Hartford v. St. Peter's Game Recap: Battle of the Birds Goes to Hawks

Sunday's game against St. Peter's showed two sides of Hartford basketball: the aggravated and frustrated team from two years ago and the level-headed team that started to surface near the end of last season.

The first half was slightly less than disappointing for the Hawks. Even though they held the Peacocks scoreless until the first media time out, their heads just weren't in the game. Mark Nwakamma, undoubtably the most talented player on this Hartford squad, committed six turnovers and two fouls in the first half alone. When your best player can't seem to get going, it 's not hard for the rest of the team to follow suit.

St. Peter's took advantage of the nine first-half turnovers and grabbed plenty of rebounds to rattle Hartford into more mishaps than anyone liked. The Peacocks' Marvin Dominique picked up 14 rebounds by the end of the game, about half of the total rebounds for Hartford as a team.

In the second half, Hartford picked themselves up, shook off the first half, and came out ready to fight. The Hawks went on a 10-0 run to take the lead with 8:40 left. Triples by Taylor Dyson and Wes Cole and a layup by Oren Faulk tied the game at 41. With a layup by Nwakamma, they took the lead back and held it for the win. They finally found their rhythm.

Though the Hawks managed only seven threes against the Peacocks, most were in the second half, and came from five different players. All but two Hawks who stepped on to the court made it onto the board. While their first half is something to work on, they've shown that they can rally together when needed to get the win.