Men’s Basketball Welcomes Worcester State (Dec. 8; 7 p.m.)

Tuesday, December 8

Durham, N.H.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

Worcester State University

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Photo by: Audrey Powell

Men’s Basketball Welcomes Worcester State (Dec. 8; 7 p.m.)

12/7/2015 2:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

DURHAM, N.H. –The University of New Hampshire men's basketball team returns home after a two-game road trip in Texas to take on Worcester State University at Lundholm Gymnasium on Tuesday, Dec. 8 (7 p.m.).

Cat Facts

The Wildcats battled their second ranked opponent of the season against No. 22 Southern Methodist University after playing then No. 19 University of Connecticut earlier this season.
UNH won its first-ever game in the state of Texas in the 86-75 win against Abilene Christian at Moody Coliseum (Dec. 3).
Junior tri-captain Jaleen Smith (Freeport, Texas) ranks second in the nation in free-throw percentage, shooting 96.9 percent (31 of 32) from the charity stripe.
The Wildcats' 5-3 record matches last year's through the first eight games.
New Hampshire looks to increase its home record to 3-1 with a victory.

The State of New Hampshire
New Hampshire enters the matchup after a two-game road trip to the state of Texas where the Wildcats went 1-1 overall. In an 86-75 win against Abilene Christian, senior Ronnel Jordan (San Antonio, Texas) recorded a career-high 16 points with four rebounds and four assists. Junior Daniel Dion (Cedar Park, Texas) tied the team-leading total with 16 points himself on 7 of 10 shooting. Smith totaled 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists to help push the Wildcats to the victory.

At No. 22 Southern Methodist University, the Wildcats were stymied by the top-25 ranked program. Smith led UNH's scoring effort with 14 points and six rebounds in 35 minutes of action. Dion recorded his second-straight double-digit scoring contest with a 10-point effort.

Sophomore Tanner Leissner (Converse, Texas) and Smith lead the team in scoring with 15.0 and 13.1 points per game. Junior Jacoby Armstrong (Sachse, Texas) sits second with a 12.6 scoring total through seven games played. Sophomore Iba Camara (Dakar, Senegal) who has totaled three double-doubles this season, paces the team in rebounding with 9.6 per contest.

Scouting The Lancers
Worcester State is coming off two straight wins at Rivier University and against Norwich Academy. Against Norwich, Ryan Dibernardo led all scorers with 16 points and six rebounds. Alex Santos tallied 15 points of 5 of 6 shooting including four threes. Lastly, Jamal Mustapha scored 13 points and seven rebounds.

The defense shined for the Lancers, holding Rivier to only single-digit scorers. The Worcester St. offense shot 47.0 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from beyond the arc.

The Lancers are led by Bilal Shakir who totals 14.8 points per game with 5.4 rebounds. Jamal Mustapha scores 11.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest followed by Paul Brooks who controls the paint at 6 feet, nine inches. Brooks totals 9.9 points and 8.3 boards per game.

Head coach Dave Lindberg enters his 21^st year with Worcester State on a 252-301 record overall.

All-Time Series
This is the first matchup for New Hampshire and Worcester St. This contest is the fourth and final new opponent for the Wildcats this year. The other three new opponents were Lyndon State College, Abilene Christian and Southern Methodist.

Zeroed In
Smith totals 13.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and leads the 'Cats with 4.6 assists per contest. The junior ranks second in the nation in free-throw percentage, shooting 96.9 percent from the line (31 of 32). The floor general paces the squad in minutes with 36 per game. Smith recorded his first double-double of the season, second of his career, in the 82-45 season-opening win against Lyndon State University. In the program's first victory over Bryant University, Smith scored a career-high 23 points (7 of 13) in 40 minutes of action.

Locked In Leissner
Leissner added a fifth career double-double and matched his career-high scoring output with 21 points during the season opener. At No. 19 UConn, Leissner finished with his second consecutive 20-point effort on 20 points and four rebounds. The 2015 America East Rookie of the Year averages 15.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and shoots 45.2 percent from the field per game. He sat out because of injury against Brown, American and Bryant and scored 14 points in his return at Abilene Christian.

Casual Camara
Forward Camara scored career-highs in points and rebounds to open the 2015-16 season against Lyndon St. His 15-point and 20-rebound stat line earned him America East Player of the Week honors on Nov. 16. At UConn, the sophomore scored eight points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out two assists and totaled two steals. The Senegal native tallied a second double-double this season at Holy Cross with 14 points and 18 rebounds and followed that up with a 10 point, 10 rebound effort at Brown. Camara leads the team with four 10+ rebound games through eight contests and ranks 33^rd in the country in rebounds per game (9.6). He is averaging 8.5 points per game this season

Score, Score Score
UNH is 4-0 when 4+ scorers finish with 10+ points in a game. In the season opener, Leissner, Camara, Smith and freshman Pat McNamara (Arlington Heights, Ill.) eclipsed the 10-point threshold. At Holy Cross, the foursome completed the feat again followed by five 10+ scorers at Brown. In the Wildcats third 80+-point scoring game against Abilene Christian, Leissner, Smith, Dion and Jordan all pitched in double-figures.

