NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Sophomore Wes Cole scored a team-best 12 points and classmate Yolonzo Moore II added 10 to lead the University of Hartford men's basketball team to a 60-51 win at Yale at John J. Lee Amphitheater on Thursday evening. The Hawks, who have won two-straight and their last three against in-state opponents, improve to 3-3 overall, marking the program's best start through six games since the 2006-07 season.

The Hawks enjoyed a balance attack offensively as Mark Nwakamma, John Peterson and Nate Sikma each had eight points while two others, Evan Cooper and Jamie Schneck, finished the evening with six points each. Sikma added eight rebounds to his total while Nwakamma handed out a team-best four assists.

The first half was a low scoring affair for both teams as the Hawks carried a 21-18 advantage into the intermission.  After a slow start in which Hartford and Yale combined to shoot 0-of-5 from the field, The Hawks broke open a 5-5 deadlock by outscoring the Bulldogs, 8-2, to grab a 13-7 lead.

Yale didn't allow Hartford's advantage to last long, though, as it scored the next nine points to claim what would be its largest lead of the game (3) at 16-13 with just over four minutes to go.

The Hawks ended the half by scoring eight unanswered points, five of which came from Peterson on a floater in the lane and a long three, to push ahead by five before Brandon Sherrod trimmed the Bulldogs' deficit to three and provided the halftime score of 21-18 after making a pair of free throws in the final seconds of the stanza.

Everything clicked for Hartford out of the halftime break as it came out of the locker room to score 17 of the first 19 points of the stanza. That run allowed the Hawks to snag a 20-point advantage over Yale at 40-20 with 14:40 to go. Sikma, who had all eight of his points during that offensive outbreak, made two treys and a layup while Moore and Nwakamma also contributed to that run with five and four points, respectively.

That Hawks' lead was extended to as much as 23 points at 46-23 after Cole hit nothing but nylon from downtown with 12:24 remaining. Yale put together a run of its own, however, as it outscored Hartford, 18-3, over the next seven minutes to cut its deficit to just seven points at 49-42 at the 4:03 mark.

Cole's second three of the period was delivered as the perfect time, as it pushed Hartford's lead back to double digits at 10 with 3:30 left to play in regulation. With 2:08 remaining, Javier Duren hit a pair of free throws to close the gap at 52-44 before Cole struck again, providing the dagger with another three-pointer in the next possession to put the Hawks up by 11.

In the final 90 seconds, the Hawks converted on all but one of their six free throw attempts to preserve the lead and hold on for the triumph.

Austin Morgan, who was held to six first half points, finished as Yale's scoring leader with 15 points while Sam Martin connected on 4-of-5 of his shots from downtown for 12 points.

The Hawks' defense held Yale to 29.8 percent shooting on the evening (14-of-47) including a 22.7 percent clip in the first half. Hartford, which turned in a season-best second half effort from the field of 55.0 percent, finished the game shooting 45.5 percent from the field (20-of-44), including 42.9 percent from behind the car (9-of-21).

Hartford snapped a span of winless road games against Connecticut opponents with the victory, as it had not beaten an in-state team outside of the Chase Family Arena since posting a 59-55 defeat of Sacred Heart on Dec. 14, 2008. The win also broke up Yale's four-game winning streak against the Hawks.

The Hawks return to action on Sat., Dec. 1 by welcoming Holy Cross into the Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion. Opening tip between the Hawks and Crusaders is set for 7:00 p.m.