Philly Gym Rat (The Perry “QM” McMullin Story)

[PointGuard]

Game #1: Nov. 16, 2017; LaSalle Explorers (0-0) at New Hampshire Wildcats (0-0)

My guys have been used to playing a fast-paced game, so I let them go in the first half. The two teams traded basked for the first several minutes but then we took off, hitting our shots and stopping them defensively. We streaked to a 41-19 halftime lead. We hit 41% of our shots while holding the Explorers to 30% shooting. We out-rebounded LaSalle 23-17 and had a 7-2 turnover advantage. We were led by William Kamara’s 13 points, but Edvin Jeppson came off the bench to score 10 points in 9 minutes on the court.

We built a 31 point lead in the 2nd half, but then the Explorers began hitting their shots as I played my bench.

Final Score: New Hampshire-74, LaSalle-63. New Hampshire season record: 1-0.

Scoring leaders: JJeppson-16, Kamara-13, Hall-12, L. Smith-12.

Rebound leaders: Hall-11, L. Smith-8, Beck-5.

Assist leaders: Augustus-3, Kamara-3, Hall-3.

Player of the Game: SF Ryan Hall-12 pts, 11 reb,3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PG Edvin JJeppson-16 pts, 3 reb, 2 assists.

Other notes: We finished the game hitting 44% of our shots. LaSalle made 37% of theirs. We maintained our dominance on the boards, 41-30, but turned the ball over too much in the 2nd half finishing with a 14-12 turnover deficit.

Nice start. My guys came out to play tonight. Long season ahead, but it was good to get an easy first win in the “Live Free or Die” state.

[PointGuard]

Game #2: Nov. 19, 2017; Akron Zips (0-1) at New Hampshire Wildcats (1-0)

We shot well in the first half (54%) but the Zips managed to keep us on our heels and take the zip out of us. The half ended with us on the short end of a 36-32 score. William Kamara was our leading scorer with 7 points.

We erased their lead and ground out a 5 point lead of our own that we held for much of the 2nd half. But the Zips came back and took the lead with small lead with 5 minutes to play. We fought back to tie then dropped down 70-68 with 45 seconds left at which point we fouled sending them to the line for 2 shots. They made both. We brought it into the forecourt and threw the ball away with 35 seconds on the clock, meaning we had to foul quickly.They made one of two to give them a 73-68 lead with 32 seconds to play. Ryan Hall sunk a 3 to cut their lead to 73-71. We fouled again with 22 seconds left. They made one of two and we called a time out to set up a 3 point attempt. We missed and fouled with 8 seconds to play. They hit both shots to put the game away.

Final Score: Akron-76, New Hampshire-71. New Hampshire season record: 1-1.

Scoring leaders: Kamara-16, Faust-16, L. Smith-8

Rebound leaders: L. Smith-8, Beck-7, Babul-6.

Assist leaders: Augustus-7, Kamara-5.

Player of the Game: Akron SF Ricardo Hickerson-16 pts, 5 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: SG William Kamara-16 pts, 2 reb, 5 assists, 1 steal.

Other notes: We outshot Akron 47% to 43% but they got 22 more free throw attempts and scored 20 more points at the line than did we. It was disappointing to give up a lead and lose at home, but it just shows my team has a long way to go.

[PointGuard]

Game #3: Nov. 23, 2017; New Hampshire Wildcats (1-1) at UC Irvine Anteaters (2-0)

The scoring by SG Chris Faust and PG Edvin Jeppson coming off the bench is making me consider starting them, but I’m not ready to make changes yet and just hope they can continue to provide the spark off the bench.

The Anteaters have started strongly and have several players who can score well, but thus far are led by SG O.J. Engstrom’s 16.0 ppg.

Both teams shot poorly, hitting under 40% of their shots during the 1st half. But we just couldn’t hold onto the ball and made 15 turnovers. That plus the whistling us for fouls repeatedly so that UC Irvine was able to score 10 more points than us from the free throw line put us in a big hole. By the end of the half we trailed 38-20. Ryan Hall led our scoring with 7 points.

UC Irvine held us off, never letting us cut the lead much under 20 points. We just gave them too many opportunities by letting them control the boards and by us making far too many turnovers and giving the Anteaters too may free throws.

