WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The Hartford men's basketball team dropped an 81-66 decision to Saint Francis (PA) inside Reich Family Pavilion. Junior
Moses Flowers scored a game- and season-high 23 points for the Hawks, who were unable to complete the comeback despite slashing a 25-point second-half deficit down to seven.
Prior to the game, the teams honored Jack Phelan, who was a Hall of Fame coach at Hartford and a Hall of Fame student-athlete at Saint Francis. With the defeat, the Hawks fall to 1-9 on the season, while the Red Flash improve to 4-5 with the win.
BOX SCORE
SAINT FRANCIS (PA) 81, HARTFORD 66
Going 8-of-9 from inside the three-point circle to open the game with a 16-9 lead, Saint Francis pushed the margin to 21-9 with its first three-pointer and free throws of the night. The Red Flash, who scored 16 points off 11 Hawks' turnovers, continued their hot shooting, going 64.5 percent from the field to take a 46-23 lead into the break.
Saint Francis expanded the lead to 25 within the first minute of the second half before Hartford went to work. Knocking down a trio of three-pointers, including a pair from senior
Michael Dunne, the Hawks quickly trimmed the deficit down to 16 at 52-36 with 17:08 left to play. Later in the half, Hartford scored nine-unanswered points within a three-minute stretch to close the gap to 62-55 with 8:54 remaining.
The Hawks wouldn't come any closer, though, as the Red Flash halted the comeback and put the game away with a 14-4 run.
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES
- The contest marked Hartford's second home game of the season
- Saint Francis finished the game shooting 52.3 percent from the field (34-of-65)
- The Hawks went 44.1 percent from the floor, but turned in an 8-for-34 effort from three-point range (23.5%)
- The Red Flash scored 26 points off of Hartford's 18 turnovers
- Williams, who dished out a game- and career-high seven assists, finished with his second double-double of the season (13 points, 10 rebounds)
- Saint Francis received 24 points off the bench, led by Josh Cohen's 15 points
- The Red Flash broke a 1-1 deadlock in the all-time series between the teams
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks return to the road for their final three non-conference games, beginning with a short trip to neighboring rival Central Connecticut on Saturday. Tipoff from Detrick Gymnasium is set for 1 p.m.
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