Johnson's Double-Double Lifts 'Cats Past UAlbany, 71-64

Saturday, January 23

Durham, N.H.

2 PM

University of New Hampshire

7-5,6-3America East

UAlbany

3-6,3-4America East

Albany (NY)

New Hampshire

Photo by: Larissa Biette

1/23/2021 6:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

DURHAM, N.H. – Nick Guadarrama (Newington, Conn.) scored a game-high 25 points and Nick Johnson (Bronx, N.Y.) recorded a double-double to lift the University of New Hampshire men's basketball team to Saturday afternoon's 71-64 victory against UAlbany at Lundhholm Gym.

Guadarrama's 3-pointer gave UNH a 67-59 lead at 1:15 and he made two free throws to advance the score to 69-64 with 31 seconds remaining to help secure the win. He made 7 o5 15 field goals, including 5-for-8 on 3-pointers, and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line. Guadarrama's other stats included seven rebounds and three assists.

Johnson, the reigning America East Rookie of the Week, recorded career highs in points (18) and rebounds (10) for his first career double-double, and he also had a personal-best of four assists. With UNH's lead trimmed to two points, he finished strong in the lane to get the basket and completed the three-point play to push the advantage to 64-59 at 1:57.

UAlbany was led by Jamel Horton (19 points) and C.J. Kelly (11 points, eight rebounds).

UNH won its third consecutive game to improve to 7-5 overall, 6-3 in America East and 4-3 at home. UAlbany is 3-6, 3-4. The teams tip off again Jan. 24 (2 p.m.) at Lundholm Gym on EPSN3.

Score: UNH 71, UAlbany 64
Records: UNH (7-5, 6-3 AE) – UAlbany (3-6, 3-4 AE)
Location: Durham, N.H. – Lundholm Gym
Date: Sunday, January 23, 2021
Box Score -- Video Highlights

FIRST HALF

There were no lead changes and just three ties in the game – all in the first four minutes at 2-2, 5-5 and 7-7.
Guadarrama's first 3-pointer of the game gave the Wildcats a 10-7 lead (at 15:41) that it would not relinquish.
Chris Lester (Barrington, Ill.) followed with another 3-ball and Blondeau Tchoukuiengo (Montreal, Quebec) made a layup to push the margin to 15-7 at 12:32.
UAlbany closed within five points, 17-12, midway through the half but the 'Cats went on an 8-1 run to extend the lead to 25-13. Jayden Martinez (Cibolo, Texas) capped the spurt with back-to-back layups.
Guadarrama connected again from long range to give UNH its largest lead of the half, 35-20, with 40 seconds on the clock.
Trey Hutcheson's jumper lifted UAlbany within 35-22 going into halftime.
New Hampshire built its lead on the strength of 40.6 percent shooting from the floor (13-32) while holding the Great Danes to 23.3 percent (7-30).

SECOND HALF

Guadarrama opened the second half scoring with a layup to reestablish a 15-point lead, 37-22.
UAlbany inched within 10 points, 39-29, at 16:36.
Guadarrama answered with a 3-pointer and Qon Murphy (Charlotte, N.C.) made a jumper to once again make it a 15-point margin, 44-29, at 15:48.
Trailing 48-36, the Great Danes went on a 7-0 run to close within 48-43 at 8:41.
The teams traded scores to advance the score to 54-47 in favor of the 'Cats.
UAlbany made four straight free throws to trim the deficit to 54-51 at 4:28.
The visitors got within two points at 56-54, 58-56 and 61-59 (at 2:14).
That's when Johnson converted his and-1 three-point play and assisted on Guadarrama's 3-ball to push the advantage to eight points, 67-59, at 1:15.
Horton answered immediately with a 3 and Antonio Rizzuto made two free throws to lift UAlbany within 67-64 with 35 seconds remaining.
Guadarrama made two foul shots, then Martinez blocked a shot at the other end of the court to preserve the 69-64 lead.
Tchoukuiengo missed two free throws (17 seconds left), but then stole the ball and made two foul shots to push the margin to 71-64 with nine seconds left.
Johnson pulled down a defensive rebound to end the game and record his double-double.
The Great Danes scored 42 second-half points on a .538 field goal percentage (14-26).

UNH NOTEBOOK

This is UNH's longest win streak of the season.
Martinez just missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds; he also had three blocks.
Tchoukuiengo finished with six points and six rebounds.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

UNH recorded a 44-34 rebounding advantage that included 14-7 on the offensive glass, which led to a 13-9 edge in second-chance points.
UAlbany had a 30-28 scoring edge in the paint.
From 3-point range, the 'Cats shot 36.4 percent (8-22) in comparison to the Great Danes' 13.3 percent (2-15).
UAlbany made 20 of 26 free throws; UNH was 13-for-21 at the foul line.

LOOKING AHEAD