Standish, ME - The men's basketball team opened up their season with two games this past weekend on Friday and Saturday. They fell to Saint Joseph's College of Maine on Friday by a score of 88-81 and then dropped a 90-73 contest to the University of New England the following day. The Hawks slip to 0-2 to start the season with their home opener on Tuesday, November 17.

Brian Kruger led the way, averaging 17.5 ppg between the two games; 21 of which came against Saint Joseph's. Robert Ashamole also averaged double figures with 10.5 ppg. Robert Borusiewicz and Matt Franks made their presence felt down low by grabbing a combined 28 boards.

SJC Recap
Kruger's 21 point performance led three of his teammates into double-digit scoring with Ashamole and Borusiewicz tallying 15 and 14 points a piece. Alex Mattina rounded out the scoring quartet with 11.

The Hawk's went back and forth with the Monks for a good duration of the opening half, leading on four occasions and going ahead by no more than four points. With 6:36 left to play in the first, two made free throws by Andrew Ruffen gave the Monks a 32-31 lead which sparked a devastating 21-4 run to close the half. The Hawks went cold and missed their final nine field goals and were plagued by three turnovers and several fouls down the stretch.

A 16-point halftime deficit grew to as much as 18 within the opening two minutes of the second. However, they chopped away at St. Joesph's lead and cut it down to 13 at the 12:59 mark. Over the next four and a half minutes, their efforts paid off as they outscored the hosts by 15-6, and trailed by just four points. However, the lead was short lived as the home team managed to hold off the charging Hawks, ultimately winning 88-81.

UNE Recap
Kruger, Franks and Vuyisile Beschta each tallied 14 points apiece in the loss while Hunter's bench accounted for 35 of their 73 total points.

The Purple and Gold got off to a slow start, missing on their first four shots and turning the ball over three times in the opening 3:17. Their struggles continued as they found themselves at a 16-point disadvantage, 20-4 by the 13:33 mark. However, their offense began firing on all cylinders and with 2:18 left to play in the first act, Hunter was down by just a deuce, 35-33. A triple by UNE's Gavin Dibble sent the game into halftime with the Nor'Easters up by five.

UNE's hot shooting in the second pushed their lead to double figures. Despite the Hawks shooting .476 from the field in the second, it was no match for their counterparts hitting on 17 of 30 attempts from the field with seven of them coming from beyond the arc. A nine-point difference ballooned to as much as 21 which proved to be too much to overcome as the Hawks suffered their second loss, 90-73.

The Purple and Gold return to action on Tuesday, November 17 when they host Rutgers-Newark at the Sportsplex at 7:30pm.