University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
4-2, 0-0AE
Wheelock College
1-5, 0-1NECC
Men's Basketball Takes Down Wheelock 96-45
12/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DURHAM, N.H. – Senior co-captain Tommy McDonnell (Durham, N.H.) shines posting a career high 16 points and four assists to lead the University of New Hampshire men's basketball team to a 96-45 win over Wheelock College in Lundholm Gymnasium on Saturday evening.
UNH wins its fourth consecutive game in a row and improves to 5-2 on the season. Wheelock falls to 1-5 on the year.
The 'Cats defense totaled 11 steals in the game, which is the most through seven games this season.
Sophomore Jaleen Smith (Freeport, Texas), classmate Daniel Dion (Cedar Park, Texas) and McDonnell all finished the game with three steals each. Smith finished with 14 points and two rebounds in 18 minutes of action. Dion put up nine points shooting 3-of-9 (33%).
Sophomore John Edwards (Charlotte, N.C.) saw 15 minutes off the bench and finished the night with 11 points, hitting all five of his free-throws. Freshman Iba Camara (Dakar, Senegal) played eight minutes off the bench, gathering five rebounds and four points for the 'Cats.
Wheelock's sophomore Anthony Williams finished the night with 14 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Matthew Eason finished with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.
UNH jumped out to a quick 11-3 lead by a McDonnell layup with 17:29 showing on the clock in the first half.
The starting five were perfect from the field shooting 7-for-7 in the opening minutes until Smith missed a fast break layup with 16:10 left in the opening half.
With 3:35 left in the first half, freshman Tanner Leissner (Converse, Texas) made a dribble move at the top of the key and finished with a left hand layup to put the 'Cats up 39-24
UNH led 45-28 at halftime, shooting 20-of-34 (58.8%) from the field and 3-of-5 (60%) from the three-point line. The defense held Wheelock to 2-of-8 (25%) from beyond the arc.
In the second half UNH stormed out of the gate with an 11-0 run to push the lead further to 56-28 with 16:30 left and took control of the game from there.
At the 15:54 mark in the second frame, Dion shot a floater in the lane getting it to drop to put the 'Cats up 58-30.
Junior Joe Bramanti (Andover, Mass.) hit the floor for the first time in over a year, as he finished the night with five points and two rebounds while distributing three assists.
Bramanti dished-out a pass down low to his classmate Frank Okeke (DeSoto, TX) but Okeke was fouled on the layup attempt with 15:14 left in the half. Okeke finished 2-of-4 from the charity stripe on the night.
Camara had a block on one end of the floor with 7:15 left in the game leading to a three pointer from senior Matt Miller (Arnold, Md.) on the other end. Miller finished with eight points going 2-for-3 from the three-point line.
Junior Logan Mortenson (South Jordan, Utah) finished off the UNH scoring with a tip-in at the 1:52 mark to collect his only points on the night.
UNH dominated in the paint, outscoring Wheelock 60 to 24
Wheelock did not have an opportunity to get to the free throw line throughout the game as the UNH's defense shined in the second half holding Wheelock to 17 points and 7-of-25 (28%) from the field.
Up next, the Wildcats hit the road to take on Rutgers University on Tuesday, Dec. 9 (7 p.m.) at the Rutgers Athletic Center.
To purchase tickets for the upcoming season, visit UNHWildcats.com/tickets or call (603) 862-4000, ext. 5.
For the latest news and information on the UNH men's basketball program, check out UNHWildcats.com.