Final Score: UC Irvine-74, New Hampshire-51. New Hampshire season record: 2-1.

Scoring leaders: Hall-10, Beck-8.

Rebound leaders: Hall-7, Beck-5, Babul-5.

Assist leaders: JJeppson-3.

Player of the Game: UC Irvine’s Andre Reed-16 pts, 5 reb, 3 assists, 1 assist.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: SF Ryan Hall-10 pts, 7 reb, 2 assists.

Other notes: Even though we shot a little better than UC Irvine (41% to 39%), we sealed our own fate by making 22 turnovers (to UC Irvine’s 9) and losing the rebounding battle 37-29. The Anteaters also scored 13 more points at the line.

After enduring our inability to control the ball, I decide to slow down our offense for future games.

[PointGuard]

Game #4: Nov. 26, 2017; New Hampshire Wildcats (1-2) at Buffalo Bulls (2-1)

SG James Morris is scoring 18.0 ppg for Buffalo.

We played strongly throughout the first half, making just 6 turnovers, out-rebounding the Bulls17-14, and hitting 54% of our shots (although we allowed Buffalo to his 52% of theirs). Unfortunately we let them erase a 7 point lead at the end of the half and the two teams went to the locker room tied 41-41. Nate Augustus was on fire, scoring 13 points for us. James Morris had 14 for Buffalo.

The 2nd half was a barn-burner with the lead shifting back and forth. But late in the half, Buffalo took command and held a 6-10 point lead as they hit a bunch of 3 pointers. With a couple minutes to go, we cut the lead to 3 and then their lead fluctuated from 2-4 points. With 45 seconds to go Nate Augustus knocked down 2 free throws to cut the Bulls’ lead to 79-78. I told my guys NOT to foul and just play solid defense to get the ball back for a final shot. They did just that and Buffalo missed a shot and a put-back, missing both. We rebounded with 22 seconds left and no time outs remaining. Chris Faust took a pass outside the key, faking his defender so that he could drive into the key for an 8 footer that rimmed out, William Kamara tried to tip it in but the shot wouldn’t go down and bounced back into Faust’s hands. He put up a quick 5-foot shot than swished through the net with 5 seconds on the clock. Our full-court press bottled them up in the back court and we walked off the court with a dramatic road win.

Final Score: New Hampshire-80, Buffalo-79. New Hampshire season record: 2-2.

Scoring leaders: Augustus-27, Kamara-11, Faust-9.

Rebound leaders: L. Smith-10, Beck-6, Augustus-6, Kamara-5.

Assist leaders: Augustus-3.

Player of the Game: PG Nate Augustus-27 pts, 6 reb, 3 assists, 2 steals.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PF Luis Smith-6 pts, 10 reb, 2 assists, 1 steal.

Other notes: We hit 51% of our FG attempts, but Buffalo hit 48% of theirs. We held a 34-32 rebounding advantage and turned the ball over just 10 times (Buffalo had only 11 turnovers though). The only team stat that Buffalo had a clear advantage over us was 3-pointers where they hit 11 to our 1. James Morris finished with 23 points for Buffalo. Tonight was a great break-out game for freshman PG Nate Augustus who was 9 for 12 from the field, 2 for 2 from 3-point distance, and 7 for 8 from the line plus he pulled down 6 boards, had 3 assists and 2 steals.

Nate Augustus won the American East’s Freshman Player of the Week Award.

[PointGuard]

After I left, Coach Scott Roberts (who was my 1st Assistant Coach) signed a talented PF and a very good SF that we had been recruiting. So the team is very sound.

They’ve won all 5 of their games thus far with ease, they have a rather soft pre-conference schedule. Not surprisingly, their defense has been outstanding (since it was last year also). Opponents are averaging just 52.6 ppg against them. Their offense is led by PF Terrence Delk (one of the new players recruited last year) who is averaging 11.8 ppg with 6.0 rpg, SG Brett Holt who is scoring 10.2 ppg, PG Jerry Yearwood with 9.8 ppg, and C Jeff Gilbert who has dropped in 9.6 ppg and grabbed 8.8 rpg.

I could have scheduled a game against them but am glad I didn’t because our team isn’t up to playing them yet.

