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

[PointGuard]

Game #13: Dec. 30, 2020; Albany Great Danes (6-6, 1-0) at New Hampshire Wildcats (9-3, 1-0)

Albany is riding a 3 game win streak. They have six players who are averaging between 8.3 and 10.3 ppg. Their sixth man is SG Paul Kirkland and he is their leading scorer and a guy who can burn you with some quick points. Albany has been a tough opponent for us in previous years.

We were ice cold at the beginning of the game and after 9 minutes of play had scored just 6 points to Albany’s 11. Our bench came in to bail us out with DeVante Smith leading the way. We scored, Albany didn’t and we finished the half by hitting 51% of our shots compared to Albany’s 25% and holding a 40-19 lead. We also forced the Great Danes to turn the ball over 10 times. DeVante Smith hit 4 of 4 (including 2 for 2 from beyond the arc) to score 10 points.

We were flat throughout the 2nd half and shot horribly. Albany slowly chipped away at our lead, but they were never able to get the difference below double figures.

Final Score: New Hampshire-67, Albany-57. New Hampshire season record: 10-3; American East record: 2-0 (1st place).

Scoring leaders: Neubaue-14, Smith-12, Kirtz-10, Stone-10, Windlan-8.

Rebound leaders: Houston-8, Kresse-7, WIndlan-6, Neubauer-5.

Assist leaders: Kirtz-6, Windlan-4, Neubauer-3.

Player of the Game: PG Heinrich Neubauer-14 pts, 5 reb, 3 assists.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: SF DeVante Smith-12 pts, 1 reb.

Other notes: Wow! We shot so poorly in the 2nd half that we only hit 40% of our FG attempts. Fortunately, Albany could only manage to sink 32% of theirs. Albany dominated the boards 49-37, but we held a 16-5 turnover advantage. Albany’s C Trey Erege had a double-double (15 points and 14 rebounds).

[PointGuard]

Game #14: Jan. 3, 2021; New Hampshire Wildcats (10-3, 2-0) at Hartford Hawks (3-10, 1-1)

Hartford’s record may be more because 9 of their 11 pre-conference games were on the road than how good or bad they are. In their home opener in the America East, they beat Boston so they’re no push-over. They have 3 players averaging in double figures, led by PG Mike Korn’s 13.5 ppg.

The lead bounced back and forth for the first 5 minutes of the first half, but then we got hot and pulled away, opening a 17point lead as we shot well and took advantage of Hartford turnovers. The Hawks closed the gap to 49-39 at the break. Travis Stone dropped in 10 points to top our scoring.

Our shooting fell apart in the 2nd half and Hartford gradually reduced our advantage. A few key turnovers late kept the Hawks from overtaking us. This was a game that was much closer than it should have been, mainly because our players were timid on the boards.

Final Score: New Hampshire-78, Hartford-74. New Hampshire season record: 11-3; American East record: 3-0 (1st place).

Scoring leaders: Stone-15, Howard-12, Windlan-11, Houston-10, Kirtz-10.

Rebound leaders: 2 players with 4 each.

Assist leaders: Kirtz-5, Neubauer-3, Windlan-3.

Player of the Game: PF Travis Stone-15 pts, 2 reb, 2 assists, 2 steals.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: C Clay Houston-10 pts, 3 reb, 1 assist, 3 steals, 3 blocks.

Other notes: We hit 50% of our shots, but that was bettered by Hartford’s 52% shooting (including hitting 60% from beyond the arc). Fortunately we got to the line 11 more times, scoring 7 more points on free throws that did the Hawks. While we held a 20-13 turnover advantage, we simply forgot to rebound, being drubbed 31-20 on the boards.

