DURHAM, N.C. — The Hartford men's basketball team was unable to overcome a 16-point deficit on Saturday, as it fell to Army, 86-79, in its final game of the Duke Veterans Day Weekend Showcase. Senior Austin Williams led five Hawks in double figures with a season-high 18 points.
 
The Hawks fall to 0-3 while the Black Knights, who received a career-best 29-point outing from Jalen Rucker, improve to 2-1.
 
ARMY 86, HARTFORD 79
Army, which led wire-to-wire, used a 13-1 run capped by back-to-back Rucker three-pointers to open up a 15-point lead at 26-11 with 9:16 to go in the opening half. The Hawks clawed back into the game, though, as consecutive threes from graduate student Hunter Marks and senior D.J. Mitchell brought the deficit down to five. But Army held off Hartford to take a 41-33 lead into the break.
 
Rucker, who made four first-half threes, remained hot in the second half. Delivering two more triples within the first 65 seconds of the stanza, he helped the Black Knights roll to a 16-point lead at 51-35 with 18:33 to go. The Hawks refused to go down easy, as they chiseled the deficit down to four (68-64) with 6:05 left on an 8-0 run.
 
Hartford would not come any closer, though, despite getting to the free-throw line early and often in the second half. Capitalizing on just 7-of-12 attempts from the stripe over the final six minutes, the Hawks pulled within six on a late Mitchell three with 14.6 seconds left, but after Army came up empty from the free-throw line in two attempts, Rucker made 1-of-2 with 6.2 seconds to go to seal the game. 
 
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• Hartford was playing without starting point guard Dejuan Clayton
• All five starters netted double figures for Hartford
• Marks and Mitchell recorded 15 points apiece, while junior Moses Flowers and senior Jared Kimbrough rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points each
• Flowers added 10 rebounds for Hartford's first double-double of the year
• Mitchell and Kimbrough each recorded season-best scoring efforts
• The Hawks shot a season-best 46.4 percent from the field (26-of-56), but struggled from the free-throw line with a 64.5 percent effort (20-of-31)
• Army made 12 three-pointers on the afternoon, eight of which came from Rucker
• Committing just one first-half turnover, the Black Knights limited their turnovers to eight

 
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks make their long-awaited home debut on Thursday, when they host former conference mate Boston University. Prior to the 7 p.m. tip, Hartford will raise its first-ever America East Championship banner.
 
Tickets can be purchased by calling 860-768-HAWK or by clicking here.

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