[PointGuard]

Game #5: Nov. 30, 2017; Evansville Purple Aces (1-2) at New Hampshire Wildcats (2-2)

Evansville’s SG Donyell Epps is scoring 16.7 ppg, but PG Dan Robinson, who is scoring 11.7 ppg, is hitting 64% of his FG attempts. We need to try to keep both from breaking out with a big game. C Jackie Bedard is scoring 12.7 ppg and averaging 7.0 rpg so he can’t be overlooked either.

With good shooting, we built a 25-15 lead but then went flat while Evansville began hitting 3’s. They scored the next 11 points to take a 26-25 lead. The half ended with the score tied 33-33. We held a 19-14 rebounding advantage and a 8-5 turnover advantage but Evansville hit 48% of their shots while we hit just 42%. They also scored on 4 of 8 threes and we were 0-7 for from beyond the arc. Luis Smith was our top scorer with 9 points.

In the 2nd half, Evansville kept pulling away for a 6-8 point lead, but we continually reeled them back in. Down by 6 points with 2 minutes to go, we cut their lead to 69-67 with 1 minute to play. We nearly stole the ball twice but it went out of bound both times off our hands. Then with 32 seconds to play, Nate Augustus tried to steal the ball and fouled. Evansville missed the first, but made the second shot to give them a 3 point lead. We called time out, but the 3 point play we mapped out never materialized. Instead Luis Smith hit a 10 foot baseline jumper to make it 70-69 with 15 seconds left. We fouled right after the inbounds pass. Evansville knocked down both free throws, meaning we needed a 3 to tie. During our final time out, I called for William Kamara to take a 3, but he was covered so Nate Augustus put one up a three from the top of the key that rattled off the rim. Evansville rebounded and the game was over.

Final Score: Evansville72, New Hampshire-69. New Hampshire season record: 2-3.

Scoring leaders: Kamara-17, L. Smith-11, Faust-10.

Rebound leaders: L. Smith-8, Kamara-6, Beck-5, Babul-5.

Assist leaders: Kamara-4, Augustus-3, Hall-3, JJeppson-3.

Player of the Game: Evansville’s SG Donyell Epps-15 pts, 2 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: William Kamara-17 pts, 6 reb, 4 assists, 3 steals.

Other notes: This was a disappointing game to lose at home, but we just never could put away the Purple Aces. All of the team statistics were just as close as the score.

[PointGuard]

Game #6: Dec. 3, 2017; New Hampshire Wildcats (2-3) at Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (2-3)

The Lumberjacks nearly beat #19 Florida State in Tallahassee, losing by a single point. They have 3 players scoring in double figures.

We hit 52% of our shots in the first half and even though the refs were whistle happy against us, we also used our 20-9 rebounding advantage to build a 39-28 halftime lead. Chris Faust led our scoring with 9 points.

We kept our double-digit lead for the early portion of the 2nd half then let it evaporate as we turned the ball over and had a hard time hitting our shots.

The Lumberjacks forged a 5 point lead late in the game, but we came back to tie it up at 59-59 with 1:29 to go. Northern Arizona hit a jumper with 1 minute to play. After missing a shot be getting an offensive rebound, we called a time out with 45 seconds left to set up a pick and roll. Nate Augustus got a shot away, but it bounced off the rim. The Lumberjacks rebounded but turned the ball over with 35 seconds remaining. Edvin Jeppson drove into the key and lofted a 8 footer of their center that dropped in. Jeppson was fouled on the shot and made his foul shot to put us ahead 62-61 with 30 seconds on the clock. Northern Arizona hit a shot with 20 seconds to go to put us down by one point. We brought it up court and while working the ball around, William Kamara was fouled with 14 seconds remaining. Kamara missed the first and made the second to tie the game. Their point guard drove into the key and was fouled while shooting. He made both free throws to put the Lumberjacks up by 2 with just 3 seconds left. We were unable to get off a final shot and lost yet another close game.

Final Score: Northern Arizona-65, New Hampshire-63. New Hampshire season record: 2-4.

Scoring leaders: Kamara-15, Faust-13, Jeppson-11.

Rebound leaders: Hall-6, JJeppson-6, Babul-5

Assist leaders: Augustus-4.

Player of the Game: Northern Arizona’s PG Robert Holland-17 pts,1 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PG Edvin JJeppson-11 pts, 6 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal.

