THE BASICS:

RESULT: New Hampshire 81, Hartford 56
LOCATION: Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (West Hartford, Conn.)
ATTENDANCE: 931
RECORDS: Hartford (6-15, 1-5 America East); New Hampshire (13-7, 4-2)

PHOTO GALLERY

THE LEAD:
Jaleen Smith (27 points) led a red-hot offensive performance for New Hampshire, as the Wildcats earned an 81-56 victory over the Hartford men's basketball team on Sunday. The Hawks got a career-best 12 points from Hassan Attia and 17 from Jalen Ross in a losing effort.
 
Smith was one of four players to finish in double figures for UNH, as he was joined in double digits by Daniel Dion (17), Tanner Leissner (15) and Iba Camara (12) in the scoring column. The Wildcats shot 55.6 percent (30-for-54) from the field and 47.6 percent (10-for-21) from beyond the three-point arc in the victory.



FIRST HALF:
The Wildcats started out strong, using an 11-3 run to open an early 11-5 advantage after a Camara dunk at the 14:21 mark. But the Hawks came right back, as a three for Ross and a jumper for TreVaughn Wilkerson cut the deficit to just one, 11-10, at the 13:22 mark. But UNH responded with six-straight points, and then a Ross three-point play made it 17-13 with 12:01 to play.
 
After the teams traded blows to a 21-16 score, UNH caught fire over the final 10 minutes, closing the stanza on a 22-4 run to enter the locker room with a 43-20 advantage. Dion led the way during the rally, scoring 10 of the Wildcats' 22 entering the break.

SECOND HALF:
Out of the locker room, the Hawks landed a couple punches, with an Attia dunk and a Ross jumper cutting the lead to 43-24. Hartford later trimmed the deficit to 18 on an Attia layup at the 16:05 mark, and the squads traded points to a 51-33 score. But UNH caught fire on the offensive end, and for every Hawks jab, the Wildcats were able to deliver a counter, upping their lead to 66-43 at the 9:11 mark.
 
New Hampshire then was able to slow Hartford's offensive efficiency, and used a 10-3 run to up the lead to 76-46 with 6:22 remaining. The Hawks were able to close the gap to 25 at the final whistle.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Ross extended his double-figure scoring streak to 35-straight games, dating back to January of last year. He still has yet to reach 20 points in America East play, however.
• The Hawks were cold from the field in the game. Hartford shot 38.3 percent from the floor, 23.8 percent (5-for-21) from long range and just 31.3 percent (5-for-16) from the free-throw line. It was the Hawks' worst performance from the line this season.
• Ramirez had a career-best four steals, and Ross (three steals) had more than one steal for the fifth time in the last six games. Hartford had nine steals to UNH's six in the game.
• Attia's 12 points were a new career-best, topping his previous best of 11, set against Yale (Jan. 2). Attia added two blocks and four rebounds.

 
UP NEXT:
The Hawks are back in action on the road for a matchup at Binghamton on Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m. The game will be carried live on ESPN3. Hartford then returns to West Hartford for a 7 p.m. tip against UAlbany on Saturday, Jan. 28.