THE BASICS:

RESULT: Bowie State 66, Hartford 63 (Exhibition)
LOCATION: Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion
ATTENDANCE: 736

THE LEAD: 
Bowie State used a strong offensive second half to post a come-from-behind victory over the Hartford men's basketball team, 66-63, in an exhibition on Friday night. John Carroll led all scorers with 21 points and 10 rebounds in the loss, while Bowie State placed four players in double figures, led by Omari George's 16 points.

FIRST HALF:
Both teams came out of the gate sluggish to start the game, with Bowie State taking a 7-2 lead with 12 minutes to go in the opening half. The Hawks then used their strong defense to turn it into offense, and went on a 16-0 run to take the lead. Pancake Thomas got the run started with a floater, and Carroll went on to score the next five points, and after the Hawks pushed it to a 15-7 advantage, Justin Graham capped it off with a three-ball from the corner to make it 18-7.
 
The Hawks continued their offensive push all the way to the halftime whistle, finishing the half with their largest lead of the game at 36-15. Carroll led all players with 14 in the opening stanza to go along with seven rebounds, while freshmen J.R. Lynch (six points, three rebounds, three steals) and George Blagojevic (two points, three rebounds, one assist) made strong accounts of themselves in their first college action.

SECOND HALF:
The second half saw the teams come out even, with a Thomas three-ball putting the Hawks ahead 45-23. But Hartford went cold from the field at that point, and Bowie State was able to put together an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to just 45-34 at the 11:39 mark. Slowly bur surely, the Bulldogs were able to chip away at the lead, finally trimming it to single digits on a Jordan Goodman three-point play that made the score 53-45 at the 7:17 mark.
 
Bowie State's defense was able to hold the Hawks at bay, with the Bulldogs able to finally tie the score at 55-all with 4:56 remaining. Thomas came through with a huge three at the 2:30 mark to put the Hawks up 58-55, but Goodman came right back with an answer, and Bowie State was able to convert the game's next six points at the free-throw line to put BSU up 64-58. A Thomas three-ball with 2.9 seconds remaining got it to 65-63, but that was as close as the Hawks would get.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
• Carroll's double-double was unofficially the first of his career, though it will not count in the official stats. He had 10 rebounds once before, but it came alongside five points against Stony Brook last year.
 
• Thomas had 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting and drilled four threes in the loss, in his first career appearance in a Hawks uniform.
 
• Hartford had five players finish with at least five rebounds – Carroll, Thomas, Graham, Jalen Ross and Lynch.
 
• Along with George's 16 points for the Bulldogs, Goodman posted a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Justin Beck added 13 and 13 as well. Julian Livingston made it four players in double figures with 10 points.
 
UP NEXT: 
The Hawks open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 13, when they head to Central Connecticut State for the nightcap of the Connecticut 6 Classic. Tip time is slated for 8 p.m. in New Britain.