A Thrilling Tournament for Hartford Men's Basketball

Andres Torres launches a three-point attempt during Sunday's semifinal against Vermont. Photo by Jeff Feldmann.

Coach John Gallagher shouts instructions to his players. Photo by Jeff Feldmann.

The student section of Chase Arena was packed for Sunday's semifinal game against Vermont. Photo by Jeff Feldmann.

President Walter Harrison waves a cutout of himself from the bleachers. Photo by Jeff Feldmann.

The University of Hartford men’s basketball team made it to the semifinals of the America East Championship for the second straight season, but ultimately lost to Vermont Sunday evening in a thrilling double- overtime game in front of thousands of cheering fans at Chase Arena.

The sixth-seeded Hawks earned a trip to the semifinals after upsetting No. 3 Boston University, 53-49, in the quarterfinal round on Saturday evening. It was the second straight season, and the third time since 2008, that the Hartford men earned a trip to the semifinal round of the America East Championship.

The Hawks moved on to play the second-seeded Vermont Catamounts in Sunday evening’s semifinal match. The Catamounts grinded out a 77-73 victory after two overtimes, and will face top-seeded Stony Brook in the America East title game on Saturday (March 10).

Sunday’s nailbiter of a game drew a crowd of 2,644 and featured 26 lead changes. Four players reached double figures in the scoring column for the Hawks Sunday, led by Andres Torres. The veteran point guard scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting while tying a season-best in steals with five. In addition, with three assists, Torres closed out his career tied for second place in Hartford history with 331 helpers.

For complete coverage of Sunday's game and all of the Hawks' tournament match-ups, visit www.hartfordhawks.com.

The game ended the careers of four Hartford seniors, as Clayton Brothers, Genesis Maciel, Andres Torres, and Charles White played their final game in the Scarlet and White.

“(I) tip my hat to Hartford, that was a heck of a game, just a great basketball game," said Vermont head coach John Becker. "It was a great college environment and it was really just great to be part of it.”

Hartford Women Fall to Binghamton

The Hartford women, meanwhile, saw their championship hopes dashed in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament, falling 48-45 to the Binghamton Bearcats on Friday evening at Chase Arena. The loss for Hartford is the first quarterfinal loss since the 2004 season. The Hawks were led by junior Ruthanne Doherty, who finished with her 10th straight game in double figures with 15 points, while also grabbing 10 rebounds for her fifth double double of the season.

Hartford’s Third Time as Host

The University of Hartford has been a college basketball mecca for the past four days, as host of the 2012 America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship presented by Newman’s Own. The tournament took place from March 1-4 at Chase Arena in the Reich Family Pavilion, bringing players, coaches, and fans from the nine America East schools to campus.

This is the third year that the University of Hartford has hosted the America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship. Hartford has been hosting the event since 2010, which marked the first time in America East history that the men’s and women’s tournaments were combined at the same venue.