No. 3 Hofstra Punches Semifinal Ticket with 92-61 Victory over No. 6 William & Mary

No. 3 Hofstra Punches Semifinal Ticket with 92-61 Victory over No. 6 William & Mary

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Dylan Smith

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | TICKETS
PHOTO GALLERY | HIGHLIGHTS | BRACKET
PRESS CONFERENCE – HOFSTRA | PRESS CONFERENCE – WILLIAM & MARY
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – CAA Player of the Year Cruz Davis put forth a dazzling 30-point performance to guide No. 3 Hofstra to a 92-61 victory over No. 6 William & Mary in the quarterfinals of the Air Force Reserve CAA Men’s Basketball Championship inside CareFirst Arena on Sunday.
 
The Pride (22-10) will square off with No. 7 Towson (18-14) in the semifinals, with tip-off slated for 8:30 p.m. William & Mary dropped to 20-12 on the season.
 
Davis shot 9-of-15 from the floor with five treys and a 7-for-8 showing from the charity stripe to go with five assists. German Plotnikov chipped in five 3-pointers of his own en route to a 17-point showing. Preston Edmead added 13 points and Biggie Patterson notched a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double.
 
William & Mary’s Jo’el Emanuel scored nine of his team-high 16 points from the line, adding eight boards to his final line. Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi rounded out those in double figures with 12 points.
 
Hofstra rained down triples to open the game as Plotnikov sank a pair out of the gate before Davis’ trifecta made it 9-2. The Tribe worked their deficit down to one, 15-14, after Jhei-R Jones trey and a Chase Lowe finish at the rim with 13:02 to play.
 
Following a 10-4 run sparked by a trio of makes from Edmead at the line, Davis countered William & Mary with the next 10 Pride points and held onto a 34-25 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half. Hofstra watched its lead grow to 50-33 at the break behind consecutive 3-pointers from Plotnikov and Edmead and a Silas Sunday putback at the buzzer.
 
The Pride continued to pull away in the second half, limiting the Tribe to just 28 points and 20.8% shooting from the floor.
 
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