THE BASICS:
RESULT: Hartford 77, UMass Lowell 70
RECORDS: Hartford (12-10, 5-3 AE); Vermont (8-13, 2-6 AE)
LOCATION: Tsongas Center (Lowell, Mass.)
 
THE LEAD:

The University of Hartford men's basketball team overcame a 26 point first-half deficit to defeat UMass Lowell, 77-70, in Lowell on Saturday evening.  
 
Junior Jason Dunne led the way for the Hawks, recording 20-plus points for the fifth time this season with 20. Senior Jack Hobbs (18 points), junior J.R. Lynch (17 points) and redshirt-junior John P. Carroll (10 points) joined Dunne with double-digit point totals.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• UMass Lowell came out of the gates hot, scoring 32 of the game's first 38 points, including 20 unanswered points, to take a 32-6 lead with 7:11 left in the opening half.  
• The Hawks quickly responded, though, going on a 26-8 run to cut the River Hawk lead to as eight with 1:11 left in the Half. UMass Lowell took a 42-32 lead into the halftime break.
• After exchanging a pair of five-point runs in the opening 2:34 of the second half, Hartford went on a 13-2 rally to take its first lead of the game on a Carroll layup with 13:21 remaining.
• Both teams would exchange blows for the next 10 minutes, exchanging the lead on three occasions while forcing three ties. After UMass Lowell tied it up at 70-70 with 2:40 remaining on a Matt Harris free throw, Harford scored the game's final seven points to take the 77-70 decision.     

INSIDE THE NUMBERS & NOTES:

• Hartford held a slight advantage from the free throw line, hitting nine free throws (81.8%) to UMass Lowell's eight while holding the edge from behind the arc with 12 triples to the River Hawks' eight.
• Additionally, the Hawks forced seven more turnovers than the River Hawks (18-11), while UMass Lowell held the rebounding advantage (41-36)
• Hobbs' 18 points tied a career-high, a mark he set against Sacred Heart in December of 2016.   
• With four three-pointers, J.R. Lynch surpassed 100 made threes for his career.
•  With the win, Head Coach John Gallagher sits at 99 on his career and can achieve the 100-win milestone on Wednesday night at New Hampshire.  

UP NEXT:
The Hawks continue their three-game road trip as they head to Durham, N.H., to take on the New Hampshire Wildcats at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.