THE BASICS:

RESULT: Yale 88, Hartford 72
LOCATION: John Lee Amphitheatre (New Haven, Conn.)
ATTENDANCE: 747
RECORDS: Hartford (5-10); Yale (7-5)

THE LEAD:
Jalen Ross poured in 31 points to lead all scorers, but Yale held off a game effort from the Hartford men's basketball team in an 88-72 victory on Monday night. Jordan Bruner delivered 25 points in the win for the Bulldogs. Yale outscored the Hawks by 21 points at the free-throw line.
 
The Hawks got a strong performance from Hassan Attia, who delivered 11 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and one steal – missing a double-double by just a single carom. Jason Dunne (13) and Jack Hobbs (11) also finished in double figures in a losing effort.
 
In addition to Bruner's 25, Miye Oni delivered a double-double for the Bulldogs with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Sam Downey (14) and Blake Reynolds (12) also topped 10 points. Oni added three blocks as well.

FIRST HALF:
Attia got the Hawks on the board early with a putback layup, but Yale followed with a 7-0 run to take a five-point lead in the opening stanza. The Hawks chipped away at that, with a Ross jumper and a three in quick succession making it a one-point game at 11-10. Yale was able to regain the momentum, though, and pushed its lead to 20-14 at the 9:11 mark.
 
Hartford then embarked on a 7-0 run to take a 21-20 lead, but Yale pushed back ahead 24-21. The Hawks followed with a 6-0 run, capped off by a Jack Hobbs three off an inbounds pass, to make it 27-24 at the 3:48 mark. But the visitors ran into a cold spell at that point, and Yale closed out the half on a 6-0 run to take a 30-27 lead into the locker room.

SECOND HALF:
After Yale pushed its lead to 32-27, an Attia dunk and a pair of free throws trimmed the lead to just one. The teams then traded blows to a 34-33 score, but Yale went on a huge 13-2 run, constructed mainly of three-point plays and free throws, to make the lead to 47-35.
 
A TreVaughn Wilkerson dunk snapped the momentum, and Ross drilled a long three to get the lead down to 47-41. But Yale embarked on another rally, this one a 13-4 run culminating in a Blake Reynolds three-ball, to push the lead to 60-45. The lead bounced between 11 and 15 over the next several minutes.
 
Hartford was able to rally in the closing minutes, getting it to nine on several occasions and finally trimming the deficit to seven, 78-71 after a Ross three. Hartford got a stop and had an opportunity to get it even closer, but Ross' jumper rimmed out and the Bulldogs emerged victorious.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Ross extended his double-figure scoring streak to 29-straight games, dating back to January of last year. He posted his eighth 20-point game of the year and his third game with at least 30 points.
• Attia delivered the first double-digit scoring game of his career. Hobbs finished in double figures for the fourth time this season.
• Dunne topped 10 points for the 10th time in the last 11, over which he is averaging 16.2 points per contest.
• The victory was Yale's 19^th straight in Lee Amphitheatre, a streak dating back to last season.
• Yale totaled 41 shots at the line to Hartford's 31. The Bulldogs outscored the Hawks at the line, 31-10.

 
UP NEXT:
Hartford will have a brief respite before opening conference play on Sunday, Jan. 8, at Vermont. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. inside Patrick Gymnasium. The Hawks will then return to Reich Family Pavilion on Wednesday, Jan. 11, for a clash against UMBC at 7 p.m.