University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
6-3
Sacred Heart University
5-4
Men's Hoops Stifled By Sacred Heart, 73-60
12/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Sophomore Daniel Dion (Cedar Park, Texas) and freshman Tanner Leissner (Converse, Texas) scored 12 points apiece as the University of New Hampshire men's basketball team fell to Sacred Heart University 73-60 Saturday evening from William H. Pitt Center.
UNH drops to 6-4 on the season while Sacred Heart improves to 6-4. The Pioneers stay unbeaten in the all-time series against the Wildcats, 4-0.
Dion scored all 12 of his points in the first half, shooting 3 of 13 overall while nailing all four of his freebies. Leissner also finished with 12 points (6-for-11) and eight rebounds.
Cane Broome scored 25 points (10-for-11) for the Pioneers to lead all scorers. Evan Kelley also found his stroke, connecting on 6 of 10 shots for 16 points on the night. Kelley also gathered three rebounds and dished out two assists.
UNH shot .338 from the field and .238 from beyond the arc. In the second half the 'Cats shot .412 overall. The Wildcats collected 40 rebounds to Sacred Heart's 35. The Pioneers scored at a .528 clip and .333 on threes. Sacred Heart recorded five steals and six blocks on the night.
The 'Cats were outscored in the paint 44 to 30 but bested the Pioneers in second chance opportunities 17-2. From the bench, New Hampshire put up 18 points compared to Sacred Hearts 17 in the contest.
The two sqauds exchanged baskets early in the game that saw four lead changes and three ties in the first 11 minutes of play. Scoring from sophomore forward Jacoby Armstrong (Sachse, Texas) and Dion kept it close. Dion found the bottom of the net in the half nailing back-to-back buckets to propel a 13-11 lead with 11:43 left in the first frame. Armstrong finished with six points and five rebounds.
With the 'Cats leading by five (21-16) and 8:49 showing in the opening half, the Pioneers went on a 19-4 run to lead 35-25 at halftime. Broome paced the run with a 3-pointer and two layups while Evan Kelley totaled four points.
To open the second stanza, following a Pioneer bucket, Leissner made a layup off his own miss at 18:53 to pull back within 10, 37-27. After UNH went on a 6-1 to cut the lead back to single digits at 42-33, Sacred Heart scored three straight to regain a twelve-point advantage with 16 minutes left in the game.
The Wildcats went on a 16-9 push, narrowing the deficit to 46-43 on another Leissner layup with 12:48 showing on the clock. Threes from Sophomore Jaleen Smith (Freeport, Texas) and senior Matt Miller (Arnold, Md.) sparked the offense. Armstrong nailed two free throws as well. Miller finished with seven points (3-for-8) and Smith totaled 10 (4-for-8) on the night.
Sacred Heart answered with a 10-0 run. Tevin Falzone hit four free throws within a minute span to extend the lead to 60-45 with just under eight minutes to play.
UNH did what they could to get back into the thick of things. John Edwards (Charlotte, N.C.) and Leissner finished the scoring with five and four points respectively in the last 3:20 in the second half. Edwards scored five points off the bench (2 of 5) in just 12 minutes of action.
Up next, the Wildcats look to extend their home record to 5-0 against LIU Brooklyn at Lundholm Gymnasium Monday, Dec. 22 (7 p.m.).
To purchase tickets for upcoming games visit UNHWildcats.com/tickets or call (603) 862-4000. For the latest news and information on the UNH men's basketball program, check out UNHWildcats.com
