STONY BROOK, N.Y. — The Hartford men's basketball team withstood a furious comeback bid to take down No. 2 Stony Brook, 64-58, in the semifinals of the America East Playoffs on Tuesday night. With the win, the Hawks (18-15) have punched a ticket to the conference's championship game for the first time since 2008.

PHOTO GALLERY
 
Sophomore Hunter Marks scored 17 points and graduate transfer Traci Carter added 12, as Hartford will head to top-seeded Vermont, with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Elijah Olaniyi led Stony Brook (20-13) with a game-high 19 points. 
 
The Hawks held a 13-point lead with 14:23 to go in the second half before the Seawolves came storming back to pull within a bucket at 41-39. Hartford would regain an eight-point edge, but Mouhamadou Gueye brought the teams even before Elijah Olaniyi hit a three to give the Seawolves their first lead (50-47) since holding a 9-8 edge in the opening minutes.
 
With the Seawolves leading, 52-51, with 4:01 to go, Marks' fourth three-pointer erased Hartford's deficit with 2:32 remaining. Inside the final minute, his fifth — and final — triple gave the Hawks a six-point lead and ultimately sealed the victory.
 
Hartford led by as many as 14 with less than five minutes to go in the first half after turning in a 50 percent performance from behind the arc. Led by Marks (2-of-3), freshman Moses Flowers (2-for-2) and sophomore Michael Dunne (2-of-2), the Hawks went 7-of-14 from distance to take a 31-19 lead into the break. 
 
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• Hartford finished 3-0 against Stony Brook this season
• The Hawks' 18 victories are one shy of the program record, set in 2017-18
• Flowers, who pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, also finished in double figures with 11 points
• Carter dished out a game-high seven assists
• The Hawks scored 20 points off Stony Brook's 17 turnovers
• Malik Ellison, Hartford's top scorer, played the majority of his 25 minutes in foul trouble
• He scored seven points, all in the second half
• Hartford finished the game shooting 54.5 percent from three (12-of-22)
• Holding Stony Brook to an 0-of-9 clip from three-point land in the first half, the Seawolves finished the game shooting 17.6 percent (3-of-17) from long range

 
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks seek their first-ever America East Championship on Saturday, when they head to No. 1 Vermont. Tipoff from Patrick Gymnasium is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN2.

---

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).