LOWELL, Mass. —Senior guard Austin Williams led Hartford men's basketball to a strong bounce back Sunday afternoon, as the Hawks took down UMass Lowell and scored a regular-season split with a 75-58 defeat of the River Hawks inside Costello Athletic Center. Williams poured in a game- and career-high 29 points to help the Hawks (8-5) improve to 5-3 in America East action.
 
Entering the contest having won each of its past two, UMass Lowell (4-8) falls to 3-5 with the defeat.
 


HARTFORD 75, UMASS LOWELL 58
After spotting UMass Lowell the first three points of the game, Hartford put together a 13-2 run to take a quick 13-5 advantage with 12:47 to go. The Hawks continued to roll, pushing ahead by as many as 16 at 31-16 on a pair of free throws by sophomore PJ Henry. But the final 3:24 of the stanza belonged to the River Hawks, as they cut the Hawks' advantage to just six on the break with a half-ending 10-run.
 
The second half quickly turned into the Williams show. The guard netted 23 of his game-high 29 points in that stretch after going 8-of-11 from the field, including a 2-for-3 showing from three. UMass Lowell pulled within four points on a pair of Obadiah Noel free throws in the opening minute of the second half, but Hartford held off the River Hawks and pushed the lead back into double digits with six-unanswered points.
 
A three-pointer by Kalil Thomas would give life to UMass Lowell and close the gap back down to eight at 53-45 with 7:54 to go. But the final blow belonged to Hartford, as a 12-2 run capped by an impressive windmill dunk by Williams made it an 18-point lead with 4:26 left to play. 
 
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• Williams' 29 points are the most for a Hawk this season, and the most since Malik Ellison had 29 in a regular-season win vs. Stony Brook last year (Feb. 26, 2020)
• Williams had a hot hand from the field, making 11-of-17 for 64.7-percent
• Grad student Traci Carter dished out a game-high seven assists to go along with 13 points
• Two other Hawks finished in double figures, as junior Hunter Marks netted 13 points and classmate D.J. Mitchell added 10 
• Hartford had a hot hand in the second half, going 51.9-percent to finish the just below 50-percent on the afternoon (26-for-54)
• Forcing 19 UMass Lowell turnovers, Hartford scored 27 points off River Hawks' miscues
• The Hawks cashed in from the free-throw line, making 17-of-21 for 81.0-percent
• After sending the River Hawks to the line 25 times Saturday, the Hawks limited UMass Lowell to just six free-throw attempts in Sunday's win
• Obadiah Noel led UMass Lowell with 18 points and four steals
• With the regular-season split, the Hawks move to 11-8 all-time against UMass Lowell

 
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks continue their longest road trip of the season — a four-game stretch — with back-to-back games at UMBC next Saturday and Sunday. Both contests are set to tipoff at 1 p.m. inside UMBC Event Center.