ALBANY, N.Y. –The Hartford men's basketball team's comeback bid came up short on Saturday, as the Hawks dropped an 84-77 decision to UAlbany inside SEFCU Arena. Trailing by as many as 18 in the second half, the Hawks pulled within three with 3:50 to go before the Great Danes ended the game with a 9-3 run to seal the win.
 
Ahmad Clark and Antonio Rizzuto scored 22 and 21 points, respectively, to lead UAlbany (6-15, 1-5 AE) to its first league win. Senior George Blagojevic scored 19 points to pace the Hawks (10-11), who fall to 3-3 in America East action.
 
UALBANY 84, HARTFORD 77
 
UAlbany got off to a hot start, jumping out to a double-digit lead less than three minutes into the game. Trailing by as many as 14, Hartford pulled within seven (40-33) on a Jason Dunne three with 2:54 left, but the Great Danes scored nine of the final 11 points of the half to take a 49-35 advantage into the locker room.
 
Things continued to roll for UAlbany in the second, as the Great Danes pushed their advantage to as many as 18 (59-41) on a Healy three with 17:08 left. The Hawks chipped away at their deficit, though. Closing the gap to single digits on two occasions, a three-point play from Travis Weatherington capped an 8-0 run and pulled Hartford within three (75-72) with 3:50 to go. UAlbany held off Hartford's late charge, though, as a three-point play by Ahmad Clark followed by another Healy triple quickly pushed the margin back to nine in the game's final minutes.
 
INSIDE THE BOX AND NOTES

• Five Hawks scored in double figures for the first time this season, and the first time since Dec. 22, 2017 against FIU
• Weatherington added 17 points while Dunne (14 points), Lynch (13) and Carroll (11) rounded out the double-figure scorers
• Hartford shot 47.1 percent from the field (24-of-51), including 47.8 percent from behind the arc (11-of-23)
• The Great Danes, who went 48.1 percent from the field (25-of-52), received 24 points from the charity stripe (72.7%)

 
NEXT ON TAP
Hartford returns home to take on Binghamton on Wednesday, Jan. 30. Tipoff from the Reich Family Pavilion is set for 7 p.m. Tickets for the conference clash can be purchased by calling 860-768-HAWK, or by clicking here.