HUChronicle_Twitter_Logo.jpg

Hi.

Welcome to the official, independent student-run newspaper of Hofstra University!

Pride positions for Richmond with win in Wilmington

By Joe Pantorno, Assistant Sports Editor

Senior guard Charles Jenkins scored 22 points in the Hofstra University men's basketball team's 71-64 victory over UNC Wilmington on Tuesday night to continue the Pride's march towards the top of the Colonial Athletic Association with the conference tournament approaching.

"I think our energy and effort was great tonight," said head coach Mo Cassara. "We were able to make some plays down the stretch to help us win."

A shaky start from Hofstra was not the ideal answer to the blowout loss to Wright State last week as UNC Wilmington started the game on a 6-0 run.

Sophomore forward David Imes and Jenkins settled things down for the Pride, going on a 9-3 run to get back into the game, tying the game 11-11 with seven minutes gone in the first.

Both teams were not shooting the ball well, with each side just making five shots in the first nine minutes, but the pace of the game was at a blinding speed.

Small runs were made by both the Pride and Seahawks, but the game continued to stay close, with UNC Wilmington holding a slim 18-17 advantage.

UNCW's senior guard Chad Tomko was putting on a shooting clinic in the first half, but Jenkins just seemed to one up the Seahawk with some jaw dropping play.

"Charles continues to make plays and share the ball," said Cassara.

With 4:20 to go, UNCW had a four point lead at 28-24 as Jenkins and Tomko continued to partake in a scoring shootout.

Hofstra ended the half on a 6-2 run to tie the game at 30. Both Jenkins and Tomko had 14 points at the break.

The Pride had the quicker start to begin the second half, grabbing a 39-35 lead. Senior center Greg Washington did not commit his first foul until two minutes were gone in the first half, helping keep the Pride's defensive stalwart on the court.

"One of our goals going into this season was to keep Greg Washington on the floor as much as we could," said Cassara. "Tonight for him to play 39 minutes is a real testament to his work ethic and our overall game plan."

Sophomore guard Yves Jules did a great job shutting down Tomko in the second half, not allowing UNCW's star a single shot attempt for the first ten minutes.

"I thought Yves did a great job bothering him," said Cassara. "I'm real proud of our team's overall defense in the second half."

A deep three-pointer from junior guard Mike Moore gave Hofstra a seven point lead at 52-45 with ten minutes remaining.

Tomko woke up and so did UNCW, going on an 11-4 run, tying the game at 56-56 with 4:30 left in the game.

A great kick out pass from Jenkins to Jules saw the sophomore knock down a three-pointer from the corner to put Hofstra back up 59-56 with four minutes remaining.

UNCW answered right back with a three with 3:40 left to tie things back up.

Five consecutive Hofstra points gave the Pride a 64-59 lead with 1:47 remaining in the ball game.

The Seahawks began fouling the Pride even though they cut the lead to 3 with a minute and a half left. One made free throw from Moore put Hofstra up four at 65-61 and some great defense with 1:09 left had UNCW throw up a highly contested lay-up.

With 36 seconds left, Hofstra's lead was just four at 68-64, but some missed free throws down the stretch by the Seahawks led to their demise.

Tomko finished the game with 21 points to lead UNC Wilmington. Moore added 20 points to the Hofstra effort and Imes recorded a double-double with 12 points and 17 rebounds.

"I'm really proud of David's effort," said Cassara. "He found a way to come back and play hard."

The Pride improves to 19-10 overall on the year and 13-4 in CAA play. Hofstra will close out the season on Saturday against Delaware for senior day at 1:40 P.M.

Men's basketball's emotional senior day capped off with win over Delaware

Adele spans genres on '21'