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WEST HARTFORD, Conn.  – The University of Hartford men's basketball team had its four-game win-streak halted at home by Albany on Thursday night in a 62-53 loss. The Hawks (11-8) fall to 4-2 in the conference while the Great Danes (11-7) improve to 6-0 in America East action, while taking sole possession of first place as a result of a Vermont loss at New Hampshire tonight.

Senior Yolonzo Moore II scored 11 points, making three three-pointers and adding a pair of free throws, to lead nine Hartford scorers on the night. Classmates Mark Nwakamma and Corban Wroe added seven points in the loss.

Albany, which only trailed for 2:42 when the Hawks held a slight 3-2 edge in the opening minutes, was led by a 22-point effort from Sam Rowley. The senior shot 9-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe while pulling down a game-high eight rebounds. The Great Danes were playing their second consecutive game without 2014 America East All-Conference Second Team pick Peter Hooley, who is currently back home in Australia as his mother battles colon cancer.  

With the score at 15-14 in favor of the Great Danes with 8:21 left in the first, Albany pushed ahead by seven with 5:02 to go in the half with a 6-0 run. Despite two Hartford three's – one from senior Nate Sikma and one from classmate Wes Cole – Albany maintained its edge by adding six points of its own to the scoreboard to take a 27-20 lead into the halftime break.

Hartford dented the lead by scoring the first five points of the second half, but Albany shot 57.9-percent  (11-of-19) in that stretch and used an 18-4 spurt to pull away with a 47-31 lead with 9:04 left to play. The Hawks managed to trim the 16-point gap to 10 using a Jamie Schneck layup and a Moore three-pointer at the 7:36 mark, but were unable to cut the deficit to any less than seven in the final minutes.

Wroe and junior Taylor Dyson each had three fouls before the end of the first half, while Nwakamma, who picked up his third foul at the 17 minute mark of the second half, had four fouls with 10:51 remaining in the contest. Hampered by an 8-of-30 effort from long range (26.7-percent), Hartford shot just 36.5-percent (19-of-52) on the night. Albany cashed in from the charity stripe, making 19-of-21 freebies. Senior Mark Nwakamma, the Hawks' leading scorer and rebounder, ran into foul trouble early, seeing just 19 minutes and scoring seven points.

The Hawks return to action at home against Maine on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff from Chase Family Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m.

THE TURNING POINT:
Albany extended a 27-20 halftime lead into 16 points after opening the stanza with an 18-4 rally to go up, 47-31, with 9:04 remaining. Twice, the Hawks closed the gap to 10 points at the 7:36 and 5:21 mark thanks to respective 5-0 and 4-0 spurts, but they never got any closer than seven points down the stretch. With 2:58 to go and Albany leading, 58-45, the Hawks scored eight of the next 10 points thanks to back-to-back threes from junior Taylor Dyson and senior Yolonzo Moore II, but the run proved to be too little, too late, as Albany scored its sixth-straight win.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

·         Albany created a seven-point cushion at the halftime break at 27-20 after ending the first with a 12-6 rally, a spurt that featured four points from Richard Peters and four from Mike Rowley

·         Scoring six of the first eight points of the second half, the Hawks closed the gap to two points (29-27) with 17:38 left. Hartford would come no closer, though, as Albany put together an 18-4 run to take its largest lead of the game (16) at 47-31 with 9:04 left to play.

·         Hartford managed to close the gap down to 10, using an 8-2 rally featuring a three-point play from senior Wes Cole and a triple from Yolonzo Moore, at the 7:36 mark. In the final minutes of action, the Hawks brought their deficit to seven points at 60-53 with 44.8 seconds left with another 8-2 spurt, but were unable to come any closer to the Great Danes. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

·         Hartford turned in a 36.5-percent (19-of-52) effort from the floor, a number that was hampered by an 8-of-30 (26.7-percent) clip from three-point line

·         Inside of the three-point circle, the Hawks shot 11-of-22 for 50.0-percent

·         Albany, which shot an impressive 57.9-percent (11-of-19) in the second half, finished the game at 45.7-percent (21-of-46)

·         The Great Danes were held to just one three-pointer in 11 attempts but were efficient inside of the arc, where they went 20-of-35

·         The Great Danes cashed in on a plethora of Hawks' fouls in both halves, going 19-of-21 from the free throw line for 90.5-percent; Albany made 10 of its first 10 free throws to open up the night

·         With junior Taylor Dyson and senior Corban Wroe picking up three fouls before the end of the first, senior Mark Nwakamma picked up his third foul at the 17 minute mark and played with four for the final 10:51

·         Making its first trip to the free throw line with 15:18 left in the contest, Hartford made just 12 trips to the free throw line on the night

·         Albany held a 34-26 edge in rebounding, led by an eight-board outing from Sam Rowley 

NEWS AND NOTES: 

·         Hartford ended a four-game win streak with its loss to Albany

·         Mark Nwakamma saw a double-figure scoring streak of 11 games come to an end on Thursday, finishing with seven points

·         The seven points from Nwakamma marked the first time the senior missed scoring in double figures during conference play since Jan. 25, 2014, a loss at UMBC

·         Senior Yolonzo Moore II compiled the 47th double-digit scoring game of his career, finishing with a team-best 11 points 

UP NEXT:
The Hawks wrap up their two-game homestand on Sunday when they host the Maine Black Bears at 2 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the Malcolm and Brenda Berman Athletics Ticket Office, by calling 860.768.HAWK, or online at www.HartfordHawks.com .