Men’s Basketball Downs Hartford, 78-55

BOSTON – Thanks to a 29-3 first half Rams run, Suffolk men's basketball cruised by Hartford, 78-55, in Conference of New England (CNE) action Wednesday night at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 78 | Hartford 55
RECORDS: Suffolk (9-5, 5-2 CNE) | Hartford (4-10, 2-5 CNE)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
The playing field leveled for the third time on the night at 18-all at the 13:38 mark. Suffolk put on a shooting clinic from there as it outscored the Hawks, 29-3 over the next 7:30 to build a 26-point, 47-21 cushion.  

Hartford fought back with six unanswered to trim the deficit down to 20 with 2:10 left on the clock in the first half.  

Back-and-forth action closed the action before the intermission to send Suffolk into the locker room up 51-31.  

Suffolk's hot offense from the first half cooled off out of half time, which allowed the Hawks to claw back within 13, 62-49, at the midway point of the second stanza. 

Out of a Rams' timeout, Keenan Robertson knocked down a triple, his fifth of the night, to ignite an 8-0 run that restored the 20-plus-point advantage in Suffolk's favor, 70-49, with 7:03 left on the clock. 

The blue-and-gold found itself in foul trouble and the Hawks aimed to capitalize. Fortunately for Suffolk, Hartford never found its offensive grove and the Rams managed to lock up the conference win.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Robertson finished with a game-high 25 points on a 10-for-17 showing from the floor that included a 5-for-8 effort from, downtown. He added seven caroms, five helpers and two blocks. 
• Nick Verdile assembled a 15-point, four-assist, three-steal, two-rebound night. 
• Jake Gomez did not miss from the floor. The senior logged 14 points on a 6-for-6 showing from the field. His stat line featured five boards, two swats and one takeaway as well. 
• Cole LeVangie had an all-around effort of eight points, all of which came in the second half, six rebounds, two blocks and one helper. 
• Devin Dzikas chipped in eight points, seven rebounds, two handouts and one steal off the bench.
• Suffolk shot 60.0 percent (18-30) in the first half including a 50.0 connection rate (9-18) from beyond-the-arc in the first 20 minutes. 
• The Rams finished the game with a 49.2 conversion rate (29-59) from the floor and a 70.0 percent (7-10) showing at the charity stripe. 
• The Rams out rebounded the Hawks, 41-36. 
• Suffolk turned its eight offensive boards into 12 points.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk remains unbeaten all-time against Hartford. 
• The Rams improved to 3-0 all-time versus the Hawks. 
• At home, Suffolk moved to 2-0 in Boston against Hartford. 
• James Meklis recorded his first collegiate points. 
• Robertson matched a career-high 3-pointers made with five. 
• Dzikas grabbed a personal-best seven rebounds. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk wraps up the week at Wentworth Saturday, Jan. 18 at 12:00 p.m.