LOWELL, Mass. — Sophomore Miroslav Stafl scored 16 points to lead three players in double figures, but it wasn't enough for the Hartford men's basketball team as it dropped a 71-62 decision at UMass Lowell on Saturday. 
 
Obadiah Noel scored a game-high 24 points for the River Hawks, who used a late 7-0 run to build on a one-point advantage and seal the victory. UMass Lowell (4-7 overall) improves to 3-4 in the America East with the win, while Hartford (7-5) dips to 4-3 in league play.
 
UMASS LOWELL 71, HARTFORD 62
The Hawks trailed for most of the opening half, but used a 7-0 run that featured a Stafl layup, a dunk from senior Austin Williams and junior D.J. Mitchell's second three of the stanza to knot up the game at 34-34 with 62 seconds left. UMass Lowell delivered the final punch of the half, though, as a Salif Boudie jumper put the River Hawks up two at the break.
 
Stafl led a balanced Hartford offense that featured six different scorers with eight points at intermission. Both teams shot above 50 percent in the stanza, with the Hawks going 53.8-percent from the field to the River Hawks' 60.0-percent clip. 
 
The game remained tight for the opening part of the second half. After several lead changes, Stafl tied things up at 53-all on a dunk with 5:58 to go. Hartford was unable to regain control, though. Four straight makes from the free-throw line broke the tie and put the River Hawks ahead, 57-53. A three by grad student Traci Carter pulled the Hawks within one at 60-59 down the stretch, but UMass Lowell's Connor Withers single-handedly scored seven-straight points on a three and four free throws to put the game out of reach with 1:48 to go.  
 


INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• UMass Lowell landed a pair of 20-point scorers, as Withers joined Noel with 20 points
• The Hawks were whistled for 11 more fouls, which led to an 18-for-25 effort from the free-throw line for the River Hawks 
• Junior Hunter Marks (11 points) and Williams (14) rounded out Hartford's double-figure scorers
• The River Hawks were held to just 25.0-percent shooting from long range (3-for-12), but went 53.2-percent from the field (25-for-47) on the afternoon
• Hartford went 48.0-percent from the floor

 
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks and River Hawks return to action at Costello Athletic Center with the second of a two-game set Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN3.