LOWELL, Mass. — Another check mark in the win column, and this one with a bus ride home to follow.
The University of New Hampshire men’s basketball team made it three wins in a row on Monday, leading wire-to-wire in downing UMass-Lowell, 74-62, in a matinee at Tsongas Center for its first road win of the season.
John Ogwuche had the hot hand early, matching his career high with 15 points, and Tanner Leissner dumped in 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting as the Wildcats (7-11, 3-1 America East) continued their strong recent form in front of an announced crowd of 2,033.
“You definitely feel better when you’re winning, but even when we were losing those games we knew we were right there, that we were one step away,” said Leissner. “We’re finally making strides to be the team we want to be.”
And finally getting a road win?
“It was the next game, another real important game,” said Leissner, who also grabbed a dozen rebounds. “It shows we can win on the road.”
“Proud of our guys,” said UNH coach Bill Herrion. “We really came ready to play.”
Darryl Stewart, starting at point guard for the second straight game, scored 11 points and forward Jacoby Armstrong added 10. Iba Camara grabbed 17 rebounds (the ‘Cats finished with a 44-28 edge) as he moved closer to the program’s all-time mark.
Facing a struggling — and smaller — Lowell team that was giving up inches to the 6-foot-7 Leissner, the 6-foot-9 Camara and the 6-foot-7 Armstrong, the ‘Cats put a quick grip on the game by making five of their first six 3-pointers.
It was 26-6 with a little over 11 minutes left in the first half and 41-26 at halftime, the ‘Cats connecting on six threes, taking advantage of double-teams on their big guys to find open shooters on the perimeter.
“That’s the hard part and the part I really want to focus on when we watch the tape, how open their shots were,” said Lowell coach Pat Duquette, whose team dropped to 6-11 (0-4 AE) after its 10th loss in 11 games. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
Jahad Thomas, the River Hawks’ undersized but dangerous 6-foot-2 forward, scored a team-high 20 points on 9-of-20 shooting. But the rest of the team made just 10 baskets and the Hawks finished at 39 percent from the floor.
“Tough game for us today,” said Duquette. “We were outsized and we knew that going in. … The success we’ve had against them in the past is when we’ve shot the ball well. We didn’t shoot the ball well.”
Lowell did make one challenge after halftime, shaving the lead to 43-33 after Rinardo Perry capped a 7-2 run with a three. But Stewart got to the line twice in succession, making all four tries, and Leissner was dominant in stretches the rest of the way as the lead hovered around 20.
Ogwuche, one of the players who’s seen his minutes upped during this run, largely because of his defensive prowess, scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half and finished 5 of 9 from the floor.
“Coach has been telling me in practice, let it come to you,” said Ogwuche. “Stay aggressive on defense and let the offense come to you. That’s what I did today.”
So now the ‘Cats get ready for the champs to come to them. First-place Vermont, which carried a 13-5 record and perfect conference mark into Monday night’s game against Maine, visits Lundholm Gym on Thursday.
“Tough one on Thursday night,” acknowledged Herrion. ‘These guys are obviously the measuring stick in our league and they’ve really had our number. … But it’s the next game, we’re home and it’s a great opportunity for us.”
NOTES: Camara pulled closer to becoming UNH’s all-time rebounding leader. His 17 gave him 885 for his career, just 12 behind Dave Pemberton (1969-72). … Herrion said guard Jordan Reed, whose missed this three-game win streak as he recovers from an ankle sprain, could be available Thursday against Vermont.
WILDCATS 74, RIVER HAWKS 62
NEW HAMPSHIRE (74)
Camara 1-6 0-0 2, Armstrong 4-9 2-2 10, Leissner 9-16 7-11 26, Stewart 3-9 4-4 11, Ogwuche 5-9 2-4 15, Watkins 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan 1-3 0-0 2, Horn 0-2 0-0 0, Burns 0-0 0-0 0, Hopkins 2-5 2-2 8. Totals 25-59 17-23 74.
MASS.-LOWELL (62)
Harris 2-4 4-6 8, Perry 2-6 1-3 6, R.Jones 1-3 2-2 4, Thomas 9-20 4-4 22, Gantz 0-2 2-2 2, Bennett 0-0 0-0 0, S.Jones 2-7 5-6 9, Naccarato 1-2 0-0 2, Noel 2-5 4-7 9. Totals 19-49 22-30 62.
Halftime—New Hampshire 41-26. 3-Point Goals—New Hampshire 7-14 (Ogwuche 3-3, Hopkins 2-3, Leissner 1-2, Stewart 1-4, Armstrong 0-2), Mass.-Lowell 2-15 (Perry 1-3, Noel 1-3, Harris 0-2, S.Jones 0-2, Gantz 0-2, Thomas 0-3). Fouled Out—Gantz.