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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Three Hawks scored in double figures against the visiting Fairleigh Dickinson Knights Friday night to lead the University of Hartford men's basketball team to a 74-60 victory at the Chase Family Arena. Paced by a game-best 18 points from sophomore Evan Cooper, the Hawks improve to 2-2 with their second-straight win.

Fairleigh Dickinson drops to 1-2 on the season with their second consecutive loss. Sidney Sanders Jr. led the Knights' scoring effort with 13 points while Mathias Seilund and Mustafaa Jones each contributed 11.

Cooper came off the bench and made all but two of eight shots from the field while going 4-for-5 from three-point land to put together his best performance of the young season. Junior forward Mark Nwakamma was just as efficient from the floor, going 5-for-8 while making all but one of five free throws for 14 points.

As a team, the Hawks shot a season-high 56.1 percent (23-for-41) overall and were even better from behind the arc, making half of its 20 attempts for a 50.0 percent effort. A reserve, junior Wes Cole added to that hot shooting by draining 3-of-6 from downtown to finish with 11 points, a season-best. The Hawks' bench combined for 44 points, outscoring that of Fairleigh Dickinson by 33.

Things didn't go as planned for Hartford to start the night, though, as the visiting squad reeled off a 15-2 run to put the Hawks down 13 in the game's first five minutes. Sanders scored five of his points during that stretch while Matt MacDonald's lone three of the evening provided the Knights with their largest advantage of the contest.

That deficit would be trimmed down to eight thanks to a Yasin Kolo jumper and a Cole three-pointer, but Fairleigh Dickinson continued to be the aggressor, rebuilding its 13-point cushion at 20-7 with 12:26 remaining.

The tables turned in the final 11 minutes, as Hartford regrouped to close out the half on a 24-9 spurt that put it ahead before the end of the half at 31-29. Fueled by 10 points from Cooper, it was his first three-pointer of the season that sparked the run at the 11:08 mark. Five more unanswered points from the Hawk sophomore cut the deficit to five with 8:53 left in the half.

After allowing the Knights to extend their lead back to nine less than two minutes later, the Hawks would score 10 of the game's next 12 points to come within a bucket at 27-25 with 3:20 left on the clock. A pair of Yolonzo Moore II free throws with 72 seconds left tied up the game for the first time since opening tip at 29-29 while two Cooper free throws provided Hartford with its first advantage of 31-29 right before the intermission.

Following four ties in the opening five minutes of the second, Fairleigh Dickinson pushed ahead on a MacDonald layup, but that proved to be the visitor's last advantage of the contest as Hartford rattled off a 13-5 run to take a 53-45 lead almost midway through the final period.

Fairleigh Dickinson managed to cut that eight-point Hartford lead in half with 9:39 left but would come no closer. At the 7:20 mark, freshman Justin Graham made it an eight point game with his second trey of the night before Cooper sunk another one 40 seconds later to put Hartford up by 11. The Hawks continued that run by scoring nine of the next 12 points to take a commanding 17 point lead with just under two minutes remaining.

Despite scoring 25 points off of 16 Fairleigh Dickinson turnovers, Hartford threw the ball away 18 times, a number that led to 22 Knights' points on the other end. Paced by a career-best nine rebounds from junior Corban Wroe, the Hawks outrebounded their opponent for the first time this season with a 27-19 edge on the boards.

The Hawks return to the road for their next three games, starting with a Tuesday night matchup at national runner-up Louisville. First tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. Fans who can't make the trip can tune in to Beethoven Radio 1290 AM. Jeff Dooley and Randy LaVigne will provide the call over the airwaves.