Statistics

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of Hartford closed with the final 11 points to clip the University of New England, 63-62, in men's basketball action at Coach Beaudry's Court inside the Harold Alfond Forum on Tuesday night (Jan. 2).

The Nor'easters, who led for more than 35 minutes in the contest, assumed their largest cushion (62-52) with 3:20 still to play but came up empty of their last six possessions. Kaosi Chijoke (2), Henry Herman (3), and Stephen Akwiwu (2) chipped away at the deficit for the Hawks, and, with 51 seconds left, Trayon Rumley nailed a deep trey to knot things at 62-62. After a miss by UNE, Akwiwu had a driving layup blocked into the hands of Chijoke, who was fouled during the put-back attempt with 1.0 on the clock. Chijoke made the first free throw and missed the second into a UNE timeout with 0.7 showing, but the 3/4 court heave fell short.

Hartford is the newest member of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) but is still in the process of reclassifying from Division I to Division III, and so the game does not count towards the 2023-24 league standings.

The Hawks (5-6) were led by the 18 points from Herman. Rumley added 14 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, while Akwiwu supplied 12 points and 16 boards. Beluolisah Oranye contributed 11 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks, and the remaining eight points came from Chijoke.

Included in Hartford's 48-37 edge on the boards were 22 offensive caroms, which helped a 24-11 scoring difference in second-chance points.

For the Nor'easters (5-6), Adrian Torres and Jayden Thornton went for 18 and 13 points, respectively. Adam Lux notched a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, while junior guard Jack Pyzynski registered 12 points in his UNE debut following a transfer from Franklin Pierce University.

The hosts were up 9-2 after 5:35 of action, but needed a late triple from Pyzynski to gain a 28-25 edge at halftime. Four times Hartford led by one prior to the midway mark of the 2nd period (40-39), only to see six from Thornton spark an 11-2 stretch that set UNE ahead, 50-42. A three-pointer by Rumley trimmed the gap to 55-51, but Thornton from long range and a Pyzynski layup soon pushed the margin to its peak.

Next up for the Nor'easters will be a visit to Suffolk University on Thursday.