WEST HARTFORD, CT - The NJIT men's basketball team was defeated 83-62 by host Hartford in America East action on Saturday afternoon at the Reich Pavilion.

With the victory, Hartford improved to 10-18 on the season and 8-8 in America East action, while the Highlanders are now 11-17 overall and 6-11 in conference play.

The teams traded buckets early as Traci Carter and Souleymane Diakite scored first for their respective teams to make the score 2-2.

DJ Mitchell answered Diakite's basketball with a three-pointer to put the Hawks ahead 5-2 and they led for the duration of the contest.

Hartford led 43-25  at halftime as it shot 57.7% from the field, including 66.7% (9-of-15) from deep in the first 20 minutes.

The Hawks increased their lead to as many as 24 in the second half before ultimately winning by the 21-point margin.

Da'Mir Faison was inserted into the NJIT starting lineup for the first time this season and second time of his career and the redshirt sophomore made the most of it, scoring a career-high 11 points on an efficient 5-of-8 shooting performance.

Mekhi Gray led the Highlanders in scoring for the second-straight game, tallying 15 points, just one shy of his career-best. Faison and Gray were joined in double figures by Miles Coleman, who finished with 11 points.

Kjell de Graaf led the Highlanders in rebounds with six, while Gray was tops on the team in assists, dishing out a career-high four.

David Shriver led Hartford with 23 points and was joined in double figures by Mitchell (17 points) and Briggs McClain (11 points).

The Highlanders wrap up their 2021-22 regular season slate on Tuesday when they travel to take on Stony Brook. Tip-off is slated for 7pm on Long Island.