WEST HARTFORD, Conn.  - The Hartford men's basketball team defeated Rivier University in a tense matchup this Saturday afternoon closing it out with a score 76-72. This game brings their season to 4-1 overall and built a two-game win streak.

Rapid Recap:

• The Hawks opened this game up with deep threes as senior Kent Olewiler (York, Pa.) sunk back-to-back threes to set the tone for this first half. The Raiders would get the next run with eight points added to the board with big plays made by Theo Briscoe and Izaiah Shaw-Glen to now lead the Hawks 11-10. The Hawks stepped up their defensive game forcing turnovers from the Raiders hands to set up freshman Ben Miller (Milford, Conn.) to drain two threes in quick succession to push the differential up six points. Junior Leonard Pelzer (Berlin, Germany) drove through two defenders to find the net and work off some quick passes in the paint. The two teams traded shot for shot as we moved through this opening half no team able to get to a comfortable lead. Teams tied up with three minutes to go as junior Kyle Winters (Corte Madera, Calif.) found some space and drove to the hoop, 31-31. Miller made every second count with just six seconds on the board stole the ball out of Raiders' Robinson Baguidy's hands to drive down the lane and earn an and-1 to get the fans on their feet. Winters tallied his three-point play with consistency at the line taking the Hawks out of this first half up 37-34.
• The teams found themselves at another stand-still 38 points a piece just two minutes into the second half. The Hawks turned to their defensive power as Winters forced Raiders' errors to collect a turnover and find the hands of senior Drew Stack (Madison, N.J.) to finish their fastbreak up 45-42. Winters worked his magic around the arc to drop big threes with assists made by teammate Stack. This gave the Hawks their biggest lead of the game up now 11 on the Raiders. The Raiders used their timeouts to recollect and built up a seven point run. Tensions rose as the clock winded down the Hawks found themselves in foul trouble sending the Raiders to the line to close down the lead to just one point. The Hawks were tactical as they moved through the last ten minutes forcing errors when needed. Broomfield collected big rebounds in the paint to keep possession and found Winters to put it away now 75-70 with 30 seconds remaining. The Raiders were desperate and relied on their fouling team to bring this differential down. The Hawks handled business and Stack drained the last point at the line taking this win at home, 76-72.

Post Game Press:
"It was a great team effort today," said sophomore Jaron Broomfield (Bronx, N.Y.). "I thought staying composed and together helped us win, we have a strong core and we love each other. I think my defense was a big improvement from last year, the one word I would use to describe my game is maturity. I matured and knew what to do to sacrifice and get to this point. I need to continue to stay consistent and do my job."

"I thought we did enough to win, that has been the story of the last two games we played," said Head Coach Aaron Toomey. "I don't think we played our best today, especially on the defensive end, but we did enough to win. That is what its all about, you're not going to have your A-game everyday but to find ways to make plays when it matters most adn we did that on both ends.Both Winters and Broomfield were huge for the team today, Jaron on the defensive end rebounding the ball when we needed him."

Inside The Numbers:

• Winters was a powerhouse for the Hawks today scoring 24 points (11-19 FG, 2-6 3PT, 0-2 FT) grabbing five boards and one steal. Miller tallied 16 points (5-8 FG, 3-4 3PT, 3-3 FT) making three assists and collecting one steal. Broomfield registered big points all over the court, he took home 12 points (4-8 FG, 1-4 3PT, 3-3 FT) picking up 11 rebounds, one assist, and taking four steals. 
• Baguidy led the Raiders with 18 points (6-17 FG, 0-3 3PT, 6-9 FT) grabbing two rebounds and adding nine assists.
• There were 12 lead changes in this game, Hawks lead in fastbreak points 14-8 but teams were pretty even with points in the paint with Hawks adding 34 with Raiders tallying 30.

Up Next:
The Hawks will hit the road to face off against Mitchell College this Tuesday with a tip of 5:00 p.m.

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