Men's #CAAHoops Recap: Feb. 27
B
Charleston 80, Delaware 71
Charleston outscored Delaware, 31-12, in the final 6:31 to snap a four-game losing streak and collect a huge win with seeding implications in an 80-71 victory at TD Arena.
Charleston (16-13, 10-7 CAA) earned a season sweep of Delaware (20-10, 10-7 CAA), which gives the Cougars the tie-breaker over the Blue Hens should the teams tie in CAA play.
Trailing 59-49, Charleston caught fire, beginning with consecutive 3-pointers from Brevin Galloway and Sam Miller. A Justyn Mutts jump hook pushed Delaware’s advantage back to six, 61-55, with 5:18 remaining, but another Galloway three sliced the deficit in half.
After a Miller 3-pointer made it 63-61, Zep Jasper converted a 4-point play from the corner to give Charleston its first lead, 65-63, since the first half. Grant Riller would take over from there, scoring six straight points to push Charleston’s led to eight, 71-63, with 70 seconds remaining.
With his 22
nd point of the night, Riller moved into third place in CAA history with 1,421 career points, passing George Mason’s Carlos Yates. Riller finished the night with a game-high 24 points and 1,423 career points.
Galloway kept Charleston in the game early in the second half and scored all 19 of his points in the second half, while Miller added 16.
Mutts and Nate Darling each had 18 points for Delaware, with Mutts posting a double-double with 11 rebounds. Ryan Allen had all 12 of his points in the second half, while Kevin Anderson added 11.
Towson 76, Hofstra 65
Towson dominated on the glass en route to a key 76-65 victory over host Hofstra on Thursday evening.
Towson (18-12, 11-6 CAA) assured itself finishing no worse than the No. 5 seed for the Hercules Tires CAA Men’s Basketball Championship. The Tigers took control of the game late in the first half, closing the half on a 13-4 run.
Nicolas Timberlake got the run started with a 3-pointer before converting a 3-point play on the next possession. After a sequence of four offensive rebounds, Brian Fobbs finally converted for the Tigers to push the lead to six, 37-31.
Timberlake added a second-chance layup before the horn to send Towson into the half with a 43-35 lead.
Hofstra (22-8, 13-4 CAA), which has clinched at least a share of the CAA regular-season title, would close the gap to three points, 45-42, early in the second half, but Towson would push the lead back to multiple possessions on an Allen Betrand 3-pointer.
Fobbs led all Tigers with 21 points, while Betrand added 14. Timberlake came off the bench to post 12 points, while Nakye Sanders made it four Tigers in double figures with 10 points.
Tareq Coburn tied for game-high honors with 21 points, while Isaac Kante posted a 20-point effort for Hofstra. Eli Pemberton added 18 for the Pride.
UNCW 76, Drexel 65
Shykeim Phillips scored 20 points as UNCW overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Drexel, 76-65, at Trask Coliseum.
Eighteen of Phillips’ 20 points came in the second half as UNCW (10-20, 5-12 CAA) started the second half on a 9-0 run to assume control of the game. Phillips had five points in that stretch as UNCW turned a 34-29 deficit into a 38-34 lead.
Holding a 57-53 lead with 6:54 remaining, UNCW stretched its advantage to 10 over the next three minutes, starting with a Phillips’ 3-point play and capping the bust with a 3-pointer from Jake Boggs to make it a 67-57 game with 3:50 to play.
The lead would stay in double figures the remainder of the game.
Mike Okauru joined Phillips in double figures, posting 16 points, while Boggs had 11.
James Butler posted his 19
th double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds for Drexel (13-17, 6-11 CAA), which dropped its sixth straight game. Cam Wynter added 13 points and Coletrane Washington 11 for the Dragons.
Northeastern 77, James Madison 57
Northeastern led start-to-finish in securing a first round bye in the Hercules Tires CAA Men’s Basketball Championship, defeating James Madison, 77-57, at Matthews Arena.
Northeastern (15-14, 9-8 CAA) won for the fourth time in its last five games, this time with Guilien Smith leading the way. Smith, making the start for the Huskies, recorded 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including a 5-of-9 mark from 3-point range.
Smith had 15 of his game-high 20 points in the first half as the Huskies hit eight 3-pointers, including two in a 10-0 run that pushed Northeastern’s lead from six to 16 midway through the half.
Jason Strong hit both of those 3’s, while Shaq Walters punctuated the run with a fast-break dunk to make it a 26-10 Northeastern lead.
The Huskies’ edge grew to as many as 20 points in the first half and 22 in the second half.
Smith paced four Huskies in double figures, joined by Walters, who had 15, and Jordan Roland (11) and Max Boursiquot (10).
Matt Lewis led James Madison, finishing with 17 points as the lone Duke in double figures.