'Cats Fall to UMass Lowell on Senior Night, 92-77

Tuesday, February 27

Durham, N.H.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

10-20, 6-10AE

University of Massachusetts Lowell

12-17, 6-10AE

UMass Lowell

New Hampshire

Photo by: Audrey Powell

2/27/2018 10:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Highlights

DURHAM, N.H. – Tanner Leissner (Converse, Texas) led four University of New Hampshire double-digit scorers with 18 points, but the UMass Lowell men's basketball team raced past the Wildcats, 92-77, in Tuesday's Senior Night game at Lundholm Gym.

Leissner shot 7-for-14 from the field and 4-for-4 in free throws in his final home game at Lundholm Gym. Jordan Reed (Lucas, Texas) followed with 11 points. Elijah Jordan (Orlando, Fla.) recorded 10 points and Iba Camara (Dakar, Senegal) recorded his 12^th double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Jahad Thomas led the River Hawks with 40 points (15-21 Fgs, 9-10 FTs), five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Ryan Jones recorded 18 points while Rinardo Perry and Connor Bennett each netted 11 points.

New Hampshire ends the regular season 10-20 overall and 6-10 in America East. UMass Lowell improved to 12-17, 6-10. The teams finished tied for sixth in the America East standings, but UNH won the tiebreaker to earn the No. 6 seed.

LOOKING AHEAD

UNH will travel to Hartford on Saturday, March 3 for the quarterfinals of America East playoffs. Tipoff is set for 4:00pm. The Hawks swept the regular-season series.

THE DIFFERENCE

New Hampshire led 49-47 at the end of the first half, but the River Hawks regained the lead, 57-54 at 16:45, and kept it for the remainder of the game, outscoring the Wildcats 45-28 in the second half.

GAME RECAP

With UNH trailing 32-25, Leissner started a nine-point run to take a 34-32 lead with 5:37 remaining in the first half.
The Wildcats did not trail again the remainder of the first half and led by as many as five points, 47-42, on Leissner's layup at 1:23.
UMass Lowell quickly turned its two-point halftime deficit into a 50-49 lead when Jones hit a 3-pointer nine seconds into the second half. Thomas followed with a short jumper in the paint to give the visitors a three-point lead.
Leissner responded with consecutive layups to put the 'Cats back in front, 53-52, at 18:40. Jordan made one foul shot to make it a two-point margin at 18:20.
UML quickly tied the score, 54-54, on Thomas' 3-pointer at 18:01 and kept the 'Cats from regaining the lead for the remainder of the contest after Perry drilled a 3-pointer at 16:15.
The River Hawks pushed the lead to double digits, 69-58, at 11:01.
A 7-2 spurt extended the advantage to 76-61 at 8:55, and UNH never got closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

UNH's 49 first-half points marked the highest scoring half vs. a conference opponent this season. The Wildcats shot 54.1% (20-37) from the floor the opening 20 minutes.
UMass Lowell shot 57.1% (16-28), including 66.7% (6-9) from 3-point range, in the first half. The River Hawks finished with a .533 field goal percentage with 56.3% accuracy beyond the arc.
Thomas scored 20 point in both halves.
Leissner lead the Wildcats in the first half with 10 points by going 4-for-7 from the field and making two free throws. Hopkins recorded eight points, making all of his shot attempts, three from the field and two from behind the arc, in the first half.

UNH NOTEBOOK

Tonight's starting lineup of seniors Jacoby Armstrong (Dallas, Texas), Keon Burns (Beaverton, Ore.), Camara, Leissner and freshman Jordan marked the 16^th different starting lineup of the season.
The 'Cats have used a different starting lineup nine of the last 10 games.
Camara recorded his 1,000^th career rebound in the first half. His 10-rebound effort pushed his school record total to 1,007.
This was Camara's 21^st double-digit performance of the season and 50^th career.
Playing 33 minutes, Leissner moved to third all-time on the single-season list of superlatives with 1,072.
Leissner extended his UNH career scoring record to 1,941 points. He also increased his benchmarks in free throws made (520) and attempted (671), as well as minutes (4,056).
Leissner is now No. 15 on the America East all-time points leaderboard.