WEST HARTFORD, Conn.  - The Hartford men's basketball team fell short as they faced off against the University New England Nor'easters this Saturday, with a final score of 94-87.
 
Rapid Recap:

• Hartford opened with a five-point run over the Nor'Easters as junior Kaosi Chijioke (Suwanee, Ga.) dropped a big three with a cross court pass by junior Kyle Winters (Corte Madera, Calif.). The Nor'Easters quickly took back control forcing turnovers on the Hawks and converting driving up the lane. Adrian Torres for UNE was tough to stop on fast breaks and floating jumpers in the paint. The Nor'easters built up a 13-point lead over the Hawks ten minutes into the first half. Freshman Ben Miller (Milford, Conn.) connected on set pieces and put away free throws when the team needed him to. The Nor'easters were aggressive and didn't let up attacking the glass and the Hawks were unable to close the gaps. The differential continued to increased as the clock ticked down making it more difficult for the Hawks to build significant momentum. Despite a late push by sophomore Cooper Galdenzi (Clinton, Conn.) and  senior Drew Stack (Madison, N.J.) sinking threes in the final minutes the Hawks headed into halftime down 15, 50-35.
• In this second half, the Hawks continued to struggle slowing down the Nor'Easters. Jayden Thornton for UNE dropped a dominant deep three to open the scoring, and built their lead up to 20. The Hawks attempted to chip away their lead with junior Joshua Petion (Brooklyn, N.Y.) collecting offensive boards and finishing layups but the Hawks were still down 61-45 with 15:06 to play. Hartford would get three 7-0 runs over the next 10 minutes to get the lead all the way down to 76-68 with 5:40 left. UNE would respond jumping the lead back up to double-digits where it would stay until there was 25 seconds left. The Hawks would get as close as five points, but would fall by a 94-87 margin. 

Inside The Numbers:

• Miller led the Hawks with 26 points (7-14 FG, 2-6 3PT, 10-13 FT) to go with seven rebounds and two steals. Petion contributed 21 points (9-14 FG, 3-8 FT), six boards and three steals. Winters added six points (2-10 FG, 0-6 3PT, 2-2 FT), seven rebounds and four assists in the loss. 
• Adam Lux led UNE with 27 points (9-20 FG, 2-6 3PT, 7-7 FT) and seven rebounds. Adrian Torres added 19 points (8-14 FG, 3-5 FT), seven steals, four assists and three boards. 
• The Nor'easters had a 26-14 points off turnovers margin and a 48-40 points in the paint advantage. 
• The Hawks now sit two games behind UNE for a chance to make the Conference of New England (CNE) playoffs. 

Up Next:
The Hawks will continue to host this upcoming Wednesday, February 11th with a tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
 
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