[PointGuard]

Game #15: Jan. 6, 2021; UMBC Retrievers (5-8, 1-1) at New Hampshire Wildcats (11-3, 3-0)

UMBC is led by freshman phenom SG Mike Woolum who not only is averaging 19.9 ppg but hitting 47% of his FG attempts and 43% of his 3-point attempts. We’ll try to shut him down a little, but only one team has held him to single digit scoring in his 12 starts. The guy has been a scoring machine in UMBC’s first two America East games, averaging 27 ppg. He’s keeping another very strong freshman SG (Neil Thomas) on the bench.

We came out firing, but UMBC was also shooting well. We opened a small lead, but after hitting 11 of our first 16 shots (including 4 of 5 from beyond the arc), we led 28-15 with 11 minutes left in the half. Even though the refs called 12 fouls against us, sending 3 of our starters and a key reserve to the bench, our 56% shooting for the half allowed us to achieve a 52-39 halftime lead. Albert Howard and Byron Windlan both scored 9 points to lead our scoring. Even though double-teamed, Mike Woolum had 10 points for UMBC.

The Retrievers hit some big shots at the beginning of the 2nd half and cut our lead to 6, but we quickly re-asserted ourselves and our double digit lead. Our defense then clamped down and we pulled away for an easy win in which everyone on the bench got substantial court time.

Final Score: New Hampshire-84, UMBC-59. New Hampshire season record: 12-3; American East record: 4-0 (1st place).

Scoring leaders: Smith-14, Neubauer-13, Houston-13, Howard-9, Windlan-9, Stone-8.

Rebound leaders: Howard-6, Houston-5.

Assist leaders: Kirtz-7, Neubauer-3.

Player of the Game: C Clay Houston-13 pts, 5 reb, 2 assists, 2 steals.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: SF DeVante Smith-14 pts, 1 reb, 1 assist, 1 block.

Other notes: Although our shooting fell off in the 2nd half, we still hit 49% of our shots for the entire game. We cooled UMBC to 38% shooting. The Retrievers held a 33-27 rebounding advantage, but we turned the ball over just 6 times while forcing UMBC to make 21 turnovers. We had 34 points in the paint to UMBC’s 14 and held a 14-0 differential on fast break points. Again, DeVante Smith was impressive offensively coming off the bench. He’s now moved ahead of Brad Reid as the first alternate to starter Byron Windlan at SF.

Albany is doing it again. After so-so pre-conference play (a 5-6 record), they have won 3 of their first 4 in conference play and are nipping at our heels for the conference lead.

[PointGuard]

Game #16: Jan. 10, 2021; New Hampshire Wildcats (12-3, 4-0) at Boston Terriers (7-7, 2-1)

Boston’s 5-6 pre-conference record would have been better had they not played 9 of 11 games on the road. Their 5 wins were against quality programs. All of their starters can score and the team scores efficiently. The Terriers have scored 93-98 points in 3 of their games thus far, and they are averaging 76.2 ppg, the top offense in the conference. SG Mike Shueller (12.2 ppg) and SF Devin Ervin (11.2) lead them offensively, but 7-foot center Ashley Jensen is a big presence in the middle. This is likely to be a tough game for us.
We’re playing Boston University’s brand new court [THANKS to the recently posted court mod by bloomington].

We came out on fire and took a 14-3 lead with 15-1/2 minutes to go in the first half. We expanded our lead to 18 points 3 minutes later. Our good fortune was not to continue, though. We then began turning the ball over, and the refs began wearing their whistles out calling fouls against us. So even though we hit 50% of our shots to Boston’s 39% shooting and out-rebounded the Terriers 20-10, the halftime score showed us training 43-42. That was due to our turning the ball over 9 times (compared to Boston’s 5 turnovers) and the refs calling 15 fouls against us which sent the Terriers to the line 25 times where they made 22 points (compared to our 7 of 9 at the charity stripe). 6 of our players had 2 fouls apiece. Albert Howard scored 13 points to lead our scoring.

Boston opened a 7-point lead early in the 2nd half, but we fought back and took a small lead even though the refs continued their barrage of fouls against us. My incessant complaints finally earned me a technical that gave Boston the lead again, but we rallied back.

