The University of Hartford Men’s basketball team is going to the NCAA March Madness Tournament this year. Last Saturday, the Hawks went to battle with number six seed UMass Lowell for the America East Championship. Hartford missed out on last year’s championship game due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were eager and ready to win it all.

Tip-off commenced and UMass put up a quick two points, but Hartford responded with a 10-0 run, where they held the River Hawks to a pitiful 0-10 shooting from the field. The teams exchanged shot for shot, with the River Hawks pulling within one, making the score 17-16. Hartford held the last laugh as they went on a final run to take a 23-18 lead into the half.

Following halftime, UMass Lowell came out swinging, hitting shot after shot to take a 23-22 lead with seventeen minutes left to play in the game. With the game tied up at 31, Grad student Traci Carter capped off a 7-1 run with two back-to-back jumpers to give the Hawks a 39-32 lead with just 11:53 left to play.

The River Hawks closed up the gap to within three points, but a clutch 10-0 run kept them at bay. With just six minutes left in the game, Hartford saw themselves with a comfortable 52-39 lead, but they did not let up. The Hawks kept their foot to the floor and pulled out a 64-50 win over the UMass Lowell River Hawks.

This year’s team will go down in the school history books as this was the first time in school history that our men’s basketball team won the America East Championship. That wasn’t the only history made, as this team clinched their first-ever March Madness tournament birth.

Our Hartford Hawks are set to face the number one seed Baylor Bears this Friday, with tip-off set for 3:30 P.M. inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. We’ll be rooting for our boys from afar, but the school spirit is more alive than ever.