WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Hartford (12-10, 5-2 America East) used a 10-0 run midway through the second half to gain separation and the host Hawks made 11-for-12 free throws in the final 2:42 to hold off Binghamton men's basketball (8-13, 2-6 AE) 73-57 Wednesday night at Chase Arena.

The loss overshadowed a superb performance from freshman forward George Tinsley, who tallied a career- and game-high 25 points. Tinsley scored 17 of those in the second half to help the Bearcats keep pace. His 3-pointer with 9:27 left brought BU to within four, 46-42. But the Hawks used that double-digit run to take a 56-42 lead with 6:40 left and BU couldn't draw any closer than nine the rest of the way.

Tinsley hit seven of his first eight shots (6-of-7 from 3-point range) and played an exhausting 40 minutes – the ninth time this season he's gone the distance. He ranks fifth in the nation in minutes played.

"We had an uneven performance tonight," head coach Tommy Dempsey said. "We just didn't have enough in the tank. Obviously George had a hell of a game but it just wasn't meant to be. We just didn't get enough done."

Freshman guard Brenton Mills and sophomore guard Sam Sessoms had 11 and nine points, respectively.

Hartford made 18-of-24 from the free throw line, including 17-of-20 in the deciding second half.

In a low-scoring first half, BU used a 9-2 run to forge ahead 22-21 with 3:02 left. But Hartford scored the final seven points of the half, including a rebound-layup at the horn to take a 28-21 lead into the locker room. The Bearcats hit 8-of-12 from inside the arc in the period but only converted 2-of-12 from 3-point range. Sessoms and Tinsley had eight points apiece to pace the offense.

Binghamton has the bye weekend on the schedule and doesn't play again until next Wednesday at Albany.
 
NOTES
Sessoms entered the game with 962 points and now is within 29 points of reaching the 1,000-point mark for his young career. He will be just the seventh player in the 41-year history of the America East Conference to reach the milestone as a sophomore.