WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – A late second-half run doomed the Hartford men's basketball team on Tuesday, as visiting Stony Brook clinched the No. 2 seed in the upcoming America East Playoffs by way of a 68-63 win inside Reich Family Pavilion. 

Senior J.R. Lynch led all scorers with 20 points for the Hawks, who conclude the regular season 17-14 overall with a 10-6 record in league play.
 
As the No. 4 seed, Hartford will host UMass Lowell in quarterfinal action on Saturday (5 p.m.). Led by 16 points from Jaron Cornish, Stony Brook (24-7, 12-4 AE) returns home to take on No. 7 Binghamton.

PHOTO GALLERY
 
STONY BROOK 68, HARTFORD 63
 
Stony Brook made its first six field goal attempts to jump out to a 12-8 lead with 15:34 to go in the half. But the Hawks quickly clawed back, scoring nine straight to take their first advantage of the night at 17-12. The lead would change hands three more times, until a 10-2 spurt gave Hartford its largest lead of the night at 29-22. That gap would be trimmed to four at the break (33-29), though, as the Seawolves scored seven of the final 11 points of the stanza.
 
Stony Brook opened the half with a flurry of three-pointers, knocking down three within the first four minutes to help take a 41-39 lead. The two teams continued to go back-and-forth, until a 11-1 run capped by Cornish's third three broke open a 54-54 game and put the Seawolves up for good at 65-55 with 3:56 left. 
 
Senior Travis Weatherington managed to single-handedly close the gap down to three (66-63) with 1:48 to go on an 8-1 spurt featuring back-to-back three-pointers, but two attempts at the game-tying shot inside the final 75 seconds came up short for the Hawks. 
 
INSIDE THE BOX AND NOTES

• Three other Hawks joined Lynch in double figures, led by senior George Blagojevic, who came one point shy of reaching 1,000 on his career with 16 points.
• Senior Jason Dunne, who came off a career-best nine-assist night against UAlbany, recorded a game-high seven helpers.
• Adding 13 points, redshirt-senior John Carroll recorded a career-high five blocks in the defeat.
• Stony Brook shot 50 percent (28-of-56) on the night, while Hartford went 49.1 percent (27-of-55), but just 6-of-26 from three (23.1%).
• The Seawolves' bench outscored the Hawks, 22-0.
• Hartford's 17 regular-season victories are the second-most in program history.

 
NEXT ON TAP
Hartford remains home for the quarterfinals of the America East Playoffs on Saturday, March 9. The No. 4 Hawks will take on No. 5 UMass Lowell at 5 p.m.
 
Tickets for the quarterfinal matchup can be purchased by calling 860-768-HAWK, or by clicking here.