VESTAL, N.Y. — Things looked good for the Hartford men's basketball team early, but a big shift in momentum allowed Binghamton to come away with a 74-64 win inside the Events Center on Monday. The Hawks led by as many as 19 in the opening half, but couldn't keep pace in the second as the Bearcats stormed back with a 25-1 run to take a lead they would not relinquish. 
 
Jakob Falko and Christian Hinckson scored 22 and 20 points, respectively, to lead Binghamton, which improves to 8-8 overall and 5-2 in the America East. Senior Austin Williams scored in double figures for the 12th straight game (16 points) to pace Hartford (3-12, 1-2 AE).  
 
BINGHAMTON 74, HARTFORD 64
Hartford was running on all cylinders in the first half. Jumping out to a 7-0 lead to open the game, junior Moses Flowers and senior David Shriver contributed five points apiece to a 10-0 run that extended the advantage to 28-13 with 8:53 left in the stanza. Making 5-of-6 to start the game, the torrid shooting continued, as graduate student Traci Carter and senior D.J. Mitchell knocked down Hartford's fifth and sixth three-pointer of the night to double the Hawks' advantage to 38-19 at the 4:25 mark.
 
The final four minutes of the half belonged to Binghamton, though. During that stretch, the Bearcats outscored the Hawks by a 12-2 margin to close the gap to single digits at 40-31 at the break. After intermission, Hartford regained a double-digit lead at 47-36 on a Mitchell layup and a Carter triple, before falling victim to a massive momentum swing by Binghamton.
 
The Hawks — who shot 50 percent from the field in the opening stanza — was held scoreless for more than seven minutes and without a field goal for more than eight minutes. During that stretch, the Bearcats went off for 19-unanswered points to claim a 55-47 lead with 10:51 to go. The shooting difficulties continued for Hartford, and Binghamton capitalized, as it pushed ahead by as many as 13 (61-48) with 9:30 to go.
 
The Hawks would manage to close the gap down to six on a 7-0 spurt capped by a Shriver three with 6:22 left, but they wouldn't come any closer down the stretch. 
 
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• Flowers recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season
• Mitchell rounded out Hartford's double-figure scorers with 12 points
• After a hot first half that saw the Hawks go 15-of-30 from the field (6-of-15 from three), the Hawks were held to an 8-of-27 clip in the second half (29.6%)
• Holding an 11-3 advantage on the offensive glass, the Bearcats recorded 17 points off second-chance opportunities
• George Tinsley pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for the Bearcats
• The Bearcats' win was their first in the series since Jan. 25, 2017
• During that stretch, Hartford posted 10 straight wins against Binghamton

 
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks and Bearcats square off again in less than 48 hours, as the teams head to West Hartford for a Wednesday evening matchup. Tipoff from Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion is set for 7 p.m. 
 
Due to the rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in the region, guest spectators will NOT be permitted inside Chase Arena at this time. ONLY student spectators and University of Hartford faculty and staff will be allowed to attend home basketball games during the month of January.

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