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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Hartford men's basketball team avenged a loss suffered earlier in the conference slate on Saturday night, leading from the opening tip and taking down visiting UAlbany 67-54 at Chase Family Arena. Paced by three players in double figures and hot shooting from behind the arc, Hartford evens its record in America East play to 5-5, improving to 11-14 overall.

Sixteen three-pointers led the Great Danes (6-5 AE, 12-12) to victory over the Hawks in both teams' league openers. Saturday, Hartford conceded just two from long range and drained 12-of-23 of its own – six in each half – to end a three-game losing streak. Junior Mark Nwakamma and sophomore Taylor Dyson scored 14 apiece as the Hawks also ended a three-year, six-game winless span against the defending league champs.

Despite trailing throughout, the Great Danes, who were led by 14 points and 11 rebounds from Sam Rowley, stayed within striking distance thanks to a 20-of-26 effort from the free throw line. Adding 10 points apiece for the visitors were Gary Johnson and Dallas Ennema.

Forcing UAlbany into three early turnovers and an 0-of-7 start from the floor, the Hawks jumped out to a 6-0 lead four minutes in and never looked back. The Great Danes managed to tie up the score with 13 minutes left in the first at 7-7, but back-to-back threes from junior Wes Cole and sophomore Evan Cooper within a one-minute span opened up a 13-7 advantage for Hartford.

The home team's largest lead of the half came with 3:32 to play before intermission as Corban Wroe put his squad ahead, 25-17, with a three from the top of the key. UAlbany cut it to six on an Evans' jumper, but Dyson regained an eight-point edge (28-20) with his second triple of the night in as many attempts

That advantage was brought down to just two points before the break, though, as UAlbany took advantage of three Hartford fouls and went 6-of-6 from the charity stripe over the final 30 seconds. The Great Danes made 8-of-10 first-half free throws and went on to score 15 more points from the stripe than the Hawks. From the line, Hartford was uncharacteristically cold, making just 2-of-6 attempts in the opening half and 5-of-11 overall. 

Out of the break, a Johnson layup tied up the score at 28-28 just 10 seconds in. With the score knotted at 30-30 with 17:34 to go, the Hawks heated up from downtown and quickly pulled away from the Great Danes. Outscoring  its opponents, 14-4, Hartford buried four three-pointers during that five minute stretch to go ahead by eight at 44-36 with 13 minutes remaining.

That cushion grew to double digits for the first time thanks to a 5-0 spurt consisting of a Nate Sikma three followed by a layup by Dyson. Down the stretch, the Hawks' advantage never got smaller than nine points, despite Dyson picking up his fourth foul with five minutes left. UAlbany failed to make a field goal in the final 5:47, comitting two turnovers during the closing stretch.

Dyson shot 80.0-percent from long range (4-of-5) where Hartford finished 52.2 percent overall. The Hawks converted on 52.1 percent (25-of-48) of their shots from the field, including 62.5 percent (15-of-24) in the second, and held the Great Danes under 35.0 percent (16-of-47) for just the second time this season.

Making his return to the rotation after missing a pair of games due to injury, Nwakamma went 6-of-12 from the floor and grabbed a team-high six boards. Notching his third-straight double figure scoring game, Wroe added 11 points for the Hawks and recorded a career-high five assists. 

The Hawks return to action on Wed., Feb. 12 when they head to Maine for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Black Bears. Fans can catch all of the action from the Cross Insurance Center by tuning into WCCC 1290 AM (wccc.com) with Jeff Dooley and Randy LaVigne behind the mics.