LOWELL, Mass. -- Malik Ellison scored a career-high 26 points with 13 rebounds and Traci Carter scored 17 and Hartford beat UMass Lowell 80-68 on Wednesday night.

Hartford (9-8, 2-0 America East) finished 30-of-60 shooting and had a 36-28 rebounding advantage.

The Hawks took the lead for good with a 21-6 run during a little more than a 4-minute span and led 70-56 with 7:11 remaining. The run started on Carter's 3-pointer and ended with his jump shot. Christian Lutete scored eight straight wrapping a pair of 3s around a layup and Obadiah Noel made two foul shots to reduce the deficit to 70-66 but UMass Lowell never got closer.

Hartford now has five of its last six games following a five-game losing streak.

Lutete led the River Hawks (7-10, 1-1) with 26 points and Noel scored 19. UMass Lowell has dropped four of its last five

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