PHOTO GALLERY

THE BASICS:

RESULT: Binghamton 68, Hartford 54
LOCATION: Chase Family Arena at Reich Family Pavilion
ATTENDANCE:  1,330
RECORDS: Hartford (7-19, 2-9 America East); Binghamton (6-19, 3-9)

THE LEAD:
Jalen Ross netted 16 points for his seventh-straight game in double figures, but Binghamton got a double-double from Willie Rodriguez on its way to a 68-54 victory over the Hartford men's basketball team on Thursday. TreVaught Wilkerson played his best game of the season, scoring six points, grabbing five boards and swatting three blocks, and Pancake Thomas added 14 points in the loss for the Hawks.
 
Rodriguez shouldered the load for the Bearcats, scoring 27 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Thomas Bruce chipped in 12 points for Binghamton.

FIRST HALF:
The defense set the tone early in the half for the Hartford, as the Hawks took away perimeter shooting and forced the Bearcats to shoot just 2-for-10 from deep in the half. Wilkerson made his presence felt early, grabbing two offensive boards and finishing both for baskets to give the Hawks a much-need offensive lift. A corner three by Taylor Dyson catapulted the Hawks to an 11-9 lead with 10:29 to play. From there, both teams would go cold from the field.
With both teams struggling to convert, Rodriguez became more active inside and scored 11 points in the half, including nine as part of an 18-6 run by the Bearcats to finish the half, and the Bearcats took a 26-17 lead to the locker room. Wilkerson had four points, four rebounds, a steal and a block for the Hawks in the opening 20.

SECOND HALF:
The Hawks started to establish an offensive groove to open the second act, kicked off by another Dyson three pointer to bring the Binghamton lead down to 11. From there, Hartford stormed back into the game on the strength of a 10-2 run, complete with two threes from Ross, a thunderous dunk from Wilkerson, and a nifty layup by George Blagojevic to make it a 33-30 deficit with 15:10 to play.
The Bearcats countered with an 11-1 run of their own, but Hartford pushed right back. Another Ross three got the Hawks going, and from there, free throws and improved defense got Hartford back in it. Back-to-back treys from Evan Cooper and Thomas cut the lead down to 47-42 with 8:09 to go.
 
The Hawks would get within four, as Thomas hit a pair of free throws to make it a 51-47 game with 4:56 to play, but that would be as close as it would get the rest of the half. The Bearcats used a final surge to pull away and cement a 68-54 victory over the Hawks.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
• Wilkerson logged career-highs across the board tonight for the Hawks. The freshman set career-best marks in points (6), rebounds (5), assists (2), steals (2), blocks (3) and minutes (22).
• Ross is now up to seven-straight games in double figures, dating back to his career-high 27 at UMBC on Jan. 21. Tonight was the fourth time Ross has led the team in scoring. He is averaging 14.9 points in the last seven.
• Wilkerson's three blocks tonight marked the most blocks for a Hawks player in a game this season.

UP NEXT:
Hartford heads to Burlington to take on Vermont on Sunday, Feb. 14. The Hawks and Catamounts will tip at 7 p.m. and the game will be carried live on The Talk of Connecticut 1360 AM with Jeff Dooley and Randy LaVigne on the call.