GAME 26 | HARTFORD HAWKS (13-12, 6-4 AE) vs. UALBANY GREAT DANES (13-11, 6-3 AE)
 
DATE | TIME: Wednesday, Feb. 12 | 7 p.m. 
LOCATION: Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (West Hartford, Conn.)
COVERAGE: Live Stats | ESPN+ (Jeff Dooley & Dan Lovallo)
TICKETS: 860-768-HAWK | Buy Online
TWITTER: @HartfordMBB | #CapitalCityTeam | #AEHoops
GAME NOTES: Hartford | UAlbany
 
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Amidst a three game homestand, Hartford men's basketball looks to complete the regular-season sweep of UAlbany when the two league foes clash on Wednesday evening on #SpreadRespect Night. The Hawks are currently fourth in the America East standings, one game behind the Great Danes.
 
#SPREADRESPECT

• Continuing its dedication to fostering leadership on and off the field, the America East Conference and its member institutions are sponsoring #SpreadRespect Nights
• #SpreadRespect games were created with the purpose of furthering awareness and education to ensure equality, respect and safety for all athletes without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity
• That respect also extends to race, ethnicity, gender, religion and more

 
SCOUTING UALBANY

• Idle this past weekend, UAlbany has gone 2-1 since losing to Hartford inside SEFCU Arena last month
• Since that meeting, the Great Danes have sandwiched a defeat to Vermont between a pair of wins against UMBC and Binghamton
• Trey Hutcheson scored 17 points while Antonio Rizzuto added 17 off the bench to lead UAlbany to a 62-49 win last time out against the Bearcats
• Cameron Healy and Ahman Clark are the team's top scorers with 15.9 and 15.7 points per game, respectively

 
SERIES HISTORY

• Hartford and UAlbany meet for the 41st time in both teams' Division I histories on Wednesday
• The Great Danes lead the all-time series, 25-15
• Scoring a 62-48 win at UAlbany last month (Jan. 25) for their second straight victory in the series, the Hawks seek their first regular-season sweep of the Great Danes since 2010

 
LAST TIME THEY MET
HARTFORD 62, UALBANY 48 (1/25/20)

• A dominant second half from grad transfer Malik Ellison propelled Hartford to a key 62-48 win at UAlbany on Jan. 25
• Ellison 22 of his career-high 31 points in the second half on 9-of-9 shooting from the field
• He single-handedly stretched Hartford's 45-43 lead to 14 by scoring 12-straight points over a four-minute stretch
• Those 12 points sparked a 15-0 run capped by a Hunter Marks three that made it a 17-point lead with 3:09 remaining
• The Hawks held the Great Danes to a season low in scoring 

 
LAST TIME OUT 
VERMONT 69, HARTFORD 68 (2/8/20)

• Grad student Traci Carter put the Hawks on a pull-up jumper with 11 seconds left, but Ryan Davis spoiled the heroics with a layup on the ensuing possession to lead first-place Vermont past Hartford, 69-68, on Saturday
• Carter, who led all scorers with a career-high 26 points, added game-best numbers in assists (6) and steals (5)

 
20-20 VISION

• Behind Carter and Ellison (23 points), Hartford landed its first pair of 20-point scorers in a game this season on Saturday against Vermont
• The last time the Hawks had two 20-point efforts in the same game was in the semifinals of last year's America East Playoffs, when Travis Weatherington and J.R. Lynch had 25 and 22 points, respectively, in the 90-85 double-overtime defeat to UMBC

 
PARTNER UP 

• Carter and Ellison — a pair of graduate transfers — have stepped up their game in the past two outings
• They have combined for 87 of Hartford's 127 points (69%) on three 20-plus point outings
• In addition, they have shot 55 percent from the floor as a pair and have averaged 15.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 4.0 steals as a duo
• Ellison has scored 20-plus points in his past two outings against UMBC (20 points) and Vermont (23), while Carter dropped a career-best 26 points in the heartbreaker with the Catamounts

 
SWIPE SPECIALISTS 

• The Hawks have been active on the defensive end this season
• Hartford matched a single-game high in the category in last month's win against Binghamton (Jan. 29), recording 10 steals
• The team leads the America East in total steals (187) and steals per game (7.5)

 
NO THREE FOR YOU

• Hartford has been solid in defending the three-point line this season
• The Hawks are holding opponents to 28.1 percent shooting from long range, which is the sixth-best mark in the nation
• Hartford has been just as impressive in conference play, holding America East opponents to a league-best .252 clip from long range
• The Hawks have held 14 opponents — including five during America East action — below 30.0 percent shooting from behind the arc
• Most recently, Hartford held UMBC to a .273 clip from three (6-for-22) on Feb. 5

 
DEE-FENCE 

• Hartford has held its league foes to 62.1 points per game, the second-lowest mark in the conference behind Vermont (59.8 ppg)
• The Hawks have held three of their past four opponents to 60-points or fewer, including UAlbany (Jan. 25), which was limited to a season-low 48 points
• Most recently, Hartford held Maine to 49 points on Feb. 1 en route to scoring the 55-49 victory

 
COACH CARTER

• Carter leads the America East and is No. 7 in the nation with 59 steals
• Recently cracking Hartford's top-10 in steals in a season after registering five against Vermont, he needs one more to move into sixth place 
• Additionally, Carter is the team's top playmaker with 4.4 dimes per game, which are tied for No. 3 in the league, while his 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio leads all players
• Carter has dished out five-or-more assists 14 times this season, including six in Saturday's heartbreaking loss to Vermont (Feb. 8)

 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEKS

• Hartford has dominated the Rookie of the Week award this season, landing a program-record six winners in 12 weeks
• Flowers is the most recent Hawk to receive the honor, as he was tabbed the league's top rookie for the third time this season on Feb. 3, tying Binghamton's George Tinsley for a conference-best 
• Prior to that, forward Miroslav Stafl became the first Hawk to win Rookie of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks (Dec. 23, Dec. 30) since Lamont Middleton in 1989
• Freshman PJ Henry was the first Hawk to earn the distinction (Nov. 11)
• The six Rookie of the Week honors in 2019-20 surpass the previous record of four, held by the 2007-08 team (Morgan Sabia - 4x, Kevin Estes)  

 
DOUBLE DOWN

• Ellison has been on a tear since making his highly-anticipated debut against Sacred Heart (Dec. 8)
• He is the only player in the America East to average a double-double with team-best numbers in scoring (17.5 ppg) and rebounding (10.0 rpg)
• Ellison has compiled a team-high seven double-doubles — the most of any America East player in the league — including his fifth since the start of league play against Vermont on Saturday (23 points, 12 rebounds) 
• He has scored in double figures in 87 percent of his games (13 of 15 contests)

 
NEXT ON TAP

• Hartford concludes its longest homestand of the conference slate on Saturday, when it plays host to UMass Lowell at 2 p.m.
• The Hawks look to make it three straight in the series, having previously defeated the River Hawks, 80-68, last month in Lowell
• Tickets can be purchased by calling 860-768-HAWK or by clicking here

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