University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
10-9 3-3AE
University of Massachusetts Lowell
9-10, 3-3AE
Leissner Leads Men's Hoops to Overtime Victory Against UMass Lowell, 67-64
1/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DURHAM, N.H. - Freshman Tanner Leissner (Converse, Texas) scored 18 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots to propel the University of New Hampshire over the University of Massachusetts Lowell, 67-64 in overtime, on Monday afternoon at Lundholm Gymnasium.
UNH won its second consecutive overtime game improving to 10-9 on the season and 3-3 in the America East. UML has dropped two OT games in a row, falling to 9-10, 3-3 AE.
Leissner buried a trey with 24 seconds remaining in regulation to give the 'Cats a 57-55 lead. Jahad Thomas nailed a falling layup for Umass, with eight seconds left, to send it to overtime tied 57-57.
Sophomore Jaleen Smith (Freeport, Texas) tallied a career-high 17 points (7 of 13), corralled eight rebounds and tossed three assists.
Thomas ignited the River Hawk offense with a double-double (19 pts, 13 rebs), shooting 7 of 14 from the field. Both Marco Banegas-Flores and Matt Harris finished with 11 points.
The Wildcats won the paint battle (28-22 advantage) and second chance points (17-4 advantage) to overcome the 3-point shooting struggles (5 of 22). The 'Cats out rebounded the River Hawks 43-32 and recorded five blocks on the afternoon.
UML shot 9 of 19 on 3s and 23-for-56 from the field. The bench kept them alive, posting 23 points to UNH's 16. The River Hawks shot 9 of 19 from the charity stripe, with some costly misses down the stretch.
In overtime, a Smith layup extended the lead to five points, 64-59, on a 7-2 scoring run to open extra time.
The River Hawks' Matt Harris nailed a contested layup to crawl back, 65-64, but two Smith free throws sealed the deal extending the lead to 67-64 in the final seconds.
New Hampshire never gave away its lead in extended play.
The Wildcats jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead off a Matt Miller (Arnold, Mass.) 3-pointer with 15:15 remaining in the opening half.
UMass rattled off nine straight points to capture a 11-10 lead with two Thomas free throws.
Brad Schaub nailed a trey to garner the largest lead, 24-18, in the first stanza for UML with 4:39 remaining. The Wildcats fought to within one, 24-23, but UMass wouldn't budge and held a 28-25 halftime advantage.
Thomas finished at the rim on a driving layup to pull ahead 39-31, capping off an 11-5 run just 5:52 into the second frame.
Two Jacoby Armstrong (Sachse, Texas) free throws would tie it up 40-40, and a Ronnel Jordan (San Antonio, Texas) layup propelled UNH to a 42-40 lead with 10:58 to play.
The Wildcat lead didn't last long, as Lance Crawford layed in a finger roll in the paint with 6:56 remaining in regulation to recapture a 48-47 lead for the River Hawks.
Possessions went back and forth till Leissner scored a layup to narrow the deficit to one, 55-54.
UNH has won two consecutive games in a row, the first since they upended Brown University (Jan. 8; 68-61) and shortly after the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Jan. 11; 63-60).
The Wildcats hosts the University of Vermont (Jan. 22; 7 p.m.) to continue conference play, with hopes of extending the win streak to three games. If you are interested in tickets for this game, as well as upcoming contests, visit UNHWildcats.com/tickets or call (603) 862-4000. For the most up-to-date information on the UNH men's basketball program, check out UNHWildcats.com.
