WEST HARTFORD, CT – Briggs McClain scored 20 points to guide the University of Hartford Hawks past the visiting Houghton University Highlanders on Saturday afternoon, 98-32.
 
The Hawks are in the midst of the first year of their transition from NCAA Division I, where they were most recently members of the America East conference, to the NCAA Division III.
 
While the Hawks counted the competition as an official contest, because of the difference in classification, Houghton was allowed to list the competition as an exhibition match.
 
Hartford scored the first eight points of the game and never trailed, outscoring the Highlanders, 58-16, over the first 20 minutes. 
 
While Houghton's defense tightened a bit in the second half, they struggled to find offensive momentum throughout the game, shooting only 22 percent throughout.
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 32 | Hartford – 98 (Exhibition)
Records: Houghton: 0-4 | Hartford: 2-3
Venue: Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion | Attendance: 147

NOTABLE STATS
>> Esafe Taufahema led the Highlanders with 10 points, going 3-for-7 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line.  Koen Rolleman added nine points.
 
>> Houghton went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
 
COACH'S CORNER
"We schedule these exhibitions to raise our level of play, expose weaknesses we need to fix, and get us focused on playing possession to possession basketball. This trip did all that. Our Highlanders handled the challenge well. 
 
"Hartford ran great stuff and made shots at an incredible clip. We got good looks, but just haven't been able to either deliver the ball on-time/on-target or knock down the open shot. Now, we have a couple weeks before our home opener to work on that." - Head Coach Jeremy Bialek

UP NEXT
Following Thanksgiving Break, the Highlanders will return the Nielsen Center for the home-opening matchup again Mt. Aloysius on Friday, December 2 at 7:00 p.m.  The two teams have not played each other since they both joined the NCAA.