Box Score PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Junior Mark Nwakamma put together his third double-double of the season on Wednesday night, but it wasn't enough for the University of Hartford men's basketball team as it suffered a 75-62 loss to La Salle at Tom Gola Arena. The Hawks drop to 2-7 overall while the Explorers, who made a run to the NCAA's Sweet 16 last season, move to 4-4 on the year.

Nwakamma registered game-best numbers in both points (23) and rebounds (10) for his fifth career double-double while classmate Wes Cole came off the bench to nail four three-pointers for 12 points. With a season-best five assists, junior Yolonzo Moore II rounded out Hartford's top-scorers with 11 points.

Despite 12 first half turnovers, the Hawks knocked down four three-pointers to keep pace with the Explorers in the opening stanza. Trimming a 10-point deficit down to five right before the halftime break, Tyreek Duren, who had 10 points for La Salle, scored before the buzzer to push his team's advantage to seven  at 33-26 at the intermission. 

Four minutes in to the second stanza, La Salle extended that lead back to double digits as four-straight free throws from Steve Zack put the home team in front, 46-34, with 15:53 remaining. Behind a strong shooting effort, the Hawks clawed back and came within four points, using an 8-0 run to close in on the Explorers.

Cole got Hartford's rally going, drilling his third shot from behind the arc to spark a hot streak of five-straight made baskets for the Hawks. Khalid Lewis got those points right back for La Salle, making his only trey of the night 27 seconds later, before the Hawks responded with eight-unanswered tallies. Freshman Dougal Weir capped that spurt with his first career bucket to make it a 49-45 game with 11:59 left.

Hartford improved upon a 37.0 percent (10-for-27) first-half effort by making 12 of its final 22 attempts (54.5 percent) to help juice its comeback bid in the final stanza.   

Momentum quickly shifted, though, as Hartford came up empty on its next three possessions, allowing the Explorers to take a 58-45 edge with 9:19 on the clock. Extending a 9-0 run to 18-5, La Salle opened up a comfortable 67-50 cushion to imrpove to 6-0 in the all-time series with Hartford.

Down the stretch, Cole converted on his fourth three-pointer of the game with just over six minutes left, boosting his career total to 134. Cracking the program's top-10 in career three's against Hofstra, the junior is currently ranked ninth in the record books. Junior Nate Sikma made his return to the lineup after missing seven games. He had nine points and four rebounds despite seeing limited minutes in the second due to foul trouble.

The Explorers produced 21 points off of Hawk turnovers and took advantage on the offensive glass, scoring 10 on second chance opportunities. Tyrone Garland paced the La Salle offense with 17 points off the bench while Steve Zack rounded out the double-digit scorers with 15.

For the game, the Hawks went 22-for-49 from the field (44.9 percent), 6-for-25 from long range (24.0 percent) and 12-for-16 from the charity stripe (75.0 percent). La Salle converted on 45.1 percent of its shots on the night (45.1 percent) and made 73.5 percent of its free throws (25-for-34).

Hartford returns to action on Saturday night when it hosts Holy Cross at 7 p.m. Tickets for the game are still available and can be purchased by calling 860.768.HAWK or by visiting www.hartfordhawkstickets.com.