WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — A career day from senior guard Austin Williams propelled the fourth-seeded Hartford men's basketball team to a victory in the opening round of the America East Playoffs on Saturday, as the Hawks took down ninth-seeded Binghamton, 77-60, inside Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion. Tying a career high in scoring with 29 points, Williams added a personal-best 15 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
 
Hartford improves to 12-8 on the season with its third straight postseason victory, while Binghamton ends its season with a 4-14 record.

PHOTO GALLERY
 


#4 HARTFORD 77, #9 BINGHAMTON 60
The Hawks got off to a hot start from long range, knocking down four three-pointers within the first seven minutes of action to run out to an 18-9 lead. The threes continued to fall for Hartford, as grad student Traci Carter's second of the game pushed the lead into double figures for the first time at 21-11 midway through the stanza.
 
Binghamton would pull within six on five-unanswered points, but a half-ending 9-5 run sent Hartford into the halftime break with a 34-24 advantage. Nearly half (14) of Williams' points came during the opening session, as the guard was 5-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three, at intermission.
 
The Hawks picked up where they left off in the second half, opening the stanza with a 15-6 run to push the advantage to 49-30. Williams accounted for eight points during that spurt, which gave Hartford its largest advantage of the game. 
 
Binghamton mustered up one final run and pulled within nine with 11:37 to go on 10-unanswered points, but Hartford countered over the next three minutes with an 8-0 run to secure the win and a quarterfinal appearance.
 
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• Williams had a hot hand, going 10-of-15 from the floor, 3-of-4 from three and 6-of-7 from the line
• His 15 rebounds are the most recorded by a Hawk this season
• Marks and sophomore Miroslav Stafl also scored in double figures, netting 11 points apiece
• Stafl added a career-high five assists to his stat line
• The Hawks shot 46.8 percent from the field, including 38.5 percent from behind the arc
• Defensively, Hartford held Binghamton to just 17.1 percent shooting from long range (6-for-35)
• The Hawks have won 10 straight games against the Bearcats
• With last year's America East Championship Game not being played due to COVID-19, Hartford has won its past three postseason games, defeating UMass Lowell in the quarterfinals and Stony Brook in the semifinals

 
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks advance to the quarterfinal round of the America East Playoffs on Sunday to face the winner of No. 5 UAlbany/No. 8 NJIT. Tipoff from Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion is set for 3 p.m.

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