Milton, MA - Curry men's basketball secured their first Conference of New England (CNE) victory in a high intensity battle against University of Hartford on Wednesday night. After leading by as many as 13, the Hawks crawled back late to try and steal the game, but Jake Bernardo's bucket in the final seconds earned the Colonels a 70-68 win at home. 

Curry set the tone in the opening half, shooting nearly 50 percent from the field while establishing control inside. Bernardo asserted himself early, scoring in a variety of ways and finishing the night with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Jeremiah Predin complemented the effort with aggressive drives and activity on the glass, helping Curry take a 36–30 lead into halftime.

Hartford responded in the second half by increasing its defensive pressure and attacking the offensive boards. The Hawks pulled within one possession multiple times, fueled by a strong performance off the bench from Ben Miller, who led all scorers with 22 points. Despite Hartford's push, Curry continued to find timely baskets to maintain its narrow edge.

Predin delivered a well-rounded performance for the Colonels, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Manny Hidalgo added a near double-double of his own nine points and a 10 rebounds, helping Curry to win the overall rebounding battle 51-45. Tommy Mallinson contributed seven points, seven rebounds, and four assists while logging heavy minutes in the backcourt.

The game remained tense down the stretch as Hartford pulled even at 68-68 with just about 30 seconds left. After Curry saw Tommy Mallinson fail to connect on his pullup jumper to seal the victory, they retained possession with about three seconds to go. That was just enough time to get the ball into Bernardo as he spun into the paint and used a soft touch to secure the Colonels upset. 

Off the bench, Isaiah Andino provided a lift with 12 points on efficient shooting, while James Scali knocked down a pair of three-pointers to give Curry valuable momentum swings in the second half. Curry finished the night shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from deep, while limiting the opponents to under 30% and 20% in those categories. 

With the victory, Curry improves to 5-10 and hopes to build momentum going into Saturday's road matchup at Gordon College.