a bucket by Justin Burrell before Hartford exploded for 11 unanswered points to move ahead 38-27 with 11:07 left on the clock.

Three of the Hawks' four buckets during that stretch were three-pointers as Nwakamma sparked the run with one from downtown and Cole kept it going on the next possession, earning a steal and tickling the nylon from behind the arc on the fast break. Following a Holy Cross timeout, Moore kept the Crusaders offense at bay and gave his team the 35-27 advantage after stealing the ball and going coast-to-coast for the layup before Cole capped the Hawks' rally with another three-pointer, pushing the lead to 38-27.

After Dudzinski made one of two from the line for Holy Cross to stop Hartford's spurt, back-to-back layups by Nwakamma and sophomore Corban Wroe extended the run to 15-1 and put the Hawks ahead by 14, their largest advantage of the evening, at 42-28 with 8:16 remaining.

Holy Cross made it close down the stretch, however, as it went on a run of its own, using eight unanswered points to trim its deficit to just six points. A monster dunk by Nwakamma halted the spurt, but didn't silence the Crusaders as they reeled off another run, 6-0, to close in on the Hawks and make it a two point game at 44-42 with 1:18 left in regulation.

In the final 30 seconds, Moore made it a two possession game after draining both attempts of a one-and-one, but Jordan Stevens again cut into the Hawks' lead, making a long three-pointer with 18 seconds left, to bring the Crusaders within a single point at 46-45.

With under 15 seconds remaining, Moore, who found himself trapped by Holy Cross' full-court pressure deep in the back court, heaved a long pass to Evan Cooper, who had a chance to put the Hawks up by three on the fast break. His shot, however, was disrupted by a Holy Cross defender, but after a loose ball scramble on the rebound, the rookie regained possession,  got fouled, and made both of his free throw attempts to put Hartford ahead, 48-45.

Holy Cross had one final chance to tie it up, but Burrell's deep three fell short of the rim as the final buzzer went off.

The Hawks shot just 31.5 percent on the game, a season-low, but made 7-of-8 free throws (87.5 percent). Holy Cross also struggled from the floor, going 18-of-51 (35.3 percent), with Hartford's defense holding it to just two made three-pointers in 17 attempts (11.8 percent).

Hartford hits the road for its next four games, starting with a match-up at Arizona State on Wed., Dec. 5. The first-ever meeting between the Hawks and the Sun Devils is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. tip (Eastern Standard Time).