Hartford wins America East, advances to 1st NCAA Tournament
AP
Mar 13, 2021
Hartford Hawks, Conn. (AP) Austin Williams scored 20 points with eight rebounds and three steals, and Hartford earned an automatic bid to its first NCAA Tournament, beating UMass Lowell River Hawks 64-50 on Saturday in the America East championship.
Fourth-seeded Hartford was in the title game for the second straight season after last year's contest against Vermont was canceled due to COVID-19. The Hawks upset the second-seeded Catamounts this year in the semifinals to make it the first time in tournament history the title game didn't include either of the top two seeds.
Sixth-seeded UMass Lowell won its first-ever Division I postseason game in the opening round and also knocked off top-seeded UMBC in the semis when Connor Withers matched a tournament record with nine 3-pointers.
After a slow 30 minutes, with Hartford leading 39-37, the Hawks went on an 18-4 run to build a 16-point lead. Hunter Marks scored seven points during the run, and the River Hawks went without a field goal for 6:29.
''Eleven years ago, I got this and I said `Let the dream begin,''' Hartford coach John Gallagher said. ''There were a lot of nightmares to get to this point. So many people to thank but this program, this neighborhood that we built, is so special. To put it into words is really hard. But we're dancing.''
Traci Carter added 16 points and Marks finished with 14 for Hartford (15-8). Miroslav Stafl had 10 points and eight rebounds.
Obadiah Noel had 15 points and eight rebounds for UMass Lowell (11-12). Kalil Thomas added 11 points, and Withers had nine points and 11 rebounds. Noel was 5 of 15 from the field, and Withers 3 of 13 as UMass Lowell shot 29.5%, including 7 of 34 from distance.
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1st Half
LOW
River Hawks
18
HART
Hawks
23
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
(River Hawks gains possession)
19:53
+2
Salif Boudie makes two point layup (Obadiah Noel assists)
2-0
19:39
Austin Williams misses two point driving jump shot
19:37
Obadiah Noel defensive rebound
19:32
Obadiah Noel misses two point jump shot
19:31
Hawks defensive rebound
19:09
D.J. Mitchell misses two point jump shot
19:07
River Hawks defensive rebound
18:47
Connor Withers misses two point jump shot
18:45
Austin Williams defensive rebound
18:23
+3
Traci Carter makes three point jump shot
2-3
18:06
Bryce Daley misses two point jump shot
18:04
Salif Boudie offensive rebound
18:02
Salif Boudie misses two point layup
18:00
Hunter Marks defensive rebound
17:34
Salif Boudie blocks Austin Williams's two point jump shot
17:32
Connor Withers defensive rebound
17:27
Obadiah Noel turnover (lost ball) (Traci Carter steals)
17:24
Traci Carter offensive foul
17:24
Traci Carter turnover
17:03
Bryce Daley misses three point jump shot
17:01
Hawks defensive rebound
16:37
Allin Blunt shooting foul (Austin Williams draws the foul)
16:37
+1
Austin Williams makes regular free throw 1 of 2
2-4
16:37
+1
Austin Williams makes regular free throw 2 of 2
2-5
16:19
Austin Williams blocks Allin Blunt's two point layup
16:17
Thomas Webley defensive rebound
15:58
+3
Hunter Marks makes three point jump shot (D.J. Mitchell assists)
2-8
15:43
Connor Withers misses three point jump shot
15:41
Bryce Daley offensive rebound
15:40
PJ Henry personal foul (Bryce Daley draws the foul)
15:40
TV timeout
15:36
Obadiah Noel misses two point pullup jump shot
15:34
Thomas Webley defensive rebound
15:02
Hawks turnover (shot clock violation)
14:53
Darion Jordan-Thomas turnover (bad pass)
14:15
Traci Carter misses three point jump shot
14:13
Connor Withers defensive rebound
13:57
Obadiah Noel turnover (bad pass)
13:40
+2
Miroslave Stafl makes two point turnaround hook shot (Austin Williams assists)
2-10
13:24
PJ Henry personal foul
13:22
Kalil Thomas misses three point jump shot
13:20
Austin Williams defensive rebound
13:15
Hunter Marks misses three point jump shot
13:13
Obadiah Noel defensive rebound
13:01
Connor Withers misses two point driving layup
12:59
Traci Carter defensive rebound
12:42
Hunter Marks misses two point driving layup
12:40
Obadiah Noel defensive rebound
12:33
Kalil Thomas misses three point jump shot
12:31
Hawks defensive rebound
12:10
Traci Carter turnover (lost ball) (Connor Withers steals)
11:55
+2
Kalil Thomas makes two point pullup jump shot
4-10
11:37
Hunter Marks misses three point jump shot
11:35
Kalil Thomas defensive rebound
11:27
Obadiah Noel misses three point jump shot
11:25
Michael Dunne defensive rebound
11:01
Hunter Marks misses two point layup
10:59
Austin Williams offensive rebound
10:55
Austin Williams misses two point layup
10:55
Michael Dunne offensive rebound
10:55
Austin Williams misses three point jump shot
10:53
Hawks offensive rebound
10:53
Obadiah Noel personal foul (Michael Dunne draws the foul)
10:53
TV timeout
10:50
Traci Carter misses three point jump shot
10:48
River Hawks defensive rebound
10:48
Hunter Marks personal foul
10:27
+2
Max Brooks makes two point layup
6-10
10:07
Miroslave Stafl misses three point jump shot
10:05
Anthony Blunt defensive rebound
9:39
Anthony Blunt misses two point jump shot
9:37
Austin Williams defensive rebound
9:15
Max Brooks blocks Miroslave Stafl's two point jump shot