FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart men's basketball team rallied from a late three-point deficit to force overtime Saturday against the Hartford Hawks at the Pitt Center, but could not overcome the Hawks' hot shooting in the extra period in an 87-79 loss.

Sophomore Quincy McKnight led all scorers with 20 points, his fifth 20-point game of the season. He also led SHU with five assists and four steals. Joseph Lopez was 8-for-9 from the field for 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds. De'von Barnett had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.

It was Hartford (2-7) that got off to a fast start Saturday, jumping out to a 13-4 lead in the first 8:28 on the strength of five points from J.R. Lynch. Sacred Heart used an 11-1 run over a stretch of 3:30 midway through the half to take a 21-19 lead. McKnight, Matej Buovac, and Chris Robinson all made threes during that stretch. The Hawks responded with a 9-0 run, sparked by two Jack Hobbs threes, to go up 28-21 with 1:55 remaining in the half. Hartford led 30-25 at the half.

Sacred Heart (3-5) used a 12-5 run in 3:30 to tie the game 37-37 on a pair of McKnight free throws.  With Hartford up two, 41-39, with 14:03 to play, the Pioneers went on a 19-2 run over the next 6:12 to take a 58-43 lead. SHU was 7-for-10 from the field during that go-ahead spurt, forcing four Hartford turnovers.

The Hawks cut into the Pioneers' 15-point lead with an 11-0 run over the next 2:44, as a Hassan Attia dunk put the score at 58-54 with 5:07 remaining. The Pioneers were able to push the lead back to six, but Hartford took back the lead at the 1:13 mark as a Jason Dunne three-pointer gave the Hawks a 70-67 lead.  After Lopez split a pair of free throws to make the score 70-68 with 1:07 to play, Hartford's John Carroll missed a pair of foul shots to give SHU a chance to tie. With 0:35 left in regulation, McKnight drove for the tying layup and converted. Hartford had two chances to win the game in regulation but missed both shots.

Hartford opened overtime on an 8-2 run with back-to-back Lynch three-pointers giving the Hawks a 78-72 lead with 3:33 to go. Robinson cut the lead in half with a free throw and a layup, making the score 78-75 with 3:01 remaining. Hartford then got threes from Hobbs and Dunne to go up nine, 84-75, with 1:48 to play. McKnight made a layup on SHU's next possession to cut the lead to seven, but that's as close as the Pioneers would get. The Hawks were 5-for-6 from the field in overtime, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the three-point arc.

SHU shot 43.9% from the field for the game, as the Hawks shot 46.8%. Hartford shot 51.9% from the three-point line. The Pioneers outrebounded the Hawks 42-38. Hobbs led Hartford with 18 points and eight rebounds. Lynch added 14 points and eight rebounds.

The Pioneers are back at the Pitt Center Tuesday night when they take on UMass Lowell at 7 p.m.