Box Score FORT MYERS, Fla. – Junior forward Mark Nwakamma notched the first double-double of the young 2013-14 season on Tuesday morning, but it was not enough for the University of Hartford men's basketball team as it was outlasted by Florida Gulf Coast, 65-51. Playing in front of a packed Alico Arena on ESPN2, Nwakamma led the team with 23 points and 10 rebounds in the Hawks' first nationally televised game since 2009.

Also leading the Hawks with three assists, Nwakamma recorded his second-straight 20-plus point outing on a 10-of-16 effort from the field. From inside of the three-point line, the junior was extremely efficient making all but one of his 10 shots. Junior Wes Cole came off the bench to contribute nine points for the Hawks, who drop to 0-2 on the season.

Leading by as many as 12 in the first half, the Hawks saw a one-point halftime deficit turn into 16 with 6:41 remaining in the game thanks to an early Eagles' second-half run fueled by junior Chase Fieler. Scoring 20 of his game-best 30 points in the final half, the Florida Gulf Coast guard's performance proved to the storyline in the early morning tilt. 

Junior Brett Comer and sophomore Dajuan Graf each added nine points for Florida Gulf Coast, which shot 50.9 percent overall to improve to 1-1.

The early morning start did not seem to impact the Hawks on ESPN's Tip-Off Marathon as they came out of the gates to take a 16-4 lead six minutes in. After converting on a free throw and adding a three pointer in the game's first 78 seconds, the Eagles went ice cold, missing their next eight shots.

During the home team's scoring drought, Hartford capitalied and rattled off a 12-0 run to grab a double digit advantage at 16-4 at the 13:34 mark. Fueled by five points from Moore and four from Nwakamma, that stretch was capped by a Cole three pointer that provided the Hawks with their largest lead of the game.

FGCU woke up in the next three minutes, though, and used a 6-0 run to bring the game back to single digits with 10:02 remaining in the opening half. Hartford's edge was then trimmed down to one point with just under five minutes to go at 22-21 thanks to a FGCU 9-2 run.

The Hawks would regain a five-point edge on back-to-back buckets by Nwakamma, a rally that was sparked by a Moore steal in the back court that translated into a fast break dunk from the Hawks' forward. But Florida Gulf Coast continued to chip away as the intermission approached, using a pair of Comer free throws in the final seconds of the stanza to cap a 6-0 spurt and provide the home team with a slim 27-26 advantage heading into the locker rooms.

Out of the break, the Eagles, who shot 61.5 percent in the latter half, scored on six of their first eight possessions to build up a five point lead (40-35) with 15:53 left to play. That run continued as Florida Gulf Coast went on to outscore Hartford, 21-6, in the opening minutes of the second hafl to claim its largest lead (16) with 6:42 left.

Fieler had all but six of those Eagle points during that rally, including nine unanswered points on four-straight buckets. In 17 attempts, he missed just three shots, going 2-for-3 from long range and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. The Hawks picked up ground in the closing minutes, cutting their deficit to 11 on another three-ball from Cole with 91 seconds left, but wouldn't come any closer.

Florida Gulf Coast entered the matchup ranked 11th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll.

The Hawks return to action just 36 hours after Tuesday's morning tip-off with a 7 p.m. matchup against instate foe Fairfield. The contest will be played at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. Fans who can't make the trip can catch the call by Jeff Dooley and Randy LaVigne on Beethoven Radio 1290AM.