UNH men's basketball loss a 'learning experience'
By MICHAEL ABELSON
Special to the Union Leader
February 01. 2018 10:48PM
DURHAM — Just when it seemed like the University of New Hampshire men’s basketball team was ready to make a play for the top of America East, the Wildcats rolled back down the hill.
Wednesday’s loss at home to Hartford was notable for all the wrong reasons. The Wildcats surrendered 79 points, the most given up in a season that has included games against Florida and Texas, and the 17-point margin of defeat was New Hampshire’s worst home loss in two years.
The Wildcats’ defense was beaten from pillar to post for the majority of the game and UNH, which is one of the top teams in the country in rebounding, lost the battle of the boards by seven.
Hartford shot 55 percent from the field for the game.
“Our defense really lost us this game,” junior guard Jordan Reed said. “Seventy-nine points is way too many points for a team like us to give up for a team of our caliber defensively. We need to be higher on shots. We can’t let them shoot like that.”
After a three-game win streak earlier in the month, the Wildcats have regressed to a 2-3 record in their last five by alternating wins and losses. A loss on the road at Maine, a program that hasn’t had double-digit wins since 2012-2013, was a lowlight of the stretch.
“You’ve got to come and play 40 minutes,” senior forward Tanner Leissner said. “We can’t play 30 good minutes and expect to win. We have to be ready right from the start. We’ve got to learn from this and move forward.”
The young backcourt has come along slowly but the inconsistencies have been many. Freshman Josh Hopkins has flashed his shooting skills often but had lapses defensively against Hartford. Fellow freshman Elijah Jordan has been fighting through a turf toe injury and isn’t as explosive as he was early in the season.
Sophomore guard John Ogwuche has matured into a starter as the season has gone on and has developed his offensive game immensely. Ogwuche has reset his career best in scoring multiple times this season and has become a defensive stopper.
“I think the young ones are developing very well,” Reed said. “Still, we need to keep preaching the defense. Me being one of the older ones, I need to keep preaching the defense and helping guys understand positions to help us win down the stretch.”
The Wildcats have seven games left before the conference tournament in March and will have to deal with a three-game road stretch in the middle of the month. UNH will get back to it tomorrow with a trip to Albany. “After tonight, I don’t know,” UNH coach Bill Herrion said on Wednesday. “The road’s going to get a lot harder. We’ve got to go to Albany Saturday. That’s what’s disappointing to me. We’ve had a couple of games that have been real swing games (and lost). Disappointing.”