Fives Alive
Dion has a knack for scoring (9.8 per game), something he's had since arriving at UNH. He scored a season-high 16 points at Abilene Christian in his first start this season. The 6-foot scorer uses his quickness and creative offense to open space for his quick release (37.0 percent) this year. During his sophomore season, the Texas native tallied 9.2 points per game after a freshman season where he scored 8.2 per contest.

Let's Go Home
The men's basketball team scheduled a trip to Texas this season to tackle Abilene Christian (Dec. 3; 8 p.m.) and Southern Methodist University (Dec. 5; 1:30 p.m.) to give the six Texas natives on the team a chance to play in front of family and friends. The five-day trip consisted of an 86-75 win over Abilene Christian, the first win in the state of Texas, and a 98-44 loss to No. 22 Southern Methodist.

Strong Play
Armstrong poured in a personal-best 26 points in an 88-77 win at Brown followed by a 22-point outburst against American to lead all scorers. He made his season debut at UConn where he totaled seven points, five rebounds, a steal and an assist off the bench. At Holy Cross, he notched seven points, and four rebounds on 3 of 5 shooting from the field. This season, the 2015 All-Conference Third Team member is scoring 12.6 points and corralling 3.9 rebounds per game.

Flu Game
While battling the flu, Armstrong tallied 14 points and collected four rebounds to defeat the Bryant Bulldogs (Nov. 30). He shot 6 of 10 from the floor and nailed his single 3-pointer attempt. The tri-captain also played 35 minutes in a starting role, the largest workload for the forward this season.

Let's Hit The Road
UNH won three-straight road games for the first time since the 2005-06 season with wins over the College of the Holy Cross (Nov. 19; 73-69), Brown University (Nov. 24; 88-77) and Abilene Christian (Dec. 3; 86-75). The Wildcats never scored more than 75 points during the 2005-06 streak as they totaled 2 of 3 this season.

The Lone Star State
UNH has seven individuals from the state of Texas. Armstrong, freshman Andrew Dotson (Arlington, Texas), Dion, Jordan, Leissner, transfer Jordan Reed (Lucas, Texas) and Smith all chose the chilly New England weather over the hot lone star state.

Old Man On The Mountain
As the lone senior this season, Jordan leads by example on the court. At Abilene Christian, the guard scored a career-high 16 points on 7 of 10 shooting in his sixth start this season. Jordan averages 7.9 points and 3.8rebounds per game.

Double-Double Dose
UNH student-athletes have tallied five double-doubles through seven games, led by Camara who has three. Just a year ago, the Wildcats had five double-double stat lines in 32 games played. Leissner led UNH with four during 2014-15. Camara ranks 29^th in the nation with three double-doubles.

3-Point D
Against Bryant, UNH held the Bulldogs to 17.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc, tying the season low set in the home opener against Division III Lyndon St. (Nov. 13). This was the lowest percentage an opponent was held to since Jan. 22, 2015 when the University of Vermont was held to 16.7 percent (3 of 18) from beyond the arc. Bryant shot 2 of 11 in the first half and 1 of 6 in the final frame.

Mac Truck
McNamara is shooting 45.5 percent from beyond the arc this season, and went a season-high 6-for-9 on 3-pointers at Holy Cross with five in the second half. The Illinois native scored 11 points on 4 of 10 shooting, including three treys, in the season opener against Lyndon State College. Last season, the Wildcats topped the league in 3-point field-goal percentage with a 37.4 percent mark. UNH looks to continue that trend, shooting 33.1 percent so far through eight games.

Wildcat Captains
Smith, Armstrong and junior Joe Bramanti (Andover, Mass.) bring leadership to the Wildcats this season. Bramanti returns to captaincy after last year's role produced a balanced team. Smith and Armstrong join Bramanti in their junior seasons, all with UNH, with a combined 3,000+ minutes of game time.

Scoring Jump
Leissner and Smith averaged 10 + points a game a year ago, improving the Wildcat offense from last place in the conference in 2013-14 (57.8 ppg) to first in the conference in 2014-15 (67.1 ppg). The +9.3 scoring increase is first among the most improved Division I teams from a season ago, where the 'Cats finished tied for sixth for most improved team with +13 wins.

Herrion Wins Again
Head coach Bill Herrion has won 122 games while a head coach at UNH and now ranks second all-time on the coaching wins' list. He overtook William Cowell (1916-28), who won 119 games throughout his 12-year coaching career, in a 73-69 win over Holy Cross (Nov. 19). Next on the list is Gerry Friel (1969-89), who tallied 185 wins in 20 years of leadership.

