WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Senior Austin Williams scored a career-high 34 points as the Hartford men's basketball team stunned Vermont, 75-74, in overtime on Monday evening. After Vermont tied the game at buzzer in regulation, Moses Flowers made the game-winning basket with one second left, giving the Hawks the win.
 
Hartford (7-16), improves to 5-6 in America East action. Vermont, who suffered their first loss in America East play this season, falls  to 20-5 overall and 12-1 in the league.
 
HARTFORD 75, VERMONT 74 OT
The Hawks began to pull away early, draining back-to-back triples, taking a 6-2 lead at the 16:06 mark. Vermont would pull back within one, but a Williams layup extended the Hawks lead back to four. The two teams battled back-and-forth, with neither side gaining a clear advantage. Hartford would turn that around though, exploding for a 13-0 run, taking a 25-13 lead with 8:24 remaining. The Hawks spread the ball around during the run, as David Shriver, Jared Kimbrough, Michael Dunne and Moses Flowers all contributed to the Hawks gaining their largest lead of the half. The Catamounts would get back within single digits, but a Shriver three followed by a Carter pull-up jumper gave the Hawks its double-digit lead back, 33-21 at the five-minute mark. Vermont would close the gap to three, 33-30, but the Hawks used another late 8-2 run, capped off by a Dunne triple, taking a 41-33 lead into the halftime break. The Hawks 41 points were the most scored in the first half this season.
 
Vermont started the second half hot, going on a 7-2 run to cut the Hawks lead to three, 43-30. The Catamounts continued to fight back, tying the game at 50-50 at the 10:55 mark. After Vermont took the lead, Hartford started to claw its way back, retaking the lead, 61-59, after a Moses Flowers three. Hartford and Vermont continued to trade the lead until a Williams driving layup knotted the score at 65-65 with 50 seconds remaining. Williams would come up clutch in the final seconds, netting a pair of free-throws, but Ben Shungu scored a tip-in at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
 
Flowers stole the show in overtime, starting things off with an and-one driving layup, giving the Hawks the lead. Flowers followed up the and-one with a triple, giving the Hawks a 73-69 lead with 3:22 left in overtime. Shungu would tie the game at 73-73 before giving the Catamounts a 74-3 advantage with 15 seconds left after a made free throw. Flowers would step up again late, making a tip-in layup of his own in the final seconds, lifting the Hawks to a 75-74 win.

INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• The loss was Vermont's first in conference play this season
• Williams led all scorers with a career-high 34 points
• The total was the most by a Hawk in a single game this year
• Williams also hauled in aa team-high eight rebounds and dished out a game-high six assists
• Flowers joined Williams in double figures, finishing with 18 points
• The Hawks outshot the Catamounts, 49.2 percent (29-of-59) to 41.7 percent (25-of-60)
• Hartford also outshot Vermont from beyond the arc, 50.0 percent (12-of-24) to 37.5 percent (12-32)
• The Catamounts held a 36-31 rebounding advantage

 
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks remain home for a matchup with Maine on Wednesday. Tipoff from Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion 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: Twitter | Instagram