DURHAM, N.H.  – The University of Hartford men's basketball team improved to 2-1 in America East action on Wednesday night after sneaking past New Hampshire, 68-67, at Lundholm Gymnasium. Senior Mark Nwakamma and junior Taylor Dyson each netted a game-best 16 points as the Hawks improve to 9-7 overall. New Hampshire dips to 1-3 on the season and 8-9 overall.

Joining Nwakamma and Dyson in double figures were freshman John Carroll and sophomore Justin Graham. In his first career start, Carroll scored 10 points, making 6-of-8 from the free throw line, while Graham hit clutch free throws in the final 25 seconds to finish with a career-best 12 points. Fifteen of Nwakamma's 16 points came in the second half.

With the game tied for the seventh time at 62-all, Dyson sank a three-pointer out of a timeout with 50.3 seconds left to help Hartford pull away with the one-point win. The junior guard went 4-of-5 from three-point land and 4-of-5 from the field on the night, adding six rebounds. In the game's final seconds, the Wildcats made two trips to the charity stripe, combining to go 2-for-4, but Graham combined to go 3-of-4 in back-to-back trips to extend the visiting team's lead. With Hartford clinging to a 68-64 advantage, New Hampshire closed the gap to a single point on Jaleen Smith's third triple of the night, but it wasn't enough for the Wildcats as just  two ticks remained on the clock.

Four New Hampshire players posted double-figures in scoring led by 15 points from Tanner Lessner. Smith and Daniel Dion each scored 14 points while Jacoby Armstrong rounded out the top scorers with 11 points.

Hartford returns to action on Saturday night when it hosts UMass Lowell at 7 p.m.

THE TURNING POINT:
In a game that featured seven ties and eight lead changes, Hartford took the lead for good when Taylor Dyson broke open a 62-62 deadlock with a three pointer with 50.3 seconds left to play. The Hawks would send the Wildcats to the free throw line twice in the final 37 seconds, but the home team would come up short with a combined 2-for-4 effort. With 7.3 seconds left, sophomore Justin Graham, who went 2-of-2 from the line in the Hawks' previous possession, made 1-of-2 free throws to stretch Hartford's advantage to 68-64. That cushion prevented Jaleen Smith's triple with 1.8 seconds from doing any more damage as the Hawks came away with the one-point win.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

·         With the game tied at 8-8 just over five minutes in, Hartford built a double-digit first half lead with 8:12 remaining, using a 14-4 run to go up, 22-10. Freshman John Carroll contributed four points during that stretch while Corban Wroe and Dyson sunk three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to build the 12-point edge.

·         The Hawks were unable to stretch their lead, though, as the Wildcats put together a 17-7, half-ending run to take a slight 31-29 lead into the locker rooms at halftime. During that final 7:42, Matt Miller drained three three-pointers for the Wildcats to lead the team back from their 10-point deficit

·         Hartford led by as many as seven in the second half at 48-41 thanks to a Justin Graham three at the 11 minute mark, but the Wildcats wouldn't go down without a fight as they tied up the game at 50-50 with a 9-2 run and took the lead on a Jaleen Smith three-pointer with 6:50 to go

·         A 6-0 Hartford spurt featuring a three-point play from Nwakamma followed by a triple from senior Yolonzo Moore II put the Hawks back in front and gave them a lead they would hold on to for the next three minutes, until a 5-0 run by New Hampshire knotted up the score for the final time at 62-all with 2:05 to go

·         Dyson drained the go-ahead bucket – a three-pointer with 50.3 seconds left – and sophomore Justin Graham went 3-of-4 from the line to give the Hawks a lead they would not relinquish, despite New Hampshire earning two trips to the charity stripe and closing out the game with a three-pointer 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

·         The Hawks and Wildcats posted nearly identical numbers in several statistical categories

·         The free throw line proved to be the difference maker in the game as the Hawks made and attempted seven more shots than the Wildcats, going 20-of-25; New Hampshire went 13-of-18 from the line

·         Hartford shot 43.5-percent (20-of-46) from the field, a number that was slightly edged by New Hampshire's 44.9-percent (22-of-49) clip

·         The Hawks held a slight edge on the boards at 30-29, led by a seven-rebound effort from senior Mark Nwakamma

·         The Wildcats held slight advantages in points off turnovers (17-15) and points in the paint (20-18)

·         New Hampshire shot 62.5-percent from three (10-of-16), the highest percentage allowed by the Hawks this season

NEWS AND NOTES: 

·         Hartford improved its win-streak against New Hampshire to five games on Wednesday night and has now won seven of its last eight over the Wildcats

·         Eleven of the last 13 games against New Hampshire have been decided by nine points or less, with Wednesday's game being the second-straight one-possession decision between the two squads

·         Senior forward Mark Nwakamma recorded his ninth-straight double-digit scoring game against the Wildcats, matching teammate Taylor Dyson's 16 points for a game-high

·         Two other Hawks joined Nwakamma and Dyson in double figures as freshman John Carroll had 10 points and sophomore Justin Graham scored 12 points, a career-high

·         Knocking down one of the biggest baskets of the night – a three-pointer that gave Hartford a five-point edge with 5:35 left – senior Yolonzo Moore II needs eight more points to reach the 1,000-point milestone

·         Going 7-of-14 from the field and pulling down seven rebounds, Nwakamma moved up in the rankings of both categories; he now ranks fourth in field goals made and ninth in rebounding

·         New Hampshire entered the game with an 8-8 record, the program-best fourth-best record through 16 games and its best start in 20 years 

UP NEXT:
Hartford looks to pick up its third-straight win on Saturday when it hosts UMass Lowell. Tipoff from Chase Family Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online (www.hartfordhawks.com), by phone (860.768.HAWK) or by visiting the Malcolmn and Brenda Berman Athletics Ticket Office.