Junior Brigg McClain's step-through jumper from the free throw line rimmed out as time expired, and the University of Hartford saw its upset attempt fall by the wayside with the 58-57 loss to Saint Peter's Tuesday inside Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion.

Hartford's defense was suffocating for most of the second half, holding the Peacocks to just 4-of-16 from the field over the final 13-plus minutes. Unfortunately, basket number four came with 8.6 seconds remaining to lift SPC to the win.

It was the aforementioned-defensive effort that enabled the Hawks to get back into the game as they forced seven straight misses in completely erasing a nine-point deficit. Hartford eventually took a three-point lead with a 17-5 run. During the game-changing spurt, graduate Jared Kimbrough was a force. He went to the line in four of five possessions. In all, Kimbrough drew seven fouls in the contest. He went 5-of-8 in those trips to the charity stripe and finished 5-of-10 on the game. As a team, Hartford was 17-of-26 from the free-throw line.

Early on it was the duo of McClain and graduate Pano Pavlidis that was responsible for the heavy offensive lifting for the Hawks. They combined for 18 of the Hawks' 32 first-half points.

McClain finished with 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting with five rebounds and two steals, while sophomore Kurtis Henderson added 13 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and two assists.

INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• McClain has now reached double figures in 10 of the team's 12 contests.
• It's the sixth time this season Henderson has reached double-digits.
• Michael Dunne led the way with a positive plus/minus at plus-five.
• Hartford connected on 4-of-23 from beyond the arc and connected on just one of their last 17 attempts.
• Saint Peter's held the 45-33 edge on the glass, including a 20-9 advantage in offensive boards. The 20 offensive rebounds netted the Peacocks 15 second-chance points.
• The game featured eight ties and six lead changes.

NEXT ON TAP

Hartford stays home to host Saint Francis College Brooklyn 4 p.m. Saturday. It will be the second of three meetings between the two teams with Saint Francis claiming the first meeting 68-50 on December 6.