BURLINGTON, Vt. — For the second time in as many seasons, the Hartford men's basketball team is heading to the Championship Game of the America East Playoffs, as the fourth-seeded Hawks upended No. 2 Vermont, 71-65, Saturday afternoon inside Patrick Gymnasium. The title game, which will be played Saturday, March 11, at 11 a.m. on ESPN2, features a pair of underdogs, as No. 6 UMass Lowell came from behind to take down No. 1 UMBC earlier today.
Senior
Austin Williams and grad student
Traci Carter each had a hot hand, combining for 47 points for the Hawks, who held off a late charge from Vermont. With the win Hartford improved to 14-8 on the season, while Vermont ended its campaign with a 10-5 record.
PHOTO GALLERY
#4 HARTFORD 71, #2 VERMONT 65
The Hawks took a 32-31 lead into the break after a Williams layup in the final seconds and used a 20-9 run to push ahead by as many as 11 with 11:18 left in the game. Vermont stormed back, though and pulled within two on three occasions.
With 12 seconds remaining, Vermont's Isaiah Powell knocked down a jumper to make it 67-65, but Carter and Williams iced the game for the Hawks with a combined 4-for-4 effort from the free-throw line in the closing seconds.
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES
- Williams (25 points) and Carter (22) became the first Hartford tandem to score 20+ points in the same game this season
- Williams scored 18 of his points in the opening half, while Carter dropped 16 of his points in the final stanza
- Junior Hunter Marks added nine points
- Each of the seven Hawks who checked into the game scored at least three points
- The Hawks had a hot hand all game, shooting a season-high 62.8 percent (27-of-43), including 68.4 percent in the second half
- Hartford was stellar from behind the arc as well, going 10-of-19 for 52.6 percent
- Hartford heads to the Championship Game of the America East Playoffs for the second time in as many seasons
- It marks the first time that the Hawks make back-to-back trips to the title game, and the program's third-ever appearance in the championship game
- This marks the first time in program history that Hartford hosts a championship game
- The victory, which snapped a five-game skid against Vermont, marked the Hawks' first-ever win against the Catamounts in the postseason
- The Hawks have won each of their past four games and, with the victory, extended their postseason winning streak to five straight
- Three Catamounts finished in double figures, led by Ryan Davis' 16 points
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks head to the Championship Game of the America East Playoffs next Saturday to take on sixth-seeded UMass Lowell. Tipoff from Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN2.
