Junior named Player of Week, Redshirt freshman is Rookie of Week
BOSTON – Jayden Martinez (Cibolo, Texas) of the UNH men's basketball team was named the America East Men's Basketball Player of the Week, and Nick Johnson (Bronx, N.Y.) earned the America East Rookie of the Week award, the conference announced Tuesday on the heels of the Wildcats' two-game sweep of the University of Hartford on Dec. 27-28 at Lundholm Gym.
Jayden Martinez locks in defensively during Sunday's 77-69 victory against Hartford
Martinez averaged 16.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in the Wildcats' back-to-back wins. The 6-foot-7 junior played a grueling 74 minutes in the games and paced UNH in rebounding in both contests. He went 12-for-18 (.667) from the floor, including 4-for-7 (.571) from behind the 3-point line and 4-for-6 (.667) at the free-throw line. After scoring 13 points (5-for-8 shooting) and collecting eight rebounds in Sunday's 77-69 win against the Hawks, Martinez followed up with his third double-double of the season, a 19-point, 13-rebound effort on 70-percent shooting (7-for-10) in Monday afternoon's 53-51 victory. He ranks No. 1 in America East in rebounding (10.0/game) and offensive rebounding (4.2/game).
Johnson came off the bench Monday to pour in nine points on 4-for-8 shooting, including 1-for-2 from 3-point distance, to go along with a career-high three assists, two rebounds and a steal. In Sunday's win, the 6-foot-4 guard scored two points, pulled down a career-best six rebounds, handed out two assists and nabbed two steals. The redshirt freshman played 28 minutes in each contest, marking and equaling a career benchmark.
The Wildcats (3-2, 2-0 America East) are off to their first 2-0 start in league competition since the 1994-95 season.
UNH visits Maine for a two-game series Saturday, Jan. 2 (3 p.m., ESPN3) and Sunday, Jan. 3 (1 p.m., ESPN3) at Memorial Gym as part of the Border Battle, presented by Buffalo Wild Wings.
