THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: Hartford 80, Gordon College 63
RECORDS: Hartford (2-0); Gordon College (0-1)
LOCATION: Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (West Hartford, Conn.)
PHOTO GALLERY
 
THE LEAD:
 
Five Hawks scored in double figures on Sunday afternoon, as the University of Hartford men's basketball team improved to 2-0 on the season with an 80-63 oust of Gordon College inside of Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion. Redshirt-junior John Carroll led the Hawks in scoring for the second-straight outing, netting 15 points, and senior Hassan Attia contributed his third career double-double on 13 points and 10 rebounds.
 
FIRST HALF:
 
Thirteen first-half points from Attia helped the Hawks build a nine-point advantage at the break. His dunk in the early minutes of the game put Hartford up, 7-2 before four-straight points from the senior made it 19-13 with 14:55 remaining.

The offense continued to roll for the Hawks, as they used a 7-0 run capped by a putback by  Carroll to boost their advantage to nine at 26-17 midway through. The Scots wouldn't let the game get too far out of reach in the half, though. A trio of three-pointers from Eric Demers kept the visiting team within striking distance, and Garrisson Duvivier closed the gap to 43-34 before the break with a pair of free throws.
 
SECOND HALF:
 
A hot start in the second half translated into a quick 20-point lead for Hartford with 15:21 to go in contest. Carroll, who contributed seven points to a half-opening, 17-4 run, pushed the lead to 60-38 with a layup at the 11:43 mark.

Hartford took its largest lead of the game – a 22-point edge – on a George Blagojevic three-pointer with 7:57 to go. A five-minute stretch of hot shooting allowed the Scots to close the gap to 13 (76-63), but they wouldn't come any closer in the final minutes.  
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Junior Jason Dunne, senior Jack Hobbs and junior Travis Weatherington rounded out the Hawks' double-figure scorers with 11 points apiece. Dunne extended his double-digit scoring streak to eight games.
• Junior J.R. Lynch recorded a career high in assists, dishing out a game-best eight while committing just one turnover for Hartford.
• Making his collegiate debut, freshman Jalen Knight scored three points and handed out three assists in 10 minutes.
• Demers and Duvivier did the bulk of the scoring for the Fighting Scots, combining for 45 points.
• Demers led all scorers with 23, while Duvivier had a game-best 12 rebounds to finish with a double-double.
• The Hawks controlled the boards with a 45-38 advantage.
• Hartford shot 44.9 percent on the afternoon, going 31-of-69. From three, the Hawks outscored the Scots, 33-15, behind a .379 clip.
• Gordon College capitalized from the free-throw line, going 70.6 percent (12-of-17). The Hawks struggled from the line, turning in a 7-of-16 effort (.438).

 
NEWS & NOTES:

• Hartford's 2-0 start marks the program's first since 2003-04. Since turning Division I in 1984-85, the Hawks have posted three other 2-0 starts.
• Sunday's contest marked the first-ever meeting between Hartford and Gordon College.

 
NEXT ON TAP:
The Hawks open up a three-game road trip at Rider on Wednesday evening. Tipoff from Lawrenceville, N.J, is set for 7 p.m.