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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Hartford men's basketball team overcame a nine-point deficit in the second half to come away with a 66-56 victory over the Saint Peter's Peacocks on Sunday at the Chase Family Arena. Junior Mark Nwakamma was one of three in twin figures for the Hawks, who improve to 5-8 on the season.

The Hawks have won three of their last four, including their last two games.

After suffering from a turnover-riddled first half, Nwakamma scored 11 of his game-best 15 points in the second half while Yolonzo Moore II and Taylor Dyson combined for 17 points in the final stanza to help fuel the Hawks' comeback bid. Finishing with 13 points, Moore handed out a game- and career-best six assists and was joined in double figures by Dyson who recorded 11 points. Nwakamma shot 6-for-10 from the field on the afternoon for the Hawks, who shot 62.5 percent down the stretch to put away the Peacocks.

Falling to 3-7, Saint Peter's also had three players register double figures in scoring, led by 11 from Marvin Dominique and Desi Washington. Dominique pulled down 14 rebounds as the Peacocks, who had 19 off the offensive glass, held a 37-29 overall advantage over the Hawks.

Capitalizing on nine first-half Hartford miscues, the Peacocks ended the first stanza on a 7-0 run to go up 25-20 at halftime. Picking up where it left off after the break, Saint Peter's scored the first four points and went up by nine just 62 seconds in. Prior to that half-ending rally, the Hawks opened up the afternoon with an 11-2 lead before Saint Peter's made it a game by scoring nine unanswered to points.

The lead remained in the hands of Saint Peter's as it maintained an eight-point cushion at 41-33 with 11:18 remaining.

That's when Hartford started to heat up. A 10-0 run, sparked by a three from Dyson and capped by his lay-up, put the Hawks up for the first time since the opening half at 43-41 with 8:40 to go. Faulk contributed a put-back during that 2:20 span while Cole drained the game-tying three at the 9:23 mark to help fuel the spurt.

Quadir Welton, who contributed nine points and seven boards for the Peacocks, provided the sixth and final tie of the game with 8:05 remaining before the Hawks took off for another rally, scoring 14 of 18 of the next points to take its first double-digit lead (57-47) with 72 seconds remaining.

Starting with Dyson's three at the 11-minute mark, Hartford outscored Saint Peter's, 33-15, to close out the game.

In the final 36 seconds, Washington knocked down two threes for the Peacocks, but the Hawks maintained their distance from the charity stripe, going 6-for-6 in those closing seconds to seal the game. Prior to those desperation triples, Saint Peter's hit just one three-pointer in 12 attempts.

The Hawks finished the game shooting 50.0 percent from the field (22-for-44), using a hot second half to turn around a 35.0 percent effort (7-for-20) in the opening stanza. Saint Peter's shot 40.4 percent (23-57) overall. The second half featured just four Hawk turnovers, compared to nine in the first 20 minutes.

Hartford switches coasts for its next game as it heads to Seattle, Wash., for its first-ever meeting with the Washington Huskies on Sun., Dec. 29. Game time is set for 9 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.