Other notes: We controlled the boards 36-25 and had a 16-13 turnover advantage, but only hit 15 of 26 free throws while the Lumberjacks hit 21-25. We also were 0-10 from 3 point distance.

[PointGuard]

Game #7: Dec. 7, 2017; Pacific Tigers (4-2) at New Hampshire Wildcats (2-4)

We need to begin controlling teams on our own court. Pacific is the first team we’ve played that primarily employs a zone (a 2-3 zone), so we’ll see how we do against it. Only two players, our two point guards, Nate Augustus and Edvin Jeppson, have been consistently hitting their 3’s thus far.

Three of our starters picked up two fouls each and the Tigers were already into the 1-and-1 in the first 5 minutes of play in the first half. We had 10 fouls called against us 7 minutes into the game. With several players riding the bench due to fouls, we gradually fell behind as our entire bench saw a great deal of action. We trailed 46-29 at the buzzer. Chris Faust was our top scorer with 7 points.

We kept cutting their lead to 5-7 points in the 2nd half but could never get closer.

Final Score: Pacific-66, New Hampshire-58. New Hampshire season record: 2-5.

Scoring leaders: Kamara-10, Hall-10, Faust-9, L. Smith-8.

Rebound leaders: Hall-7, Beck-5, Jeppson-5, Watson-5.

Assist leaders: Two players with 2 each.

Player of the Game: Pacific’s PF Trent Boxler-16 pts, 10 reb, 1 assist.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: SF Ryan Hall-10 pts, 7 reb, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.

Other notes: We lost by 8, Pacific scored 8 more points at the free throw line (on 11 more foul shots) than us. Just 5 fouls were called against Pacific during the entire game. Another big difference though, was that the Tigers out-rebounded us 47-35. Our home record is now 1-3.

After the game the two Ryan’s, Jerod Ryan and Ryan Hall, got into it as Jerod Ryan felt he should be starting instead of Hall…yeah, sure! I pulled Jerod Ryan into my office the next day and let him know what he has to do to get more on-court time and told him whining and getting on his teammates was not doing him any good. He acknowledged that and said he would try harder.

[PointGuard]

Game #8: Dec. 10, 2017; New Hampshire Wildcats (2-5) at Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs (4-3)

Gardner-Webb’s starting guards, Kyle Hedrick and Nick Palmer, are averaging a combined 30 ppg.

We shot well so we were able to hang with the Runnin’ Bulldogs for most of the half, but they pulled away at the end of the half to take a 37-30 lead to the locker room. Our top scorer was Chris Faust with 8 points.

We rode horrible shooting and turnovers by everyone on our team to drop behind by 20 points in the 2nd half. In the latter portion of the half we made a last ditch run and nearly overtook Gardner-Webb. But it was too little, too late.

Final Score: Gardner-Webb-66, New Hampshire-62. New Hampshire season record: 2-6.

Scoring leaders: Faust-16, Hall-11, Jeppson-10.

Rebound leaders: Hall-8, Beck-6, L. Smith-5.

Assist leaders: Augustus-6, Hall-3.

Player of the Game: Gardner-Webb’s SG Kyle Hedrick-20 pts, 2 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: SG Chris Faust-16 pts, 3 reb, 2 assists, 1 steal.

Other notes: Due to our late run, we hit 53% of our shots even after poor shooting in the first portion of the 2nd half. We out-rebounded the Runnin’ Bulldogs 33-26 but made 17 turnovers to their 10. But again, we lost the game at the free throw line. They made 18 of 23 foul shots, while we only got 9 free throws connecting on but 4.

As we continue to lose, I’m concerned we might not be able to get out of the American East cellar once conference play begins. But the fact that 5 of our 6 losses have been by 8 points or less gives me hope we can improve as the season progresses.

Our 4 guards (Augustus, Kamara, Faust, and Jeppson) are scoring at a combined 39 ppg clip. Our 2 SF’s have combined to average 10 ppg. But our PF’s and C’s have combined for 17.5 ppg, so that’s our weak point offensively.

But we really need to avoid fouls and draw more fouls…we’re absolutely getting killed at the line.

Lately the reports are that Bobby Havens grades are improving, so hopefully he does well on his finals this term.

Nate Augustus picked up his 2nd Freshman Player of the Week Award for the America East Association.

[JMD]

So close, but no cigar,.