WEST HARTFORD, Conn.  – The University of Hartford lost in overtime to the visiting New Hampshire Wildcats in a thrilling, 76-70 final at the Chase Family Arena on Tuesday evening. Four Hawks finished in double figures on the evening, paced by an 18 point effort from senior Yolonzo Moore II and a career-best outing of 17 points from sophomore Justin Graham.

The Hawks (12-12) dip to 5-6 in America East action with their fourth-straight loss at home while the Wildcats (15-10), who are off to their best 25-game start in 20 seasons, improve to 8-4 in the conference. Tanner Leissner and Matt Miller each had 16 points for New Hampshire, who also had four players finish in double figures.

With 2:44 left in regulation, the Hawks trailed, 57-52, but wheeled off six-straight points to take a two-point edge with just under one minute remaining. Senior Jamie Schneck sparked that spurt with a layup while Graham took it to the hoop on back-to-back possessions to provide Hartford with the lead with 50.2 seconds remaining.

New Hampshire answered back, though, and regained a three-point lead with 15.8 seconds left by scoring five unanswered points over the next 20 seconds. Leissner's chance at an old-fashioned three-point play quickly quieted a crowd of 1,751 before Jaleen Smith made two freebies for the Wildcats out of a Hawks' miss from downtown with 15.8 seconds left to make it a 61-58 advantage in favor of the visitors.

With the action being broken up by two consecutive timeouts, Hartford had possession of the ball, and senior Wes Cole received an inbounds pass inside of the circle from the opposite sideline. The guard took a dribble behind the three-point arc, and let the game-tying three fly to make it a 61-61 contest with 8.1 seconds to go. Leissner had one final shot to put New Hampshire in front as regulation winded down, but came up empty to force overtime.  

Despite making just 6-of-10 from the free throw line in overtime, New Hampshire shot 4-of-5 from the field during the extra period to pull away with the win.

With 34.9 seconds remaining, Miller, who had made just 1-of-6 threes in regulation, drilled his second triple of the night to break open a 68-68 tie with what proved to be the game-winning bucket. Hartford managed to cut New Hampshire's lead to one on the ensuing possession thanks to two free throws from Graham and had another crack at a tie or the lead with 25 seconds left after Leissner was sent to the line on the next play, where he made just 1-of-2.

Facing a two point deficit, Graham drove into contact looking to force the game's 13th tie with 12 seconds left, but his shot didn't fall and there was no whistle on the play. In the final eight seconds, the Wildcats made all four of their free throws to ice the game.

The Hawks return to action on Saturday afternoon with a 2 p.m. tip at UMass Lowell's Costello Athletic Center.

THE TURNING POINT:
With the game tied for the 12th time at 68-68 with a minute left in overtime, Matt Miller, who was 1-for-6 from three-point land in regulation, provided the final lead change of the night with a triple that made it a 71-68 advantage for New Hampshire. The Hawks were able to pull within a point on the next possession as sophomore Justin Graham was fouled and made the ensuing free throws, but following a 1-of-2 effort from Tanner Leissner on the next play, the Hawks' sophomore was unable to draw the foul or get the potential game-tying bucket to fall with 12 seconds left. In the game's final eight seconds, New Hampshire iced the game from the free throw line, as Jaleen Smith made all four of his attempts.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

·         Despite making just 6-of-10 free throws in overtime, New Hampshire shot 80.0 percent (4-of-5) in overtime, with its lone three-point attempt, a Matt Miller make, proving to be the go-ahead bucket with 35 seconds left

·         The Hawks shot 41.7 percent (10-24) from the floor in the first half and 48.3 percent (14-29) in the second, but went just 2-of-7 in overtime (28.6%)

·         Hartford missed its first eight three-pointers of the game, with senior Corban Wroe converting from long range for the first time with 2:57 remaining in the first

·         Following the 0-for-8 start from downtown, the Hawks went on to make nine of their next 15 three pointers, including two in the final four minutes of regulation

·         Hartford shot 90.0 percent from the charity stripe (9-10), but made 20 less trips than the Wildcats; New Hampshire finished the game making 22-of-30 free throws (73.3%)

·         Four Hawks finished in double figures, led by 18 points from Yolonzo Moore II and a career-high 17 points from Justin Graham

·         Moore went 4-of-5 from long range and 7-of-11 from the field 

NEWS AND NOTES: 

·         The Hawks played without leading scorer and rebounder Mark Nwakamma for the second-straight game; Taylor Dyson, a junior forward who averages 10.2 points per game in conference action, saw limited time (2 minutes) in the game

·         Scoring in double figures for the fourth time in five games, sophomore Just Graham recorded career-highs in points (17) and rebounds (7)

·         Hartford lost for the first time in overtime since falling to Vermont (77-73) in double overtime in the semifinals of the America East Championships

·         This season, the Hawks are 1-1 in overtime, having defeated UMass Lowell, 68-68, at Chase Family Arena in January

·         Hartford entered the game having won five-in-a-row against the Wildcats; it dips to 41-22 in the Division I series

·         Four of the last five games in the series have been decided by single digits

·         The Hawks' current four-game home losing streak is their longest since the 2011-12 season, when they started 0-4 at the Chase Family Arena 

UP NEXT:.
Hartford continues its second swing through the America East Conference with a Saturday afternoon matinee at UMass Lowell. Tipoff from the Costello Athletic Center is slated for 2 p.m. Fans who are unable to make the trip can catch all of the action on WDRC1360AM (www.talkofconnecticut.com) as Jeff Dooley and Randy LaVigne have the call.