THE BASICS:

RESULT: New Hampshire 84, Hartford 71
LOCATION: Lundholm Gymnasium (Durham, N.H.)
ATTENDANCE:  442
RECORDS: Hartford (7-14, 2-4 America East); UNH (11-8, 4-2)
 
THE LEAD:
Pancake Thomas delivered a career-high 38 points, the most by a Hawks player since 2006, but New Hampshire used an efficient offensive outing to defeat the Hartford men's basketball team, 84-71, on Sunday.
 
Ronnel Jordan led the Wildcats with 25, while Jaleen Smith added 19 and Tanner Leissner netted 17 in the victory. UNH went 34-for-62 (.548) from the field in the win. Jalen Ross posted his second-straight game in double figures with 11 points in the defeat.

FIRST HALF:
It was a back-and-forth game from the get-go, with Thomas leading the Hawks in the opening stanza. After UNH grabbed an 8-5 lead, back-to-back triples by the junior put Hartford on top, 11-8. The Wildcats responded with a 7-0 run, but again the Hawks came swooping back, with a Thomas jumper and a George Blagojevic three-ball making it a 16-15 Hartford lead.
 
The teams went blow-for-blow to a 28-27 Wildcats lead, then Thomas converted on a three-point play to put the visitors up two. But New Hampshire locked down defensively, holding the Hawks to 1-for-8 to close the half, and the Wildcats ended the half on a 16-6 run to take an eight-point lead into the locker room.

SECOND HALF:
UNH continued the rally out of the locker room, opening the second half on a 10-2 run to push the lead to 16, at 54-38. The Hawks cut it to 11 on a three-point play for Thomas with 12:37 to play, but the Wildcats were able to push it back to 16 on a three for Jordan that made it 67-51.
 
Hartford delivered an 8-2 run, capped by an Evan Cooper three-point play that made it 69-59 with 6:18 remaining. But UNH was able to rally, and a clutch three from Smith at the shot-clock buzzer put control back in the hands of the home squad. UNH was able to close out the game from there, taking a 13-point decision.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
• Thomas joined Vin Baker as the only two Hawks with multiple 35-point games in their careers. His 38 tied for the eighth most in school history. He also scored 35 in a loss to Rider on Dec. 30.
 
• Thomas' 12 field goals were the most by a Hawks player since Mark Nwakamma had 14 against Holy Cross last year. It is tied for the second most in America East this year.

•  The Hawks committed just three turnovers, the lowest figure since at least the 2005-06 season. Only three teams have committed fewer turnovers this season in the nation.

UP NEXT:
Hartford returns home for the next three games, beginning with a Wednesday night matchup against Maine. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. in Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion. Tickets are available by calling 860-768-HAWK or visiting the Tickets page at HartfordHawks.com.