BANGOR, Maine — Senior
Austin Williams scored 14 of his team-high 20 points in the second half to lead the Hartford men's basketball team to a 78-66 win at Maine inside the Cross Insurance Center on Monday. Landing four players in double figures, the Hawks shot a season-best 60.5 percent from the field in the victory, including a stifling 70.0 percent in the second stanza.
The Hawks (5-12), who have won each of their past two games, improve to 3-2 in America East action. Receiving a game-high 23 points from Maks Klanjscek, the Black Bears dip to 1-7 in conference play and 4-15 on the season.
HARTFORD 78, MAINE 66
Masic and the Black Bears got off to a hot start out of the gates. Three straight threes — including a pair from Masic — ignited an 11-0 run that put Maine up by 11 early with 16:27 to go. But frequent trips to the free-throw line allowed Hartford to chip away at its deficit. Going 5-of-5 from the line to bring the Black Bears' lead down to four, the Hawks, who went a perfect 9-for-9 from the stripe in the first half, pulled even at 18-18 on back-to-back buckets by senior
Austin Williams.
The two teams exchanged punches from there, but Hartford would deliver the final blow over the last three minutes. In the closing seconds of the stanza, senior
Jared Kimbrough capped a half-ending 9-2 run that sent the Hawks into the break with slight 37-36 edge.
After going 52.2 percent from the field in the first half, Hartford was even more efficient in the final stanza, converting at a blistering .720 clip to maintain the edge. Heating up during the opening part of the half was Williams, who scored eight of his points within a three-minute stretch to give the Hawks some breathing room at 52-46 with 12:04 left.
The Black Bears didn't fold, though, as they quickly closed the gap to one at 53-52 using a 6-1 spurt. But Hartford held off the Maine run with a stretch of extremely hot shooting over the next 5:32. Going 6-of-6 from the field, 3-of-3 from three-point range and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line, the Hawks outscored the Black Bears by a 17-7 margin to go up, 70-59, and put the home team away for good with 3:40 to go.
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES
- Williams, who netted his team-best fourth 20-point outing of the season, extended his double-figure scoring streak to 14 games on Monday
- Williams was on fire all night, going 8-of-10 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line
- He added nine rebounds, as Hartford and Maine finished even in the category with 27 apiece
- The Hawks were solid from downtown as well, turning in a 47.1 percent effort (8-of-17)
- After Maine knocked down its first three three-point attempts, Hartford's defense held the Black Bears to a 4-of-23 clip to close out the game (17.4%)
- Graduate student Hunter Marks scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, while junior Moses Flowers and senior David Shriver rounded out the Hawks' double-figure scorers with 14 points apiece
- Shriver had a hot hand from three-point land, knocking down four triples
- The Hawks have won three straight against the Black Bears and improve to 49-32 in the all-time series
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks remain north for their next contest, when they head to New Hampshire to face the Wildcats on Wednesday. Tipoff from Lundholm Gymnasium is set for 7 p.m.
For an inside look at Hartford men's basketball, stay with HartfordHawks.com for updates and follow the team on social media:
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