THE BASICS:

RESULT: Hartford 54, Maine 44
LOCATION: Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (West Hartford, Conn.)
ATTENDANCE: 906
RECORDS: Hartford (6-13, 1-3 America East); Maine (5-15, 1-4 America East)

PHOTO GALLERY

THE LEAD:
The University of Hartford men's basketball team picked up its first America East Conference victory of the season with a 54-44 home victory against Maine on Monday. The Hawks delivered their best defensive performance of the season, holding the Black Bears to 17-of-53 shooting (.321).
 
Senior guard Jalen Ross led the Hawks with 19 points and sophomore Jason Dunne contributed 10 in the winning effort. Junior forward Hassan Attia also pulled down a season-best 11 rebounds and added three blocks for Hartford.
 
Main freshman center Vincent Eze scored a team-best 13 for the Black Bears, who also got 12 points from junior guard Wes Myers.



FIRST HALF:
The Hawks came out strong out of the locker room, with a Dunne triple followed by layups from Attia and Ross to make it a 7-2 advantage for the home squad. But Maine battled back, knotting the score up at 10 on a Myers layup. The Hawks delivered another rally, potting seven-straight points, the final three on Dunne's second three-pointer of the game, to take a 17-10 lead.
 
The two squads traded points to a 28-21 score, matching the Hawks' largest lead of the first half, before Austin Howard scored four straight for the Black Bears. Howard scored six of Maine's final eight points in the half before Ross netted a layup in the closing seconds to give Hartford a 33-29 lead at the break.

SECOND HALF:
The score remained tight early in the second half and Maine cut its deficit to just two points on three occasions, but the Black Bears never drew even or took the lead. Ross and George Blagojevic helped Hartford on a 6-0 run midway through the half and a three-pointer from Dunne gave the Hawks an 11-point advantage with 4:17 left to play.
 
Myers knocked down a three at the three-minute mark, cutting Hartford's lead to 49-41, but Maine wouldn't get any closer. Attia put an exclamation point on the victory with a dunk in the closing minutes and the Hawks held on for the victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Maine's 44 points were the fewest Hartford has allowed since defeating Binghamton, 69-42, on March 8, 2014.
• Ross extended his double-figure scoring streak to 33-straight games, dating back to January of last year. He finished with five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
• Attia set a new career-best with 11 rebounds and delivered his seventh game with at least three blocks this season. His 30 blocks lead the America East.
• Hartford's .460 shooting percentage (23-for-50) was the team's best since shooting .509 in a 70-66 victory against Dartmouth on Dec. 13.
• The win was the Hawks' first in conference play and snapped a five-game losing streak.

 
UP NEXT:
The Hawks will hit the road again on Thursday when they visit Stony Brook (9-8, 4-0 AE). Hartford is looking for its first road win since knocking off Boston College, 65-63, on Dec. 9. The Seawolves knocked off UMass Lowell, 86-75, on Monday for their fifth consecutive win. Hartford returns home Sunday, Jan. 22, to host New Hampshire at Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion. Tickets for Sunday's game available by calling 860.768.HAWK (4295) and at HartfordHawks.com.