Leissner and Men's Basketball Roll Past Lyndon State, 82-45, in Season Opener

Friday, November 13

Durham, N.H.

7:30 PM

University of New Hampshire

1-0, 0-0AE

Lyndon State College

0-1, 0-0NAC

Lyndon St.

UNH

Photo by: Elise Austin-Washburn

Leissner and Men's Basketball Roll Past Lyndon State, 82-45, in Season Opener

11/13/2015 9:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

DURHAM, N.H. – Sophomore Tanner Leissner (Converse, Texas) finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds while classmate Iba Camara (Dakar, Senegal) scored a career-high 15 points and grabbed a personal-best 20 rebounds to lead the University of New Hampshire men's basketball team to a 80-45 win over Lyndon State College to begin the season, Friday night at Lundholm Gymnasium.

The Wildcats start the season 1-0 while the Hornets dropped their season opener.

Leissner shot 7-for-12 from the field and nailed his one 3-point attempt in the game. Camara made 7 of 11 baskets from inside the arc. Junior Jaleen Smith (Freeport, Texas) nearly recorded a triple-double with 11 points (4 of 7), 10 assists and eight rebounds. Junior Ronnel Jordan (San Antonio, Texas) tallied six points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Freshman Pat McNamara (Arlington Heights, Ill.) finished with 11 points on 4 of 10 shooting including three 3-pointers.

UNH outrebounded the Hornets 63-31 and shot 47.4 percent (31 of 65) from the field. With two forwards leading the scoring effort, the Wildcats controlled the paint with a 42-10 paint-scoring advantage.

Smith scored first for the 'Cats on a jumper in the lane followed by a Jordan free throw to take a 3-0 lead with 18:47 left in the first half. Lyndon State's Eric Vargas drilled a three and then it was all Wildcats.

In a 30-5 run that stretched 11 minutes, Camara scored 10 points, including back-to-back baskets with 9:40 remaining. McNamara nailed consecutive threes to go up 29-7 with 8:59 left in the first half. Seven Wildcats scored in the run.

The Hornets' Gabriel Torres hit a trey followed by a Vargas bucket to inch within 20 points (33-13), the closest Lyndon State was in the game, with 6:17 to go.

The second half was much of the same as two Leissner free throws increased the lead to 69-31 with 9:20 left in regulation, the largest New Hampshire lead on the night.

Lyndon State wasn't giving up so easy as they went on a 12-4 run and narrowed the deficit to 73-43 with 4:49 left in the game. Dustin Simpson-Bragg hit a jumper followed by a Ty Roane three. Dawda Jallow finished a contested layup and John Hamilton capped off the run with a 10-foot shot that was all net.

The Hornets were led by Avery King who scored seven points and finished all four of his free-throw attempts. Jallow led the rebounding effort with five and a bucket. As a team, the Hornets shot 87.5 percent (12 of 22) from the charity stripe.

New Hampshire will take on No. 20 University of Connecticut on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn. The game will be broadcasted on SportsNet New York and ESPN3. For tickets, visit www.unhwildcats.com or call 603-862-4000.

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