Final 2 minutes: With 1:43 remaining and us leading 77-75, Travis Stone was fouled as he drove into the lane for a shot. He sunk both shots to give us a 4 point “cushion”. Boston immediately cut that back to 2 and my stomach was in knots. Clay Houston was then fouled but only made 1 of 2, and the refs called another foul on us. The Terriers hit both shots and our lead was down to 80-79 with 1:10 to go. Albert Howard drove into the lane and missed a 7 foot jumper. Boston grabbed the rebound and called time out with 47 seconds left to play. Boston’s play worked as Mike Shueller worked free for a baseline jumper that put us behind 81-80 with 38 seconds to go. After a time out by us, Byron Windlan missed a shot and a putback, but Clay Houston pulled down the rebound and tossed the ball into the hoop and we held a 82-81 lead with 22 ticks on the clock. We pressed but Boston broke it and drove down for what looked like a sure layup. But we fouled the shooter to keep them from scoring the FG. Fortunatley that put Ashley Jensen, their 7-foot center and poorest foul shooter on the line. He missed both shots and we grabbed the rebound. Boston had to foul. With 10 seconds remaining Kueth Kirtz coolly dropped in both ends of the 1-and-1 and we led 84-81. We pressed and as soon as they got over the center line, we tried to foul to keep them from shooting a 3. That didn’t work (and we came within an inch of fouling on their shot), but Boston’s 3-pointer with 1 second on the clock rimmed out. We escaped with a dramatic win on the road.

Final Score: New Hampshire-84, Boston-81. New Hampshire season record: 13-3; American East record: 5-0 (1st place).

Scoring leaders: Kirtz-19, Houston-14, Howard-13, Stone-12, Windlan-10, Kresse-8.

Rebound leaders: Kresse-12, Houston-8, Stone-8, Howard-7, Kirtz-5.

Assist leaders: Kirtz-5, Archie-3.

Player of the Game: Kueth Kirtz-19 pts, 5 reb, 5 assists, 1 steal.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: C Andrew Kresse-8 pts, 12 reb, 2 assists.

Other notes: Boston was awarded 21 more free throws (and scored 21 more points) at the line than us. We made up for that by hitting 46% of our shots to Boston’s 36% shooting and hitting 12 more FG’s than the Terriers. We turned the ball over 16 times compared to Boston’s 10, but again made up for it by dominating the boards 48-28. We outscored the Terriers 32-18 in the paint and 15-5 on second chance scoring...again pointing out our dominance inside. Defensively we held Boston's Michael Shueller to 7 points and kept Devin Erwin from scoring a single point, thereby neutralizing their two top scorers.

[JMD]

Good-looking team you've got there Coach.

[PointGuard]

Thanks...they ARE pretty good, not great, but pretty good.

[PointGuard]

Game #17: Jan. 13, 2021; Vermont Catamounts (8-7, 1-3) at New Hampshire Wildcats (13-3, 5-0)

Vermont’s 7 pre-conference wins include victories over Baylor and Virginia. Their SG Jamie Welch is scoring 18.7 ppg. The loss of their starting center, Aleem Townsend, due to academic suspension at the end of December, may be the reason they have struggled thus far in conference play.

SF DeVante Smith came down hard on his hip during one of our practice sessions earlier this week and will miss this game due to soreness.

We jumped out on top and kept relentless offensive pressure on the Wildcats, steadily building our lead. When the halftime claxon sounded we led 54-38. Both teams shot very well (56% for us and 54% for Vermont), but we held an 18-13 rebounding advantage and an 8-3 turnover advantage. Our leading scorer was Byron Windlan with 10 but Travis Stone and Albert Howard each added 9 for us.

In the 2nd half, Vermont dominated the boards and gradually whittled away at our lead. With just over 2 minutes to play we were only ahead by 4 points. We clamped down defensively at that point and rebuilt a double digit lead.

