WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Hartford men's basketball team kicked off the 2025-26 season on Friday night defeating the College of Wooster by a 89-84 final. The Hawks were led by junior Kyle Winters (Corte Madera, Calif.) and senior Drew Stack (Madison, N.J.) who combined for 12 three-pointers in the win. 

Rapid Recap:

• Winters kicked off his Hartford career fast drilling the opening bucket as the Hawks got off to an early 10-8 lead. The home team would continue the fast start as Stack would also net a triple as the lead stayed with the hosts by a 15-12 margin with 14:07 to play. The Fighting Scots would jump in front over the next several minutes of game action, but Winters answered with another trifecta as the game was 24-24 with just under seven minutes to play in the half. Both teams would trade baskets over the final minutes of the first, but a late 8-2 run by Wooster gave the visitors a 40-34 lead headed into the break. 
• The Fighting Scots stayed hot coming out of the second half tunnel pushing the lead to double-digits with 17:54 remaining. The Hawks would counter with an 11-1 run highlighted by five points for senior Kent Olewiler (York, Pa.) as the game was knotted again at 47-47. Wooster would get back on the upper hand pacing the lead back to ten points with 10:16 to play. Winters and Stack would try and chip away on the Scots lead but the deficit stayed at 68-59 with 6:17 to play. Stack would get the crowd back into the game with back-to-back triples followed by a highlight dunk for sophomore Jaron Broomfield (Bronx, N.Y.) as the Wooster lead was cut to just two. After a huge three by the Scots, Stack would once again get the Hawks in front with back-to-back threes as Hartford would get the 73-72 advantage with 3:59 left. After a huge defensive stop, Winters would get his turn to bury a clutch three to extend the lead to two possessions. Junior Kaosi Chijioke (Suwanee, Ga.) would put the game away with seven points in the final three minutes as Hartford pulled off the 89-84 victory. 

Post Game Press:
"We got a lot of guys that can really shoot the basketball", said head coach Aaron Toomey. "We are going to play to that strength for sure and I think as more teams start to close out differently to us we are going to be able to attack that differently too. We are a pretty versatile team on the offensive end and we are happy to have a lot of guys that can make plays."

"I mean the guys found me when I was open tonight and I am always ready to shoot", said junior Kyle Winters (Corte Madera, Calif.). "I came out confident in that first half and took it from there. Want to give credit to Wooster they are a great team, but my guys found me and the shots were falling."

Inside The Numbers:

• Winters led the Hawks in his Hartford debut scoring 28 points (9-17 FG, 6-10 3PT, 4-6 FT) to go with four assists and four rebounds. Stack caught fire in the second half ending with 22 points (7-17 FG, 6-14 3PT, 2-3 FT) to go with three assists.
• Chijioke ended the night with a double-double with 14 points (2-9 FG, 0-3 3PT, 10-12 FT) and 11 rebounds. Broomfield added huge minutes with seven points (3-5 FG, 0-2 3PT, 1-2 FT), seven rebounds and three steals, while junior Joshua Petion (Bronx, N.Y.) filled the stat sheet with two points (1-2 FG), seven assists, four rebounds and two steals. 
• Quincy Jones led the Fighting Scots in the loss scoring 18 points (8-14 FG, 2-5 FT) to go with seven rebounds, while Jaiden Cox-Holloway added 15 points (5-11 FG, 3-8 3PT, 2-2 FT) and nine rebounds. 
• Hartford won the game from behind the arc making 13 triples in the win at a 38.2% clip. Wooster dominated the painted area outscoring the Hawks 52-30. Hartford would also find success in the fast break outscoring the visitors 23-11 on the run. 

Up Next:
The Hawks will travel to Poughkeepsie, New York to take place in the Vassar tournament starting on November 14th against Colby-Sawyer College. 

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