EVANSTON, Ill. —The Hartford men's basketball team buckled down in the final stretch to take down Big Ten opponent Northwestern, 67-66, on the road on Sunday. Graduate student
Malik Ellison scored a team-best 16 points, while sophomore
Hunter Marks (10 points) netted the game-winning bucket with just over one second remaining to lead the Hawks to their third straight win.
Hartford moves to 7-7 on the season while Northwestern (0-2 Big Ten), which was led by Miller Kopp's game-high 24 points, dips to 5-7 overall.
HARTFORD 67, NORTHWESTERN 66
A hot first half, including a 4-for-5 start from the floor, put Hartford in control for most of the opening stanza. Behind 61 percent shooting, the Hawks pushed ahead by as many as seven on a four-point play from sophomore
D.J. Mitchell, before taking a 37-31 lead into the break.
Hartford continued to lead for most of the second half, but the Wildcats stormed back to take a 58-57 lead on Kopp's fourth three-pointer of the half with 5:30 remaining. Kopp would give Northwestern its largest lead — a five-point advantage at 66-61 — with less than two minutes left before Hartford rallied for six-unanswered to take the win.
Stafl ignited the game-ending run with a layup, and following a rare second-half miss by Kopp, Marks made it a one-point game with a strong take to the rim. A
Traci Carter steal on the defensive end granted the Hawks one final possession with 10.1 seconds remaining, setting the scene for Marks' game-winning shot with less than two seconds left.
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES
- Hartford's win over Northwestern marks its second against a Big Ten opponent, as the Hawks defeated Rutgers, 60-58, on Dec. 28, 2017
- The Hawks' three-game winning streak marks a season-best rally
- Ellison shot 8-for-10 from the floor to finish two points off his career high of 18, set against Sacred Heart
- Corralling a team-high nine rebounds, Stafl also finished in double figures, registering 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting
- The Hawks outscored the Wildcats in the paint with a 38-24 advantage
NEXT ON TAP
Hartford concludes non-conference action with a New Year's Eve matinee at Bowling Green. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m.
