#CAAHoops MBB Recap – Feb. 3 – Close Matchups Rule the Day
Miles McQuiggan
RICHMOND, Va. (Feb. 3, 2024) – All six CAA games Saturday came down to the wire on the first day with five or more conference matchups decided by five points or less since Feb. 16, 2008.
Charleston 84, William & Mary 83
Charleston outlasted William & Mary in Williamsburg behind a big afternoon from
Ben Burnham and some timely stretches.
William & Mary (8-15, 3-7) led by eight before an 11-0 run – with threes on consecutive possessions by
Reyne Smith, Burnham, and
Khalil London – put Charleston (16-7, 7-3) ahead 36-33 with 3:33 to play before halftime. A half-court buzzer-beater from
Chase Lowe put W&M in front 44-41 at the break and the Tribe got the first three out of the locker room, but Charleston followed with the next 12 to lead 53-47 with 16:57 to play following a
Ben Burnham three. W&M briefly retook the lead before a personal 10-0 span from Burnham put the visitors back in front 65-56 with 10:05 to go. The Tribe would get to within two on a pair of occasions in the final 20 seconds and to within one on a half-court buzzer-beater by
Gabe Dorsey.
Burnham led Charleston with 20 points in 23 minutes; Lowe’s 21 for William & Mary led all scorers, as did his 11 rebounds.
Delaware 84, Monmouth 80
Delaware shot 51% and made 10 three-pointers to win a battle of teams that entered the day tied in the CAA standings.
Delaware (14-9, 6-4) led 42-38 at the break and withstood a battle from Monmouth (12-11, 5-5) in the second half, as the Hawks retook the lead on four occasions down the stretch. The teams were even before an 8-0 run allowed Delaware to create some separation and lead 70-62 with 7:14 to play. Monmouth pulled to within one but no closer in the final minute.
Jyáre Davis led Delaware with a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds – his fourth of the season.
Xander Rice led all scorers with 24 for Monmouth.
Elon 69, North Carolina A&T 65
Elon built a 16-point halftime lead and withstood a North Carolina A&T rally to win for the second time in three games in Saturday’s matinee on CBS Sports Network.
Elon (10-13, 3-7) led 42-26 at the break after three
Zac Ervin threes over the final 1:53. Six straight
Nick Dorn points pushed the advantage to 19 before a 27-9 stretch got N.C. A&T (7-16, 5-5) to within one at 59-58 with 3:41 to play. It was the closest the Aggies would come, as the Phoenix responded with seven of the next 10 – five of them from
Max Mackinnon – to build a cushion that held up the rest of the way.
Ervin led Elon with 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting, all from three.
Jalal McKie (23) and
Camian Shell (22) combined for 45 of A&T’s 65.
Hofstra 59, Towson 56
Tyler Thomas notched 23 points in an all-around performance as Hofstra outlasted Towson in a high-level CAA battle on CBS Sports Network.
The teams traded runs in the first half, as Hofstra (13-10, 6-4) responded to Towson’s early 6-2 start by rattling off a 13-0 stretch moments later for a 17-8 advantage with 11:08 until halftime. Hofstra would lead by nine on a pair of first-half occasions before Towson (14-9, 7-3) pulled even at 28 at the break.
Eight straight Towson points had the visitors in front 38-31 with 15:05 to play before a 23-7 stretch for Hofstra put the Pride ahead by nine with 5:29 to play. Towson would score the next nine to even the score before a
Jacco Fritz layup and deep three from Thomas put the Pride ahead 59-54 with 42 seconds to play. Towson would get a layup off an inbound steal and a look to tie, but the three-point attempt was long and Hofstra held on.
Thomas was 9-of-17 from the floor and 4-of-8 from three while adding seven rebounds and nine assists.
Nendah Tarke led the way with 12 points for Towson, which was +10 on the glass but held to 30% shooting.
Stony Brook 59, Northeastern 55
A late 11-0 run lifted Stony Brook past Northeastern to even the Seawolves’ CAA record and earn a season sweep of the Huskies.
Stony Brook (12-11, 5-5) trailed most of the second half and by a 52-46 margin with 3:56 to play before holding Northeastern (8-15, 3-7) off the board for the next 3:40, eventually retaking the lead after two offensive rebounds led to an
Aaron Clarke go-ahead three to make it 54-52 with 1:22 to go. Stony Brook pushed the advantage to five before Northeastern answered with a
Jared Turner three, but the Huskies would not come any closer in the final minute.
Clarke and Noll had 14 points each to lead Stony Brook; Turner led all players with 15 points for Northeastern.
UNCW 77, Campbell 74
UNCW surrendered a lead before grinding out a home win over Campbell to move within one game of first place in the CAA.
UNCW (16-6, 7-3) led by nine with 14:06 to play before Campbell (11-12, 5-5) used a 15-6 span to pull even at 59 with 7:29 to play. The score would be level twice more, but 13 of
Donovan Newby’s team-high 22 came over the next four minutes to help UNCW trade shot for shot and eventually gain separation. Campbell would get back to within one twice before the Seahawks held on.
Newby scored 22 and
KJ Jenkins added 20 for UNCW, which went 15-of-40 from three, matching its most attempts in four seasons under
Takayo Siddle. Campbell was led by a game-high 23 from
Anthony Dell’Orso.
Hampton 63, Howard 61 (Non-Conference)
Jerry Deng hit a pair of key three-pointers in the final 64 seconds to lift Hampton over Howard at the Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic Newark, New Jersey on TNT.
The freshman forward’s six straight points were the tipping point of an 18-2 run late in the game to lift Hampton (5-18) out of a late 11-point deficit.
Deng’s 21 points off the bench led all scorers; Deng and
Jordan Nesbitt’s 17 led a 51-point effort from Hampton’s bench.
Up Next
Thursday’s seven-game slate will be played primarily at 7 p.m. with an 8 p.m. clash on CBS Sports Network.
Drexel at UNCW (7 p.m. – WECT 6.2 [Bounce], FloHoops)
Delaware at Towson (7 p.m. – WBAL 11.2 [MeTV], FloHoops, Flo Social)
William & Mary at Monmouth (7 p.m. – SNY, NBCSP, FloHoops)
Northeastern at Campbell (7 p.m. – FloHoops)
Stony Brook at Elon (7 p.m. – FloHoops)
Hofstra at Hampton (7 p.m. – FloHoops)
North Carolina A&T at Charleston (8 p.m. – CBS Sports Network)
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