WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Hartford Men's Basketball held host to Curry College in their final home game of the 2025-2026 season and took care of business, defeating the Colonels by the score of 86-77
Rapid Recap:
- Hartford came out of the gates firing, as the back court duo of freshman Ben Miller (Milford, Conn.) and senior Drew Stack (Madison, N.J.) took control of the Hawks offense early. Of Hartford's first 20 points, the two combined for 16 of them, picking up eight a piece through the first seven minutes of action. The Hawks were not just rolling on offense, as both junior Kaosi Chijioke (Suwanee, Ga.) and junior Zach Skinner (Berlin, Conn.) teamed up to play stifling defense, holding the Colonels at bay. Curry seemingly had no answers for the Hawks as the lead grew to 20 points with 6:48 in the first half. The script started to flip shortly after however, as the Colonels would cut the lead to single digits over the course of the next five minutes of action. Hartford would enter the half time locker room with some momentum after a Chijioke dunk and a Miller lay to close out the first 20 minutes with the score at 43-28 in favor of the home squad.
- Even after the half time break, Miller did not lose his touch, scoring the first six points for the Hawks in the second period, building on the Hawks already comfortable lead. Although it looked like Hartford was going to run away with this one, the Colonels brought forth a spirited effort, slashing the lead all the way down to just six at 58-52 with 11:44 to go. Sophomore River Eberhardt (Berlin, Conn.) recaptured the Hartford momentum however, driving home a layup and picking up an old fashioned three point play. Eberhardt and the Hawks would keep on rolling, growing their lead with each passing minute. With just under eight minutes to go, Stack sent home his sixth three of the game, bringing Hartford's lead back into double digits. From there, the Hawks were able to melt away the clock, hitting their free throws and bringing home the victory by the score of 86-77.
Post Game Press
"Its pretty tough when all of us are on, so I think it is just trying to figure out how to get that happening as much as possible, it'll make it tough on teams" Stack said. He continued saying "The playoff hopes are still alive, we have to win the next couple but we just have to take it game by game."
"It was an important one for us obviously, knew that coming in, and I think the guys really responded to that. I was pleased with the effort they showed for the most part tonight, and we worked for great shots on the offensive side and that's one of the things we have been preaching that in practice, continuing to work for great not good and I think tonight was a step in the right direction" head coach Aaron Toomey said.
Inside the Numbers:
- Miller led the way for the Hawks on offense, dropping 25 (8-13 FG, 1-3 3PT, 8-10 FT) with three boards and four assists. Stack followed with 20 (6-7 FG, 6-7 3PT, 2-3 FT) and Eberhardt followed with 18 (6-10 FG, 0-3 3PT, 6-9 FT).
- Tommy Mallinson led the Colonels with 20 points (8-14 FG, 3-6 3PT, 1-2 FT) two rebounds and three assists. Isaiah Andino followed with 16 (5-11 FG, 3-3 3PT, 3-5 FT) and Nethaniel Clemente dropped 14 (7-12 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-2 FT).
- Hartford led for every second of the matchup, mounting a lead that at one point grew to as large as 20 points.
- The Hawks had two separate players in double digit +/-, with Stack finishing at 13 and Eberhardt finishing at 11.
- Hartford currently sits in the 7th seed in the CNE Playoff Picture with all signs pointing to a win or go home game on February 21st against the University of New England.
Up Next:
Next time out, Hartford travels out to Beverly, Mass. for a matchup with Endicott College. Tip off is set for 3:00 pm on Saturday, February 14th.
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