HACKENSACK, N.J. – Sophomore guard Yolonzo Moore II compiled 27 points, a career-high, including 18 in the second half to help push the University of Hartford men's basketball team past Fairleigh Dickinson by way of a 69-59 victory on Sunday afternoon at Straits Arena. With the 25th win of third-year head coach John Gallagher's career, the Hawks push their overall record to 5-4 after scoring their third-straight triumph over a Northeast Conference member.

Hartford is 5-4 through its first nine games for the first time since 2006-07. The five non-conference wins are the most by a Hartford team since 2007-08.

Moore shot 6-of-9 on the evening, including 2-of-3 from three, and closed out the game by making 13 of his 14 attempts at the charity stripe in the final four minutes to help Hartford maintain its lead. He also matched a career-best in rebounds (8) and snagged a game-best three steals in the win.

FDU (4-5) took charge of a back-and-forth first half and broke a 13-13 tie on a dunk by Melquan Bolding with 12:12 left. The Knights shot the ball well during that stretch, making 60.9 percent (14-of-23) of their attempts to push ahead by as much as five points in that opening period.

Despite shooting 50.0 percent to start the game (13-of-26), the Hawks turned the ball over seven times in the first. FDU capitalized on five of those miscues and scored 12 points on the other end to help the home team take a four-point advantage (34-30) into the intermission.

It was a tale of two halves for Hartford, however. After a sluggish start that saw FDU score the first four pointsof the stanza to go ahead by eight, the Hawks scored 22 of the game's next 24 points to take a convincing 52-40 lead with 9:50 left to play. That spurt occurred without the presence of Mark Nwakamma, Hartford's top-scorer, who was sidlined one minute in to the second period after suffering an injury.

Included in that scoring surge was an 18-0 run that gave the Hawks their first double digit advantage at 48-38. Graduate student John Peterson, who contributed five points in that span, got the rally going with a pair of free throws.

With 15:06 to go, sophomore Parker U'u knotted up the game at 38-38 before Moore gave the Hawks their first lead of the game since midway through the first at 41-38 after knocking down his second shot from three-point land. Rookie Taylor Dyson capped-off the stretch with seven-straight points, including a long three-pointer that came after Moore swatted away Charles Trevor's layup on the other end of the floor.

During that nine minute span, Hartford forced FDU into seven of its 22 turnovers. Those miscues translated into half (11) of the Hawks' 22 points during their offensive outburst.

FDU managed to trim its deficit to single digits after a Mustafaa Jones three-pointer brought the score to 57-50 with just under two minutes left to play. The Knights would not come any closer, however, as the Hawks converted on all 10 of its final free throw attempts.

Dyson also finished in double figures for Hartford, scoring 10 points in 14 minutes. All but one of the 10 Hawks who got in the game scored. Nwakamma handed out a team-best four minutes despite seeing just 15 minutes of action.

Both teams shot under 50 percent on the evening, with the Hawks finishing at 46.7 percent (21-of-45). Hartford shot well from the charity stripe, missing just three of its 23 attempts (87.0 percent).

FDU had three players score in twin figures, led by Kinu Rochford and Lonnie Robinson who each finished with 13 points. Rochford pulled down a game-best nine rebounds, including five off the offensive glass. Sekou Harris rounded out the Knights' top scorers with 13 points.

The four-game road swing continues for Hartford as it next travels to Niagara on Wed., Dec. 12. Tip-off between the Hawks and Purple Eagles is slated for 7:00 p.m.