THE BASICS:

RESULT: Hartford 84, UMBC 77
LOCATION: RAC Arena (Baltimore, Md.)
ATTENDANCE: 1,002
RECORDS: Hartford (7-19, 2-9 America East); UMBC (16-8, 7-4)

THE LEAD:
Jalen Ross led four players in double figures with 28 points, as the Hartford men's basketball team upset third-place UMBC on Thursday, 84-77. J.R. Lynch added 18 points, going 8-for-8 at the line in the second half. The Hawks shot a blistering 15-for-24 (.625) from the field in the second.
 
Ross (4-for-4, 2-for-2 from beyond the arc) and Jack Hobbs (4-for-4, 2-for-2) both were perfect in the second half for the Hawks, as Hobbs finished with 11 points in the game (all after the break). Hobbs finished with a career-high nine boards as well to lead Hartford. Jason Dunne added 12 points and had three steals.
 
K.J. Maura had a strong effort in the loss with 24 points, while Will Darley added 22. The Hawks held Jairus Lyles, the America East's leading scorer, to just 10 points in the loss. Joe Sherburne chipped in 11 for the Retrievers.
 
FIRST HALF:
The early going was an exciting back-and-forth affair, with each team responding to the other. After UMBC built a 6-2 lead, a Lynch jumper sent the Hawks on an 8-0 run to take a 10-6 advantage. The home squad came back to tie things up, and the teams traded points to a 19-18 Retrievers lead after a Ross free throw.
 
UMBC then went on an 8-2 run to push the lead to 27-20 before the Hawks cut it to 28-24 on a Jason Dunne three-ball. But the Retrievers got a pair of triples in quick succession to push the lead to double digits, and held the Hawks at bay for the remainder of the half to enter the locker room up 42-31.
 
SECOND HALF:
The Retrievers pushed the lead to 13 early in the second, then the teams traded points to 48-35. Hobbs then went on a 5-0 run of his own, two on a putback layup and three on a triple in transition, to cut it to 48-40. UMBC got it back to double digits with a Lyles three, but Hartford responded with a 7-0 run, capped off with a Lynch bucket, to force a UMBC timeout with the score 51-47.
 
But Maura came off the bench and ignited the Retrievers, pushing the lead back to eight after hitting a pair of threes around a Lynch jumper. The Hawks were undeterred, though, cutting it to four on a baby hook by TreVaughn Wilkerson, then trimming the deficit to just two, 60-58, after Andrew Ramirez' three-ball with 8:35 left.
 
UMBC got a bucket back, but a Ross three pulled it to one, and then Hobbs scored five straight again, his three from the right corner putting the Hawks ahead 66-62 with 4:04 to play. After the Retrievers cut it back to two, the Hawks got four straight defensive stops and pushed the lead to nine at the foul line and on a Ross layup with 1:59 left. From there, UMBC was able to get no closer than four, as Hartford closed the game out at the stripe.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Ross extended his double-figure scoring streak to 40-straight games in the place where his streak began last January – RAC Arena. He finished with at least 20 points for the 10^th time overall and the second in league action. It was his fifth 25-point game of the year.
• Ross also became the ninth player in Hawks Division I history to surpass 500 points in a season. He is the fourth player (Kenny Adeleke, Joe Zeglinski, Pancake Thomas) to do so since the year 2000.
• Lynch continued his recent offensive upswing, delivering double figures for the second time in the last four games and the 10^th time overall on the season. He has 42 points in the most recent quartet.
• With his two blocks in the game, Attia now has 43 on the season, passing Larry Griffiths (1989-90) for seventh on the Hawks' single-season list.
• Hobbs finished in double figures for the third time in the last four games and the sixth time overall this season.
• Hartford finished with four players in double figures for the second time in conference play (UAlbany).

 
UP NEXT:
The Hawks return home for a Sunday matinee against UMass Lowell on Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at HartfordHawks.com or by calling 860.768.HAWK (4295).