WORCESTER, Mass.  – Senior forward Mark Nwakamma dominated the second half as the University of Hartford men's basketball team upended Holy Cross, 79-61, at the Hart Center on Tuesday night. Nineteen of Nwakamma's career-high 29 points came in the second half as the Hawks blew open a six-point halftime lead to end a three-game losing streak. Hartford improves to 6-4 on the year while Holy Cross, which was picked to finish third in the Patriot League, drops to 4-3 with its first home loss.

Nwakamma, who was unstoppable from the field with a 14-of-18 performance, was joined in double figures by Yolonzo Moore II, who had 13 points. The Hawks shot a season-best 61.1-percent on the night, going 33-of-54 from the field, including a scorching 66.7-percent (18-of-27) in the second half. Freshman John Carroll added nine points in the win, while senior Corban Wroe handed out a career-best 10 assists, the most for a Hawk in over two years.

With his team leading at the half, 35-29, Nwakamma contributed 10-straight points to a half-opening 13-6 run that put the Hawks up by 13 (48-35) with 13:59 left to play. That lead ballooned to as many as 21 points (66-45) with just over six minutes left. Hartford, which committed a season-low six turnovers, forced the Crusaders into 14, scoring 17 points off those miscues.

Three Crusaders finished in double-figures led by Malcolm Miller. Miller scored 12 points while Cullen Hamilton and Justin Burrell added 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Hartford returns to action on Saturday at home against Rider. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

THE TURNING POINT:
Three-straight stops on the defensive end led to a 7-0 run that helped turn a one-point Hartford deficit into a 24-18 first-half advantage. That lead would not be relinquished for the remainder of the game as the Hawks, who led 35-29 at the half, quickly opened up a 48-35 lead using a 13-6 run to start off the second half. Ten of senior forward Mark Nwakamma's game-best 29 points came during that six-minute stretch.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

·         The Hawks led Holy Cross in nearly every statistical category on Tuesday night

·         Hartford shot a season-best 61.1% from the field, making a season-high 33 shots from the floor

·         The Hawks also shot the rock well from three, making 7-of-15 (46.7%) from long range

·         Holy Cross shot 37.3% from the floor (19-of-51), and went just 29.4% (5-of-17) from three-point territory

·         Committing a season-low six turnovers, Hartford forced 14 from Holy Cross and scored 17 of its points off of those miscues

·         Hartford put together a solid first half, shooting a season-best 55.6% (15-of-27) during that stretch to put up a season-best 35 points on the scoreboard at the break

·         The second half was even more impressive as Hartford made 66.7% (18-of-27) of its attempts, including 3-of-4 from downtown

·         Senior guard Corban Wroe assisted on 10 of the Hawks' 33 field goals, compiling the most helpers by a Hartford player since January 17, 2012 when Andres Torres had 10

·         Twenty-four of Hartford's 33 made field goals registered assists

·         All but one of the eight Hawks' who registered a field goal attempt shot 50.0% on the night 

NEWS AND NOTES: 

·         Senior forward Mark Nwakamma had a career night against Holy Cross, going 14-of-18 from the field for 29 points, a personal-best

·         The 29 points are the most for a Hawk player this season while his 14 made field goals are the most for the senior

·         Nwakamma moved into sixth place in Hartford's career record books, passing Mike Bond with 1,342 points

·         Racking up 10 assists, a career-high, senior guard Corban Wroe handed out the most helpers since Andres Torres had 10 against UMBC on January 17, 2012

·         Hartford shot a season-high 61.9% on the night, including 66.7% in the second half

·         The Hawks ended a three-game losing streak with the win and improves to 8-7 all-time against Holy Cross with their second-straight defeat of the Crusaders 

UP NEXT:
The Hawks open up a two-game homestand on Saturday night when they host Rider for a 7 p.m. tip from the Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling the Malcolm & Brendan Berman Athletic Ticket Office (860.768.HAWK) or online via http://hartford.streamlineticketing.com. Fans can also catch the action on AmericaEast.TV or on the radio on WDRC 1360 AM with Jeff Dooley and Randy LaVigne on the call.