HARTFORD HAWKS (1-5, 0-0 AE) vs. WESTERN NEW ENGLAND GOLDEN BEARS (2-2, 0-0 CCC)
 
DATE | TIME: Saturday, Nov. 24 | 2 p.m. 
LOCATION: Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (West Hartford, Conn.)
COVERAGE: ESPN3 (Jeff Dooley & Dan Lovallo) | Live Stats
TWITTER: @HartfordMBB | #CapitalCityTeam | #AEHoops
TICKETS: 860-768-HAWK | Buy Online
GAME NOTES: Hartford | WNEU
  
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Hartford men's basketball team returns home for the first time since hosting CCSU on opening night on Saturday, when it welcomes Western New England University to Reich Family Pavilion. The meeting will be the first-ever between the two local schools.
 
A NOTABLE NUGGET

• WNEU's head coach Colin Tabb is the brother of former Hawk, Sean Tabb
• Sean spent three seasons on Hartford men's basketball team from 1995-98

 
WNEU SCOUT

• WNEU dipped to 2-2 on the season after falling at Wesleyan, 80-72
• Earlier this month, the Golden Bears dropped a 114-72 decision at Sacred Heart, but that contest was deemed an exhibition game for the Division III opponent
• Mikey Pettway has been on a tear WNEU, averaging 30.0 points per game, including 34 in his most recent outing against Wesleyan

 
SERIES HISTORY

• Hartford and WNEU will be meeting on the hardwood for the first time in program history

 
LAST TIME OUT
IONA 80, HARTFORD 75(Nov. 21)

• Hartford came up short to Iona, 80-75, in the Consolation Round of the MGM Resorts Main Event Tournament
• Redshirt-senior John Carroll matched a career-high in scoring (26 points) to pace the Hawks, who took the lead on a Jason Dunne three-pointer, but were unable to hold on down the stretch

 
NEXT ON TAP

• The Hawks remain within the Connecticut borders for their next two games, beginning with a midweek tilt at Sacred Heart
• The Hawks and Pioneers are slated for a 6 p.m. tip from Fairfield on Tuesday

 
CHASING 1,000

• Carroll and Lynch are en route to joining Dunne as members of Hartford's 1,000-Point Club
• Carroll needs just two more points to hit the mark, while J.R. Lynch is 60 away from the milestone
• If the duo were to accomplish the feat this season, it would mark the most 1,000-point scorers on the same roster in program history

 
BY GEORGE

• Hartford's leader in rebounding, blocks and field goal percentage, George Blagojevic is off to a sensational start in his final season
• Netting twin figures in five of six games this year, he has already surpassed last season's total of double-figure scoring games (4) 
• The Australian has been stellar on the boards as well, as he has already pulled down 49 rebounds, nearly half of the 117 he recorded last season

 
GEORGE DOUBLES DOWN

• Blagojevic has doubled his averages from his junior season in nearly every statistical category in the early part of 2018-19
• In addition to tripling his point total from 4.5 to 12.8 points per game, he has also more than doubled last season's totals in rebounds (3.7 to 8.2 rpg), blocks (0.3 to 0.8 bpg), steals (0.6 to 1.3 spg) and minutes (17.6 to 35.8 mpg)
• In addition, the forward recently recorded his first career double-double — and the first for a Hawk this season — after pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds and adding 11 points at Quinnipiac
• His importance has been reflected in his minutes, especially as of late, as he has played 111 of 120 possible minutes in his past three outings

 
DUNNE DEAL FROM THREE

• The Hawks have several threats from long range on the roster, but Dunne has proven himself to be one of the most lethal in the league
• Finishing first in the America East and 33rd in the nation, he connected on the second-most three-pointers in a single-season in 2017-18 with 98, which marked the most since Joe Zeglinski also drained 98 in 2009-10
• His 196 career triples are fifth-most in program history

 
SENIOR STAFF

• This year's senior class — a six-member group — stepped up in a big way as juniors last season
• Four of the six (Carroll, Dunne, Lynch and Travis Weatherington) were regular members of the starting lineup in 2017-18
• They accounted for 80 percent of the offense, combining for 1,876 of the team's 2,326 points a year ago
• All but 20 of Hartford's points this season (95.1%) have come from seniors, including each of the team's 65 points in the season opener against CCSU (Nov. 6) and all 75 points against Iona (Nov. 21) on Wednesday