McNamara's Five Second-Half Threes Pushes Men's Basketball Over Holy Cross, 73-69

Thursday, November 19

Worcester, Mass.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

2-1

Holy Cross

1-2

New Hampshire

Holy Cross

Photo by: Elise Austin-Washburn

McNamara's Five Second-Half Threes Pushes Men's Basketball Over Holy Cross, 73-69

11/19/2015 8:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass. – Freshman Pat McNamara (Arlington Heights, Ill.) scored five second-half threes, six total, for 18 points as the University of New Hampshire men's basketball team held on for a 73-69 win over the College of the Holy Cross, Thursday night at the Hart Center.

The Wildcats defeated Holy Cross on the road for the first time since Feb. 22, 1994, to improve their record to 2-1 overall. The Crusaders dropped to 1-2 this season.

McNamara made six shots from beyond the arc out of nine attempts. Sophomore Iba Camara (Dakar, Senegal) scored 14 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for his second career double-double. Classmate Tanner Leissner (Converse, Texas) and junior Jaleen Smith (Freeport, Texas) each scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds apiece. Smith also dished out seven assists.

New Hampshire shot 56.3 percent (27-48) from the field and 52.6 percent (10 of 19) from 3-point range. UNH outrebounded the Crusaders 34-20 and controlled the paint with a 30-18 paint-scoring advantage.

With the 'Cats leading 34-30 at the break, Holy Cross decreased the lead to 40-39 on three straight treys, two from Anthony Thompson and one from Robert Champion, with 15:46 left in regulation.

UNH went on a 15-2 run, using 3:28, started by a Smith lay up and capped off by a Camara finish in the paint for the Wildcat's largest lead, 56-41, with 11:21 to go in the game.

Holy Cross upped their pressure, and decreased the deficit to 67-65 under the 3-minute mark. Two Smith free throws dropped for a 4-point lead, while Thompson made 1 of 2 from the charity stripe to trail, 69-66. Camara hit both free throws but were outdone by a Zignorski 3-pointer to close withing two, 71-69, once again. Smith nailed two more freebies to seal the win with 12 seconds remaining.

The Crusaders were led by Champion who totaled 19 points and four assists. Malachi Alexander tallied 12 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Thompson was the final double-digit scorer with 11 points and five assists playing all 40 minutes.

Holy Cross kicked off the scoring by recorded a layup and drawing a foul to take a 3-0 lead. Camara scored in the paint followed by one of the Crusaders seven 3-pointers in the first half. Leissner nailed a three of his own after a Camara free throw to knot the score up, 6-6, with 16:38 to play in the first.

The Wildcats trailed 15-8 with 13:50 to play before rallying back to a 24-22 lead off of five different scorers, including junior Jacoby Armstrong (Sachse, Texas) who scored six points. UNH shifted to a zone defense from their traditional man-to-man play which stifled the Crusader offense and limited made baskets near the end of the half.

The Wildcats shot 15 of 27 (55.6 percent) from the field and 3-for-7 from beyond the arc in the opening stanza. The forwards did most of the work down low, for a 20-8 paint-scoring advantage and an 8-3 second-chance-points lead to open the game.

New Hampshire will take on Brown University on Tuesday, Nov. 24 (7 p.m.) to close out the three-game road stretch. The Wildcats return home Saturday, Nov. 28 (1 p.m.) to take on American University. Limited tickets are available so be sure to visit UNHWildcats.com or call 603-862-4000.

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