University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
8-9, 1-3AE
University of Hartford
9-7, 2-1AE
Men's Hoops Drops Nail Biter to Hartford, 68-67
1/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DURHAM, N.H. - Sophomore Daniel Dion (Cedar Park, Texas) nailed four threes and finished with 14 points but the University of New Hampshire men's basketball team fell 68-67 to America East foe University of Hartford on Wednesday night at Lundholm Gymnasium.
UNH falls to 8-9 and 1-2 in America East while Hartford improves to 9-7, 2-1 AE.
With 2:03 to play in the final half and the score knotted up at 62-62, Taylor Dyson dropped a three for the Hawks to extend the lead by three and help pull away with a 68-67 win.
Tanner Leissner (Converse, Texas) finished with 15 points (4 of 9) and six boards as part of four starters to earn double figures in the scoring column. Jaleen Smith (Freeport, Texas) recorded 14 points (4 of 7) and six rebounds with three steals to lead the UNH defense. The Wildcats forced 13 turnovers and notched 17 points off possession changes. Jacoby Armstrong (Sachse, Texas) scored 11 points (4 of 11) and six boards.
Mark Nwakamma paced all scorers with 16 points (7 of 14) and seven boards. John Carroll totaled 10 points (2 of 5) while Taylor Dyson finished with 16 points (4 of 5) and six rebounds, including four threes. The Hawks took care of their freebies, nailing 20 of 25 on the night.
UNH shot 62.5 percent (10 of 16) from three point land including 71 percent in the second half. The 'Cats were out rebounded 30-29 but led in second chance points with a 7-3 advantage. Paint defense was key as New Hampshire swatted four shots to Hartfords zero.
The Hawks' Dyson buried a three and took a 22-12 lead with 8:13 remaining in the first frame. Dyson totaled 7 points and 3 rebounds in the stretch.
Ronnel Jordan (San Antonio, Texas) buried a driving layup to cap off a 22-4 run for the 'Cats at 3:09 in the first half. Matt Miller (Arnold, Md.) went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc to ignite the offense during the run and pushed New Hampshire up one, 27-26.
Following a Williams Gabriel (Lagos, Nigeria) layup, Justin Graham (12 points) converted a 3-point play on a driving layup and foul to tie the game up 29-29 with 1:05 left in the first stanza. Armstrong nailed a layup to recapture the lead, 31-29 heading to the locker room.
The UNH bench outscored Hartfords' second team 15-6 and controlled the paint with a 14-8 scoring advantage in the first half.
The Hawks jumped out to a 39-33 lead, with help from two Dyson 3-pointers, at the start of the second half forcing a Bill Herrion timeout just 2:47 seconds into the final frame.
Smith scored five of the next seven points to regain a 40-39 lead with less than five minutes to go in the half.
Nwakamma and Graham propelled the Hawks on a 9-1 run to take a seven point lead with 10:59 remaining.
Two Leissner free throws capped off a UNH 9-2 push to tie the score, for the sixth time in the contest, at 50-50 with 7:40 to play.
Following a Nwakamma layup in the paint, New Hampshire's Smith drilled a pull up three to regain the 'Cats final lead of the night, 53-52.
Nwakamma nailed a jumper to extend the Hawk lead to 60-55, on an 8-2 run, before UNH scored the next five points from a Dion 3-pointer and a Armstrong layup to tie it all up, for the seventh and final time, 62-62.
Smith would nail another pull up three with two ticks remaining to pull within one, 68-67, but it wasn't enough.
Up next New Hampshire heads to Binghamton University (Jan. 17) to tackle the Bearcats at Events Center (2 p.m.).
To purchase tickets for this game, as well as upcoming contests, visit UNHWildcats.com/tickets or call (603) 862-4000. For the most up-to-date information on the UNH men's basketball program, check out UNHWildcats.com.
