Statistics
Senior Day Ceremony Photos
Highlights
BIDDEFORD, Maine – The University of New England secured a spot in the 2026 Conference of New England Men's Basketball Tournament as the final buzzer sounded on Coach Beaudry's Court Saturday afternoon, with the Nor'easters hanging on for an 81-78 win over the University of Hartford.
UNE finishes its regular season with a 12-13 overall record, including an 8-8 conference mark, and will be the No. 6 seed – lined up to visit No. 3 Suffolk in a first round matchup on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. The Rams put together a 10-5 record in the Conference of New England and were 15-10 overall.
The Hawks (13-12, 7-9), who trailed by as much as 16 in the second half, had a chance to hit a 3-pointer and force overtime, but missed the mark twice as UNE locked down its first playoff berth since the 2021-22 season. Hartford would have claimed the No. 6 seed, eliminating UNE from contention, had it completed the comeback.
Jayden Thornton knocked down six of the Nor'easters' eight total 3-pointers on his way to a team-high 22 points.
Adrian Torres, who hit a clutch fadeaway in the final minute, followed with 18 points, plus seven assists.
Kha Cao Ra James led UNE with 10 rebounds.
Hartford's Kyle Winters scored a game-high 24 points, going 10-for-16 from the floor and 4-for-8 from deep. Kaosi Chijioke recorded a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double, helping the Hawks to a 40-33 advantage on the glass. Hartford also had a better showing from beyond the arc, connecting on 10 of its 29 attempts, while UNE hit two fewer on the same number of tries. Turnovers proved to be troublesome for the visitors, having committed 18 – twice as many as the Nor'easters.
UNE began building a lead in the first half, eventually holding a 46-40 edge at the break. The Nor'easters threatened to run away with it early in the second half with a 58-42 lead after a triple from Thornton, but the Hawks soon responded with a 15-2 run to trim the deficit to one (65-64).
Julius Silva hit a 3-pointer at the 8:11 mark to help UNE regain some momentum, and the lead stayed above one possession until the final two minutes.
With under a minute to go, and following a missed free throw by the Hawks, Torres drove to his left, spun to his right and nailed a fadeaway jumper from the free throw line at the end of the shot clock, giving UNE a 78-73 lead. Hartford still had its chance in the final seconds, down by three, with a clean look from the right wing for Winters that hit nearly every part of the rim before bouncing out. Chijioke came up with the rebound and put up a prayer from the corner as time expired.
Connor Curcio,
Derek Diaz-Pavon,
Zach Federico,
Jimmy Hulland,
Adam Lux
