DURHAM, NH ? The University of Hartford men's basketball team dropped a 74-59 decision to the University of New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon at Lundholm Gymnasium.
Hartford (10-12 overall, 4-3 America East) led by four at the half but was outscored 44-25 in the second stanza. New Hampshire (6-13 overall, 3-4 America East) shot 50 percent in the second half?including 8-of-11 from three-point range?to hand the Hawks their biggest conference loss of the season. Hartford also dropped to 1-7 in its last eight trips to UNH.
Tyrece Gibbs scored 22 points to lead the Wildcats while Mike Christensen added 18, all in the second half. Freshman Morgan Sabia paced the Hawks with 15 points and seven rebounds and was tabbed one of the America East Players of the Game.
Both teams struggled on offense early in the first half, though New Hampshire took its largest lead of the stanza at 23-15 with 7:48 to go. Hartford answered with three-pointers on three straight possessions?the first two from Sabia and the final one from junior Jaret Von Rosenberg?to snatch away the lead at 24-23 with 6:38 to play.
Hartford's three-point shooting in the first half (8-of-15) made up for its carelessness with the ball. The Hawks took a 34-30 lead into the locker room at the intermission despite committing 10 turnovers.
The Hawks scored the first five points of the second half to extend their lead to nine before things went south. New Hampshire reeled off 19 unanswered points?18 of which came from behind the arc?to seize the momentum. Christensen had four of the Wildcats' six treys during the stretch, and Hartford went 0-for-8 from the floor while committing three turnovers.
New Hampshire shot the three well all game (14-of-23) and held Hartford to only two field goals in the final 10:00. The Hawks finished with 20 turnovers and shot only 35 percent from the floor. However, Hartford finished a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line in the contest. The last time the Hawks were perfect at the charity stripe was against Southwest Louisiana on December 22, 1988.
Senior Brian Glowiak also finished in double figures for the Hawks with 12 points, all from beyond the arc. Sophomore Joe Zeglinski played only a season-low 21 minutes due to foul trouble and finished with six points.
Hartford will look to bounce back against the University of Vermont on Wednesday, January 30 at Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised live on NESN.
