ALBANY, N.Y. — A dominant second half from graduate transfer
Malik Ellison propelled the Hartford men's basketball team to a key 62-48 road win at UAlbany on Saturday afternoon. Ellison, who accounted for 22 of the Hawks' 31 second-half points, finished with a career-high 31 points while adding 12 boards for his fifth double-double this season.
With the win, the Hawks, who received a school-record breaking performance of nine steals from graduate student Traci Cater, improve to 11-10 with a 4-2 record in the America East. UAlbany, which was led by 10 points from Cameron Healy, falls to 11-10 and 4-2 in the league standings.
HARTFORD 62, UALBANY 48
The Hawks used two big rallies, including an early 10-0 run, to take a 24-15 advantage with 5:40 to go before halftime. Momentum shifted in favor of UAlbany in the closing minutes of the stanza, though, as a half-ending 10-5 run featuring seven points from the free-throw line closed the margin to 31-27 at intermission.
After scoring half of the Hawks' first 12 points out of the break, Ellison, who shot 9-for-9 in the second half, continued to take over the game. The graduate transfer single-handedly stretched Hartford's 45-43 lead to 14 after scoring 12-straight points over a four-minute stretch. Sophomore
Hunter Marks put the icing on the cake, capping off a 15-0 Hawks' run with a three-pointer to make it 60-43 with 3:09 left to play.
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES
- Carter's nine steals broke Hartford's 20-year-old program record of eight, which was set by Keyon Smith against New Hampshire on March 3, 2000
- Carter, who broke the school record despite seeing limited time in the first half due to foul trouble, rounded out his stat line with four assists and five rebounds
- Ellison's 31 points are the most for a Hawk this season, and the most since Travis Weatherington had 34 against Binghamton (Jan. 13, 2018)
- Hartford scored 24 of its points off 19 UAlbany turnovers
- The Hawks held the Great Danes to a season-low 48 points, more than 20 points below their season average (69.5 ppg)
- The top defensive three-point team in the league, the Hawks held the Great Danes to 16 percent shooting (4-for-25) from behind the arc
- Marks, who dished out a career-high six assists, added 12 points
- Hartford has defeated UAlbany in each of the past two meetings, but the Great Danes hold a 25-15 edge in the all-time series
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks return home to host Binghamton on Wednesday evening. Tickets for the 7 p.m. tip can be purchased by calling 860-768-HAWK, or by clicking
here.
For more information on the Hartford men's basketball team, stay with HartfordHawks.com for updates and follow the team on social media (
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