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WEST HARTFORD, Conn.  – The University of Hartford men's basketball team lost at home for the first time this season as it dropped a 56-47 decision to neighboring rival Central Connecticut State University at Chase Family Arena on Saturday night. Senior forward Mark Nwakamma scored 16 points as the Hawks fall to 5-4 overall with their third-straight loss. Central Connecticut improves to 1-7 with its first win of the season.

The Hawks turned in a poor performance from the field, making just 28.8-percent of their shots (17-of-59). Central Connecticut, which never trailed in the contest, led for all but one minute, capitalizing on Hartford's cold start to take a 14-point advantage midway through the first half.

Facing a 30-21 halftime deficit, the Hawks quickly managed to close the gap to five on back-to-back threes from junior Taylor Dyson. But the Blue Devils quickly regained a double-digit edge, pushing ahead, 41-31 on a 9-4 spurt. Down the stretch, the Hawks pulled within two on two occasions, with Nwakamma's fast break bucket making it a 47-45 game at the two minute mark, however, Central Connecticut closed out the contest with a 9-2 run to seal the win.

Brandon Peel's double-double (16 points, 16 rebounds) led Central Connecticut. The Blue Devils shot 42.6-percent overall. Dyson finished with 13 points on the night while senior Corban Wroe rounded out Hartford's top-scorers with 14 points. The trio of Dyson, Wroe and Nwakamma combined for 43 of Hartford's 47 points and all but one of the team's 17 field goals.

Hartford returns to action on the road at Holy Cross on Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

THE TURNING POINT:
The Blue Devils took advantage of a poor shooting effort from the Hawks and led by 14 midway through the first half. Trailing by nine at the half, Hartford did manage to pull within five right out of the halftime break, but couldn't get over the hump despite making it a two point game twice in the final three minutes. In the last two minutes of the game, Central Connecticut held the Hawks to just two points – a Yolonzo Moore II layup with 40.9 seconds left – and cashed in from the charity stripe to seal its first victory of the season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

·         Central Connecticut did not trail during the game and led for 39 minutes

·         Hartford turned in a season-low effort from the field, going 28.8-percent (17-of-59) overall

·         The Hawks' 47 points were also a season-low in scoring

·         Mark Nwakamma, Taylor Dyson and Corban Wroe combined for 43 of Hartford's 47 points; Justin Graham and Yolonzo Moore II were the only other Hawks to score, contributing two points each

·         Included in that figure was a 24.0-percent (6-of-25) effort from three-point land

·         Hartford missed a plethora of layups and mid-range shots; from inside of the three-point arc, the Hawks made just 11-of-29 shots

·         The Blue Devils outscored the Hawks, 28-16, inside of the paint and had 12 second chance points

·         CCSU outrebounded Hartford, 42-37, as Brandon Peel and Faronte Drakeford pulled down 16 and 12 boards for the Blue Devils, respectively

·         Senior forward Mark Nwakamma's eight rebounds were a season-high 

NEWS AND NOTES: 

·         The Hawks' loss to Central Connecticut was their first home loss of the season

·         Prior to Saturday's loss, Hartford was undefeated in three home games and had won its last seven home games, dating back to February

·         Central Connecticut has won the last two games against Hartford and improves to 9-6 in the Division I series

·         Making 7-of-12 shots, Nwakamma sank his 500th career field goal against the Blue Devils and has moved to sixth place Hartford's Division I record books with 505 career makes 

UP NEXT:
The Hawks hit the road to face Holy Cross for a Tuesday night non-conference matchup. Tip-off from Worcester, Mass., is scheduled for 7 p.m. Those who can't make the game can catch all of the action on WDRC 1360 AM as Jeff Dooley and Randy LaVigne have the call.