ALBANY, N.Y.  –  The University of Hartford men's basketball team came up short of knocking-off the first-place Albany Great Danes on Friday night as it dropped a 70-64 decision at SEFCU Arena in a contest that was televised nationally on ESPNU. Senior forward Mark Nwakamma scored a team-high 17 points as the Hawks (13-14 overall) fall to 6-8 in the America East. Albany (19-8) improves to 13-1 in conference action.

Shooting 63.6-percent from the floor, Nwakamma loaded up the stat sheet as he also led the Hawks in rebounds (7), and blocks (2) while adding four assists. Hartford also received 15 points from sophomore Justin Graham, who has scored in double-figures in each of his last six games. Senior Corban Wroe rounded out the top scorers with 14 points.

Hot-shooting from long range helped Hartford achieve its largest lead of the game (7) at 21-14 with 7:51 to go until halftime, but the visitors were unable to expand that edge as it suffered a significant scoring drought that featured close to six minutes without a bucket. The Hawks misfired on their next four shots and turned the ball over twice, allowing Albany to score eight unanswered points during that stretch to take a one-point edge. The two teams would enter the halftime break with the score tied at 25-all.

In the second, Hartford got into foul trouble early as posts Nate Sikma and John Carroll had four fouls apiece before five minutes winded off the clock. With the score tied again at 27-27, the Great Danes scored 10 of the next 14 points to go up, 37-31, with 14:54 to go. Eight of those points came from the free throw line as Albany made all but three of its 23 attempts in the second half.

Despite Wroe bringing the deficit down to three on Hartford's next possession with his second three-pointer of the night, Albany responded with what proved to be the dagger, an 8-0 run that made it an 11 point advantage with 12:22 left.

Four Great Danes reached double-figures led by Ray Sanders, who scored a career-high 19 points. He went 11-of-12 from the free throw line as Albany made 25-of-30 as a team. Evan Singletary added 14 points while Sam Rowley and Peter Hooley rounded out the top scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Hawks wrap up a two-game roadstand with a trip to Maine on Wednesday night. The Hawks and Black Bears are scheduled to tip off from the Cross Insurance Center at 7 p.m.

THE TURNING POINT:
With the game tied, 25-25, at halftime, the Hawks got into serious foul trouble early in the second half. Freshman John Carroll and senior Nate Sikma – a pair of bigs – each picked up their fourth foul with 15:48 and 14:54 left in the game, respectively. During that stretch, Albany broke open a 27-27 deadlock by netting 10 of the game's next 14 points, scoring eight of those points from the charity stripe to take a 37-31 lead with 14:54 remaining. Senior Corban Wroe cut the deficit down to three on a three-pointer on the next possession, but Albany got hot and wheeled off eight unanswered points for its largest lead of the game (11) at 45-34 with 12:22 left. The Hawks clawed back, but never recovered from that run.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

·         Hartford's hot hand from long range out of the opening tip helped the visiting squad jump out to a 21-14 lead over the Great Danes with 7:51 left to play. Connecting on 3-of-4 triples to start, Mark Nwakamma drilled the Hawks' third of the contest to put his team up, 11-9, and trigger a 10-2 run that extended Hartford's lead to seven (18-11) with 8:21 on the clock.

·         With 8:09 to play in the half, Peter Hooley converted on a three-pointer to make it a four-point game, but sophomore Justin Graham answered back for Hartford, using a three of his own to regain the Hawks' seven-point edge.

·         Momentum shifted from that point, though, as Graham's field goal proved to be the last for the Hawks for a six minute span. During that stretch, the Great Danes clawed back into the game by scoring eight unanswered points. Following four-straight points from Sam Rowley, Hooley came away with a steal and went coast-to-coast to give Albany its first lead since three minutes in. Hartford went on to close out the half by scoring four of the final six points to tie up the game at 25-all at intermission.

·         Early in the second, Hartford was plagued with fouls as freshman John Carroll and Sikma each picked up their fourth personals at the 15:48 and 14:54 marks, respectively. During that stretch, Albany turned a 27-27 tie into a 37-31 advantage as it used a 10-4 run that was fueled by eight points from the charity stripe. Following a three pointer from senior Corban Wroe that closed the gap to three points, the Great Danes responded with eight-unanswered points for their first double-digit lead (45-34) of the contest with 12:22 left.

·         The Hawks mounted a comeback and brought their deficit down to three points with 4:25 left thanks to a jumper from Nwakamma and a pair of free throws by Wroe. They wouldn't come any closer, though, as Evan Singletary made Albany's fifth three of the night to extend the lead back to six with 4:05 remaining.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

·         Overall, Hartford shot 52.2-percent (24-of-46), while Albany, which improved upon a 36.0-percent first-half effort by shooting 52.4-percent in the final stanza, finished at 43.5-percent on the night

·         Hartford opened the game with a hot hand from three-point land, making 3-of-4 to take an early 11-9 lead

·         Committing nine first-half turnovers, the Hawks spotted the Great Danes nine points off those miscues

·         The Hawks shot 52.6 percent from the field in the first half compared to a 36.0-percent effort from the Great Danes

·         From three-point land, Hartford made 5-of-11 (45.5%) in the first and finished the game at a 41.7-percent clip from long range (10-of-24)

·         Freshman John Carroll picked up fourth personal foul with 15:48 left in the second half while senior Nate Sikma picked up his fourth with 14:54 left, forcing Hartford with limited substitutions in the post

·         Albany was in the bonus for the last 12:22 of regulation

·         The Great Danes made 20-of-23 free throws in the second half and shot 83.3-percent (25-of-30) overall from the line

·         Hartford made just eight trips to the free throw line where it finished on all but two of those attempts 

NEWS AND NOTES: 

·         With a team-high 17 points, senior Mark Nwakamma needs 30 more to move into third place in Hartford's Division I all-time scoring list

·         Nwakamma also recorded his 75th career block against the Great Danes and is three shy of moving into third place in the category in the Hawks' record books

·         Nwakamma has scored in double-figures a team-best 18 times and 85 times in his career

·         Sophomore Justin Graham extended his career-best double-figure scoring streak to six games as he finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and a 3-of-5 effort from three-point land

·         The Hawks are just 3-11 and have lost their last five when playing the Great Danes in Albany

·         Albany improves to 18-11 in the all-time series, having won eight of the last nine games 

UP NEXT:.
Hartford heads to Maine for its final regular season road game of the 2014-15 season on Wednesday, February 25. Tipoff from the Cross Insurance Center is slated for 7 p.m. Fans who can't make the game can catch all of the action on WDRC 1360 AM, or online at talkofconnecticut.com as Jeff Dooley will have the call from Bangor.