Sutherlin Scores 17 in 61-52 Loss at Hartford

Saturday, January 4

West Hartford, Conn.

2 PM

University of New Hampshire

7-7,0-1America East

Hartford

8-8,1-0America East

Team	1	2	F
New Hampshire	27	25	52
Hartford	27	34	61

Photo by: Andrew Yourell

1/4/2020 5:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -- Sean Sutherlin (New Brighton, Minn.) scored 17 points and Chris Lester (Barrington, Ill.) matched his career high of 11 rebounds, but the University of New Hampshire men's basketball team was edged 61-52 by the University of Hartford in Saturday afternoon's America East conference opener at Chase Arena.

Sutherlin also had three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. Lester pulled down six of his 11 rebounds on the offensive glass.

Hartford was led by Moses Flowers (28 points) and Malik Ellison (eight points, 14 rebounds).

UNH moves to 7-7 overall and 0-1 in America East. Hartford, which outscored the visitors 8-1 in the last three minutes to pull away, is now 8-8, 1-0.

UP NEXT / NEXT HOME GAME: UNH returns to action Jan. 8 (7 p.m.) at home against interstate rival University of Maine as part of the 2019-20 Buffalo Wild Wings Border Battle, which UNH currently leads 6-4; visit www.unhwildcats.com/borderbattle for details.

BUY TICKETS: Tickets for a UNH men's basketball game start as low as $3 and can be purchased by calling (603) 862-4000, visiting the Whittemore Center Box Office or by going online to www.unhwildcats.com.

FIRST HALF

* Nick Guadarrama (Newington, Conn.) hit a pair of free throws out of the first media timeout to tie the score, 10-10, at 15:16.

* Trailing 15-10 at 13:30, UNH went on a 12-0 run to build the largest lead of the half by either team -- seven points (22-15) -- at 8:51.

* A driving layup by Mark Carbone (Wethersfield, Conn.) ignited the run and was followed by a Jayden Martinez (Cibolo, Texas) 3-pointer that tied the score, 15-15, at 12:21.

* Hartford called time out, but the 'Cats went back in front on a high-arcing shot by Sutherlin at 11:12. Martinez made a layup on the right blocks and then Carbone's 3-pointer gave UNH a 22-15 lead.

* The Hawks answered with a 12-1 spurt to regain the lead, 27-23, at 2:26.

* New Hampshire scored the last four points of the half on a Martinez and right baseline jumper by Meekness Payne (Phoenix, Ariz.) to forge the sixth tie of the half, 27-27.

SECOND HALF

* Hartford netted the first five points to take a 32-27 lead.

* UNH responded with 3-pointers by Carbone, Martinez and Guadarrama to go on a 9-3 run and regain the lead, 36-35.

* Back-to-back layups from Sutherlin and Guadarrama gave the 'Cats a 40-37 lead at 14:27.

* The Hawks responded with a 9-0 run to build a 46-40 advantage.

* Hartford took a 54-47 lead at 4:58 and the seven-point margin matched the biggest lead of the game (by UNH) at that point.

* The 'Cats closed within three points twice -- at 54-51 (3:43) and at 55-52 (2:32), but then did not score the rest of the way.

UNH NOTEBOOK

* New Hampshire has alternated wins and losses the past 11 games.

* Guadarrama finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.

* UNH tied a season high of 39 3-point attempts and made a season-low six.

* The Wildcats shot 29.0% (20-69) from the floor; the last time the 'Cats shot below 30% from the field was last February, also against Hartford (29.3%).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

* There were six tie scores and seven lead changes -- none in the last 13 minutes of the game.

* Both teams struggled from long range in the first half. UNH was 2-for-18 (11.1%) and Hartford was 3 of 11 (27.3%).

* UNH recorded a 45-41 rebounding advantage with a 17-7 edge on the offensive glass. The Wildcats had an 11-8 edge in second-chance points.

* Hartford outscored UNH 28-22 in the paint.

* The home team made 14 of 23 free throws; UNH was 6-for-9 at the foul line.

* The turnovers were relatively even with UNH committing 12 and Hartford 11. The Hawks converted those turnovers into 15 points; in comparison, UNH netted eight points off turnovers.

* For the second consecutive game, four Wildcats had two personal fouls at halftime.

SERIES NOTEBOOK

* UNH has a 27-47 lifetime record against Hartford, which has won each of the last six meetings.

* The Wildcats have lost four straight at Chase Arena since their 81-56 win Jan. 22, 2017.

* New Hampshire's most recent win vs. the Hawks was Feb. 18, 2017 (82-52 at home).