BIDDEFORD, Maine - The Hartford men's basketball team fell just short to the University of New England on Saturday as the Nor'Easters pulled off a late game-winner to hold off the Hawks.

Rapid Recap:

• The teams were even at 5-5, but sophomore Kaosi Chijioke (Atlanta, Ga.) continued to keep the Hawks in front with an old fashioned three-point play. After another basket from Chijioke put the lead at 12-9, freshman Troy Santos (Taunton, Mass.) netted a deep three to get the lead to six. Hartford continued to thrive in the early going pushing the lead to 21-11, but the Nor'Easters did not go away pouring in six-straight to trim the deficit to four. After a bucket by freshman Chidera George (Atlanta, Ga.), Santos took off scoring eight-consecutive points as the Hawk lead blossomed to 33-20 with 6:22 to play in the first half. UNE continued to chip away in the next stretch cutting the deficit to just 37-34 with 2:10 to play. Santos would score the last six points for the Hawks as they took a seven-point lead into the break. 
• The Nor'Easters and Hawks traded buckets in the early going of the second half, but the home team got the advantage taking a 50-49 lead with 15:22 to play. Junior Drew Stack (Madison, N.J.) netted three free throws to jump the Hawks back in front as the teams traded buckets. Sophomore Joshua Petion (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added four free-throws while Chijioke and freshman Jaron Broomfield (Bronx, N.Y.) each added buckets part of a 8-5 Hawk run to trail by just a single point with 8:06 to play. Santos and the Hawks jumped back into the lead with 1:33 to play with a jumper, but the Nor'Easters responded. Troy continued to will the Hawks hitting a step-back three-pointer that was later changed to a two-point basket as the Hawks took a 79-78 lead with 27 ticks to play. UNE took the lead with 14 seconds left and after a costly turnover put the game away with free throws. 

Inside the Numbers:

• Santos posted a new career-high with 28 points (10-20 FG, 3-10 3PT, 5-6 FT) including 21 first half points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Chijioke tallied 17 points (6-15 FG, 0-2 3PT, 5-9 FT), 13 rebounds and an assist. Petion continues to ball with 16 points (4-9 FG, 8-14 FT), nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks, while Stack added 11 points (2-6 FG, 1-4 3PT, 6-6 FT). 
• Jack Pyzynski paced the Nor'Easters with 28 points (10-14 FG, 1-3 3PT, 7-7 FT) to go with six rebounds and three assists. Adam Lux added 19 points (5-12 FG, 3-7 3PT, 6-6 FT), seven rebounds, four steals and three assists. 
• The lead would change 12 times overall in the game, with the final change coming with 14 seconds to play.

Up Next:
The Hawks will host Western New England University on Tuesday with a 7:30 PM start in Chase Arena. 

For the latest information on Hartford Athletics follow the Hawks on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.