Final Score: New Hampshire-82, Vermont-72. New Hampshire season record: 14-3; American East record: 6-0 (1st place).

Scoring leaders: Stone-15, Kresse-13, Howard-13, Neubauer-11,Windlan-10, Houston-8.

Rebound leaders: Kresse-14, Stone-6.

Assist leaders: Kirtz-4, Neubauer-3, Stone-3, Houston-3

Player of the Game: C Andrew Kresse-13 pts, 14 reb, 1 steal, 1 block.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PF Travis Stone-15 pts, 6 reb, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.

Other notes: We dropped in 50% of our shots compared to Vermont’s 45% shooting. We turned the ball over 10 times while we forced 15 Catamount turnovers. Even though Vermont had an advantage on the boards in the 2nd half, we still led 33-32 in rebounds for the entire game. Andrew Kresse had a huge game coming off the bench to record a strong double-double (13 points, 14 rebounds). Defensively, C Clay Houston had 4 steals and 2 blocks. We held Vermont’s Jamie Welch to 8 points.

Although losing to us, Albany is continuing to win in the America East and is now sitting firmly in 2nd place with a 5-1 record, just a game behind us.

Our RPI is now 22nd best in Division 1, but we remain unranked. That’s not surprising, though, since no small programs are in the Top 25.

C Clay Houston was named Freshman Player of the Week in the America East Association.

[PointGuard]

Game #18: Jan. 20, 2021; New Hampshire Wildcats (14-3, 6-0) at Binghamton Bearcats (8-10, 2-5)

Binghamton is 6-2 at home this season. They’re led by C Jamal Weston (12.8 ppg and 5.9 rpg).

Andrew Kresse’s big game against Vermont has earned him the starting center spot for us in this game. Clay Houston will move over to PF and Travis Stone will come in off the bench.

We hit 6 of our first 8 shots and zipped out to a 16-4 lead with 14 minutes to play in the first half. Binghamton started to hit their shots at that point, but our offense continued to race along and we opened a 28-13 lead at the mid-point of the half. We cooled a little at that point allowing Binghamton to cut into our lead. We hit 52% but Binghamton torched the net by hitting 63% of their shots. But, our defense forced 14 Bearcat turnovers and we turned the ball over just 5 times. The half ended with the score 44-31 in favor of us. Clay Houston scored 11 and Byron Windlan added 10 for us.

We held a double digit lead until the last 4 minutes of the 2nd half. Binghamton got within 7 points several times but we stepped up to hold them off in the last couple minutes.

Final Score: New Hampshire-74, Binghamton-65. New Hampshire season record: 15-3; American East record: 7-0 (1st place).

Scoring leaders: Howard-14, Windlan-15, Houston-11, Neubauer-11, Kresse-8.

Rebound leaders: Howard-5.

Assist leaders: Kirtz-7, Howard -4, Kresse-4.

Player of the Game: SG Albert Howard-14 pts, 5 reb, 4 assists, 2 steals.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: SF Byron Windlan-15 pts, 4 reb, 1 steal.

Other notes: We hit 48% and Binghamton hit 54% from the field. Binghamton dominated the boards 29-19. But the deciding factor in this game was that we forced the Bearcats to turn the ball over 21 times while making just 10 turnovers ourselves. We scored 26 points in the paint to Binghamton’s 14 and held a 15-6 advantage in fast break points. We held Binghamton’s Jamal Weston to just 6 points.

Our RPI improved to 19th best in the country.

Kueth Kurtz twisted his knee in practice and will miss the next game.

[CoachC]

This is the year, PG! I feel it! After you get to the final four make sure you ask for a BIG increase in budget next year! I may want to borrow some more money!

[PointGuard]

I'll be happy if we just make it to the NCAA Tourny. They'll not seed us very high, so Round 1 will be difficult.