WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Hartford men's basketball opened 2021 in style, cruising past Binghamton 76-56 inside Reich Family Pavilion on Saturday. Junior D.J. Mitchell made four three-pointers to lead four Hawks in double figures with a game-high 17 points.
 
The Hawks, who remain perfect at home with a 5-0 record, improve to 3-2 in America East action. Tyler Bertram also knocked down four 3's to lead the Bearcats (1-7, 1-4 AE) with 16 points.

PHOTO GALLERY

 

HARTFORD 76, BINGHAMTON 56
The Hawks opened up the game by scoring the first seven points of the afternoon and never looked back. Leading 17-12 with 9:16 left until halftime, Mitchell ignited a 15-2 run with a pull-up jumper that put Hartford up by 18 points at 32-14 with 5:50 to go in the half. Mitchell also hit back-to-back three-pointers 25 seconds apart to fuel the Hawks during that commanding run.
 
Binghamton answered with a 9-2 run to close the gap to 10 at 36-26, but junior Michael Dunne pushed the lead back to 13 at the break with a deep three-pointer at the buzzer.
 
Out of the break, the Bearcats pulled within 10 on two occasions, with Tyler Bertram's layup making it 53-43 with 12:00 left. But Hartford quickly blew the game wide open over the next six minutes, delivering a 12-2 run to go up by 21 with 6:05 to go. Down the stretch, the Hawks pushed the lead to 24 — their largest of the season — on Briggs McClain's first career points, a reverse layup, with less than two minutes left to play.
 
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• Hartford has won eight straight against Binghamton to improve to 28-13 in the all-time series
• Williams (12 points), Carter (12) and Stafl rounded out the Hawks' double-figure scorers
• Two Hawks came just shy of a double-double; Stafl pulled down nine rebounds, while Marks recorded nine points and nine rebounds
• Hartford shot a season-high 54.7% from the floor (29-of-53), including 65% in the second half (13-of-20)
• The Hawks turned in a 44.4% effort from long range (8-of-18), which is also a season-best performance
• Freshman Briggs McClain scored his first career points on a reverse layup late in the game

 
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks look to complete the regular-season sweep of the Bearcats Sunday, when the two teams close out the series at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.