Meeks Scores 31 as Charleston Moves On to CAA Semifinals
Rob Washburn
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 6, 2022) – Sixth-seeded Charleston surged out to a 24-point advantage and fended off a second-half rally from #3 Hofstra to post a 92-76 victory in the final quarterfinal game of the 2022 CAA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Jersey Mike’s on Sunday night at the Entertainment & Sports Arena.
Charleston (17-14) advances to the CAA semifinals for the first time since 2019, where it will meet #2 UNCW at 8:30 p.m. on Monday night. The Pride fell to 21-11 after the setback.
Grad student forward John Meeks poured in a team-best 31 points, one shy of his career-high, on 11-of-16 shooting and added seven rebounds to lead the Cougars. Raekwon Horton contributed 13 points and a team-high eight boards and Brenden Tucker had 12 points and four assists.
Hofstra got 21 points from grad student guard Jalen Ray and 19 points and six assists from CAA Player of the Year Aaron Estrada.
Charleston turned in a record-setting offensive performance in the first half, setting a new tournament mark with 55 points over the first 20 minutes on 62.5% shooting from the floor, including 7-of-12 from 3-point range. The Cougars sprinted out to a 7-0 advantage and extended the margin to 11 (19-8) on Reyne Smith’s trey at the 14:11 mark.
Hofstra climbed back within seven, but a 17-1 Charleston run capped by a Meeks’ trey put the Cougars ahead 36-13 with 8:03 left until half. A Meeks dunk gave Charleston its biggest lead, 43-19, with 5:15 to go and they took a 55-33 cushion into halftime. Meeks finished the half with 22 points on 7-of-9 FG shooting, which featured a 4-of-4 effort from beyond the arc.
Hofstra still trailed by 18 with 15:36 remaining, but steadily cut into the deficit over the next five minutes. When Ray delivered back-to-back three-pointers, the Pride pulled to within 70-63 with 10:56 still on the clock. However, Charleston stemmed the tide with a Tucker three-point play and the Pride wasn’t able to get any closer.
Charleston shot 54.8% for the game, which matched the 8
th-best FG percentage in tournament history. The Cougars also had a commanding 40-26 rebounding edge. Hofstra shot 42.4% from the floor.
It marked the third straight season that the #6 seed has knocked off the #3 seed in the quarterfinals.
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