DURHAM, N.H.  – Forcing overtime in dramatic fashion, the University of Hartford men's basketball team was unable to pull out the win at fourth-seeded New Hampshire on Wednesday night, as it suffered a 67-63 loss in the quarterfinal round of the America East Playoffs. Seeded fifth in the postseason, the Hawks conclude their season at 14-16, while the Wildcats, who advance to the semifinals to take on top-seeded Albany on Sunday, improve to 19-11 overall.

In what was already a thrilling game that saw Hartford overcome a nine-point, 32-23 halftime deficit by scoring the first 11 points of the second half, the Hawks found themselves in another hole, despite leading by six with just over 13 minutes remaining. This time, Hartford faced a two-point disadvantage with less than two seconds left in regulation as New Hampshire scored seven unanswered points to overcome a 52-47 deficit over the final five minutes.

New Hampshire's Jaleen Smith made the first of two free throws with 1.9 left on the clock to give his team a 54-52 lead, and after senior forward Mark Nwakamma secured the rebound on the missed second attempt, the Hawks called for timeout. Following another timeout, this one by New Hampshire, Wes Cole threw a full-court, Hail Mary pass from under the Wildcats' basket down to Nwakamma, who got fouled while leaping for the ball.

Sent to the line to shoot one-and-one with 0.3 ticks of the clock left, Nwakamma calmly sank both free throws as Hartford and New Hampshire went into overtime for the second-straight meeting. The senior forward finished the night with a game-best 20 points, while classmate Corban Wroe contributed 10 points. Junior Taylor Dyson knocked down four three-pointers, three of which came as part of a second-half opening 16-1 run that gave the Hawks their largest lead of the night (39-33) with 13:56 left.

Matt Miller drilled a three-pointer to give New Hampshire the early edge in overtime as the Wildcats outscored the Hawks, 13-9, during the extra period to make their first semifinal appearance since 2009. Eight of its final points came on free throws. Battling from behind, the Hawks tied up the game twice early in the extra period, but the Wildcats used the free throw line to maintain their advantage. In the game's final 38 seconds, Hartford came up empty handed on two open looks from three-point land that would have erased a pair of two-point deficits. In the game's closing seconds, sophomore Justin Graham was fouled with his team down three as he attempted to go coast-to-coast to get up a quick triple. Making the first with 2.3 seconds left, he missed the second on purpose, but the Hawks would have no chance at getting the game-tying shot up.

New Hampshire was led by Smith, who had 16 points and nine rebounds. The Wildcats were playing without 2015 America East Rookie of the Year, Tanner Leissner, who led the team in scoring and rebounding before suffering a season-ending injury before the playoffs.

The Hawks lose six seniors – Wes Cole, Yolonzo Moore II, Mark Nwakamma, Jamie Schneck, Nate Sikma, and Corban Wroe – to graduation. Bouncing back from an 0-13 start to their careers, the group amassed 57 wins in four seasons to become Hartford's second winningest class in its Division I era.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

·         The Hawks went 2-of-9 from the floor to end the first half, finishing at 46.4-percent (13-of-28) during that opening stretch

·         New Hampshire made 5-of-11 first-half three-pointers, with three of those makes coming in the final 3:52 to allow the home squad to take a 32-23 lead at the break

·         Hartford was held to just 1-of-5 shooting from three-point land in the first, but made 5-of-13 in the second, including three in the first four minutes of the stanza to take its first lead of the game

·         Both teams shot around the 40-percent mark, with New Hampshire converting on 41.2-percent of its attempts (21-of-51) and Hartford going 40.7-percent (22-of-54)

·         In the second half and overtime, the Wildcats combined to go 16-of-24 from the free throw line; the Hawks made just 11 visits to the line during that stretch, scoring seven points

·         New Hampshire held a 40-32 edge on the boards and scored 11 points off second chance opportunities 

NEWS AND NOTES: 

·         Hartford's senior class (Wes Cole, Yolonzo Moore II, Mark Nwakamma, Jamie Schneck, Nate Sikma, and Corban Wroe) is the second winningest class in the Hawks' 31-year Division I history, registering 57 career victories

·         Senior forward Mark Nwakamma scored a game-best 20 points, registering his 20th 20-plus-point scoring game of his career and his 86th double-figure scoring contest

·         With 1,650 points, Nwakamma finishes as the program's fifth-best scorer in its Division I era while finishing third in made field goals (598), fourth in rebounding (530), seventh in blocks (75), and sixth in free throws made (315)

·         New Hampshire has won the last two meetings, with both of those games needing overtime to reach an outcome

·         Thirteen of the last 16 games between the Hawks and Wildcats have been decided by single digits, including all three of this season's meetings