WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — A cold shooting stretch doomed the Hartford men's basketball team on Wednesday, as the Hawks dropped a 69-60 decision to visiting UMBC. Freshman Moses Flowers scored 17 points to pace the Hawks (10-10), who fall to 3-2 in the America East.
 
R.J. Eytle-Rock and K.J. Jackson had 19 and 16 points, respectively, for UMBC (8-12), which moves to 1-4 in conference play.

BOX SCORE
 
UMBC 69, HARTFORD 60
The Hawks had a hot hand from behind the arc, making six of their first eight attempts to build a commanding 31-14 lead with 8:39 remaining. Flowers knocked down three triples in that spurt to help Hartford build the 17-point advantage. But UMBC came storming back, using a 17-3 run to pull within one possession (34-31) at the break.
 
The offensive woes continued into the second half for Hartford, as it was held without a field goal until the 10:29 mark. During that stretch, the Retrievers scored 14 of the first 15 points to push ahead, 45-35. The Hawks picked up the pace and retook the lead at 50-49 on a D.J. Mitchell three with less than five minutes to go, but UMBC ended the game with a 21-10 run to take the win.
 
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• The defeat snapped a four-game home winning streak for Hartford 
• Carter joined Flowers in double figures with 13 points, adding five assists
• Ellison and Stafl each finished with a game-best nine rebounds
• Hartford was held to 29.6 percent shooting (8-for-27) from the field in the second half
• After shooting 53.9 percent from long range (7-for-13) in the opening half, the Hawks went 21.3 percent in the second stanza (3-for-14)
• The Retrievers held a 38-35 edge on the boards, but had 11 points on second-chance opportunities 

 
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks return to the road to take on UAlbany on Saturday afternoon. Tipof from SEFCU Arena is set for 3 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
For more information on the Hartford men's basketball team, stay with HartfordHawks.com for updates and follow the team on social media (Twitter | Instagram).