Look Ma, I'm On TV
The Wildcats are set to play five ESPN3 games, two at home, and three television games in 2015-16. Additionally, New Hampshire played on SportsNet New York (SNY) when they took on the University of Connecticut (Nov. 17; 7 p.m.), will be broadcasted on WBIN Classics and Fox College Sports on Dec. 19 (1 p.m.) against Dartmouth College in Lundholm and lastly Fox College Sports on Jan. 16 (1 p.m.) against Stony Brook University in Durham. The ESPN3 contests will be at Southern Methodist University (Dec. 5; 1:30 p.m.), at Boston College (Dec. 30; 2 p.m.), at UMass Lowell (Jan. 21; 7 p.m.), against the University of Vermont (Jan. 27; 7 p.m.) and against the University of Albany (Feb. 11; 7 p.m.).

New 'Cats in Town
New Hampshire welcomes four newcomers to the roster this season. Dotson was the 2014-15 District Offensive MVP in his area during his senior year, averaging 20.3 points per game. McNamara averaged 18 points per game in his senior season and was a regional champion, and All-Conference and All-Area selection. Forward David Watkins (Dorchester, Mass.) who was a top-30 player in New England last year. He received the most valuable player award in both junior and senior season at Brimmer and May School. Reed is a transfer from Rice University and played in 12 games but will have to sit out this season.

Graduation Success Rate
The Wildcats received a perfect GSR of 100 percent in the NCAA report released on Nov. 4. Men's basketball was one of four New Hampshire programs that had the unblemished rating. The team was tied for first in the America East conference against other basketball squads in the conference. All 20 athletic programs as a whole recorded a GSR of 90 percent.

2014-15 America East Award Winners
Joining Leissner, Armstrong was an America East All-Conference Third Team member with Matt Miller who joined the coaching staff after graduation. Bramanti was an All-Defensive Team selection and Smith was named to the All-Championship Team for his play during the tournament.

2015-16 America East Weekly Award Winners
Iba Camara – Player of the Week (Nov. 16)

Miller Moves On
After Miller was denied a sixth season as a Wildcat, the team decided to add him to the coaching staff to help build the team for a title run. Miller was a key cog to the success last season, leading the America East in 3-point field goal percentage (48.1 percent) and ranking second in threes made (63). He finished his UNH career ranked 10th in threes made in a season and fifth in 3-point field goal percentage in a season. Additionally, Miller's shooting finishes second in the UNH record books for career 3-point field goal percentage.

Wildcats on the Air
The Wildcat Sports Radio Network will broadcast a total of 15 UNH men's basketball regular-season games during the 2015-16 season and will air the games for the America East Championships. Jim Jeannotte, 23-time New Hampshire Sportscaster of the Year handles the play-by-play. Mike Murphy, a five-time winner of the New Hampshire Sportscaster of the Year award, does the color commentating.

The Wildcat Sports Radio Network affiliates include (times/dates subject to change):

WPKX-AM - 930 - Rochester

WGIR-AM - 610 - Manchester

Live Stream - Stretch Internet - UNHWildcats.com

Here is the complete radio schedule:
Nov. 13 vs. Lyndon St. (7:30 p.m.)
Nov. 19 at Holy Cross (7 p.m.)
Nov. 28 vs. American (12 p.m.)
Nov. 30 vs. Bryant (7 p.m.)
Dec. 19 vs. Dartmouth (1 p.m.)
Dec. 21 at Boston U. (7 p.m.)
Dec. 30 at Boston College (2 p.m.)
Jan. 9 vs. Binghamton (1 p.m.)
Jan. 16 vs. Stony Brook (1 p.m.)
Jan. 24 vs. Hartford (1 p.m.)
Jan. 27 vs. Vermont (7 p.m.)
Feb. 8 vs. Maine (7 p.m.)
Feb. vs. 11 UAlbany (7 p.m.)
Feb. 17 vs. UMass Lowell (7 p.m.)
Feb. 27 vs. UMBC (12 p.m.)

Preseason Predictions
New Hampshire was selected to finish fourth in the conference this season with 47 points. Leissner was named to the Preseason All-Conference Team as well, the only non-senior selected to the team.

Men's Hoops Media Center
To check out career numbers, year-by-year results, alumni roster and much more, head over to the men's basketball page at UNHWildcats.com and look under the additional links tab to find the media center link.

Looking Ahead
New Hampshire hits the road to take on Colgate University on Sunday, Dec. 13 for a noon tip off. The Wildcats return home Saturday, Dec. 19 to tackle intrastate rival Dartmouth College (1 p.m.). Limited tickets are available so be sure to call the box office at 603-862-4000 ext. 5.

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