Quinnipiac men’s basketball defeated Hartford 82-77 in the Connecticut 6 Classic on Saturday to start its season off with a win. It is the second consecutive season that Quinnipiac has bested Hartford to kick off its campaign.

Ike Azotam led the way for the Bobcats with 20 points and 13 rebounds, good for his first double-double of the season. Yolonzo Moore II added 22 points of his own for the Hawks, but the contributions from Zaid Hearst proved to be what the Bobcats would need.

Hearst went 4-4 from the free throw line in the final minute, helping the Bobcats complete the comeback in a game in which they trailed by double-digits early on.

“After every practice we work on free throws,” Hearst said. “We’re always enforcing becoming a better free throw percentage team.”

Coach Tom Moore said it was an instance of Hearst’s work ethic paying off.

“He’s the hardest working kid in our program on his game,” Moore said. “It’s great to have a kid who works that hard on his game get rewarded by making those shots.”

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