As a last-second three-point attempt from the landed into the hands of a Gordon defender, the University of Hartford men's basketball team suffered the 71-68 loss to the Fighting Scots Saturday inside the Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion.
 
Hartford had a chance to tie or take the lead on the previous possession but turned it over with 11 seconds remaining. The attempt came on the heels of the Hawks forcing a turnover with 18 seconds.  Gordon left the door slightly ajar for the Hawks, making just one of two from the foul line with eight seconds remaining, but Hartford couldn't capitalize on the opportunity.
 
Things didn't look great as the Hawks by seven with three minutes remaining. But stellar defense allowed Hartford to stay in the game as they didn't allow a single field goal for the rest of the game. Freshman Jaylen Brown connected on a three-pointer and freshman Stephen Akwiwu had a putback layup to pull Hartford to within two.
 
Six times in the second half Hartford either tied the game or took the lead and on the ensuing possession Gordon had an answer, four of those answers were in the form of three-pointers. The Fighting Scots tied a season-high with 11 three-points, making a season-high 52.4 percent (11-of-21).
 
Gordon raced out to a fast start with 15 of the first 20 points and led by as much as 12 in the first half. Hartford went on an 11-2 run to pull to within two, but the Fightin' Scots were fouled on a three-pointer, making all three. After Hartford missed a pair of free throws, Gordon scored at the buzzer on an out-of-bounds play.
 
Brown scored a career-high 18 points on 5-of-12 shooting and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. Akwiwu missed a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds, while freshmen Kaosi Chijioke and Joshua Petion had 10 points each.
 
Senior Beluolisah Oranye pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.
 

INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• Oranye has double-figure rebounds in six games this season.
• Henry Herman led the team with six assists.
• Akwiwu and Petion each had three steals.

 
WHAT'S NEXT
Hartford (6-11 overall, 4-6 CCC opponents) travels to Nichols 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Hawks fell 78-71 in the first meeting on November 29.