CAA Men’s Basketball Recap – Jan. 22
Dylan Smith
William & Mary 77, UNCW 70
Box Score
William & Mary (13-6, 4-3 CAA) secured a 77-70 home victory to take down UNCW (17-3, 6-1 CAA), the league’s last unbeaten team in conference play. Kyle Pulliam led all scorers with a 16-point effort, going 7-of-8 from the line, adding six boards and dishing out a pair of assists. Kilian Brockhoff dominated inside the arc with a 6-for-6 showing en route to a 15-point effort. Cade Haskin rattled off five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points in the win. The Tribe also moved to 8-0 inside Kaplan Arena this season.
UNCW and William & Mary exchanged buckets until the Tribe rattled off 18 unanswered points, part of a 21-1 run capped off by a traditional 3-point play from Finn Lally, to give the home team 30-8 lead midway through of the first half. The Seahawks cut their deficit down to a few as 12 with the help of Madison Durr scoring eight points on the team’s 12-3 run in the final five minutes. A pair of Kyle Pulliam free throws helped the Tribe take a 14-point lead, 42-28, into halftime.
In typical UNCW fashion this season, the Seahawks surged out of the intermission with the help of Christian May hitting a pair of shots from behind the arc to make it a seven-point contest, 49-42, just five minutes into the frame. The Tribe bumped its lead back to double figures, 63-51, near the midway point with help from Kilian Brockhoff finishing at the rim and sinking a 3-pointer. UNCW’s Greedy Williams tried to will his team over the hump as he tallied seven points on the Seahawks’ 9-2 run that made it a two-possession game, 71-67, with under two minutes to play. The Tribe’s Pulliam staved off the final push with the final six points, including four at the charity stripe, to secure the seven-point victory. UNCW’s Patrick Wessler notched his league-leading 10
th double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Durr also finished with 15 points, including seven from the free-throw line.
Stony Brook 95, Northeastern 90
Box Score
Erik Pratt and Andrej Shoshkikj combined for 53 points to lift Stony Brook (12-9, 4-4 CAA) to a 95-80 victory over Northeastern (6-13, 2-6 CAA). Pratt reached the 30-point threshold for the second straight game, logging 31 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor and a perfect 12-of-12 clip from the charity stripe. The graduate guard also added nine assists and six boards. Shoshkikj registered 22 points on the evening after seeing five of his eight makes come from behind the arc. Ethan Simmon also produced double figures in scoring, knocking down four 3-pointers en route to an 18-point showing. The Seawolves picked up their third straight win on Thursday after shooting 57.1% from the floor (32-56 FG) and 55.2% from distance (16-29 3FG).
It was all Shoshkikj to open the contest as the Seawolves freshman scored 14 of the team’s first 28 points, including four trifectas alone, to put Stony Brook ahead by double digits, 28-12, with 8:45 to play. Northeastern fought off the 16-point deficit and slashed it down to as few as five before halftime, thanks to an 11-1 run featuring distance shooting from William Kermoury and Mike Loughnane. Erik Pratt gathered his own rebound on the final possession and sank his putback attempt as time expired to send the Seawolves into the intermission ahead by seven, 47-40. Stony Brook knocked down 10 of its 14 attempts from behind the arc in the opening stanza.
Luca Soroa Schaller scored the first eight points for the Huskies, part of a 12-5 run to open the frame and deadlock the contest at 52 with 16:16 to play. Stony Brook’s Pratt took over in the second half, notably giving his team a 59-56 lead on a 3-pointer with 14:55 left and never looked back. Shortly after, the Seawolves’ leading scorer notched five points on an 11-0 run that made it a 72-59 game with 9:17 remaining. Stony Brook saw its lead grow to as many as 19 down the stretch before securing a 15-point victory. Xavier Abreu led the five Huskies in double figures with 15 points.
Towson 72, Elon 59
Box Score
Dylan Williamson notched 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half to help Towson (12-9, 4-4 CAA) secure its fourth straight win, a 72-59 victory over Elon (12-8, 4-3 CAA). The senior guard knocked down six 3-pointers and went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, while logging five boards and four assists. Tyler Tejada chipped in 13 points and Jack Doumbia added a 12-point, six-rebound effort in the triumph. The Tigers secured 21 offensive rebounds and outscored the Phoenix, 24-9, on second-chance opportunities.
Towson and Elon engaged in a defensive battle as the two programs traded three ties in the first 5:31 of the contest. The Phoenix held a four-point edge until Tejada and Williamson opened and closed an 11-point spurt with makes from distance to take a 22-15 lead with 6:10 to play in the opening frame. The Tigers maintained a seven-point edge, 29-22, at halftime after Jaquan Womack forced a turnover and had a wide-open lane to the rim for a two-handed slam.
The two teams exchanged buckets to start the second half, but it was a finish at the rim by Williamson that gave Towson a double-digit lead, 39-29, at 16:51. The Tigers’ big man Caleb Embeya helped the advantage expand to 12 after hitting a pair of free throws and finishing in the lane to take a 47-35 edge with 13:07 to play. Elon’s Isaac Harrell helped cut the Phoenix’s deficit down to as few as four, 52-48, after notching the first six points of an 8-0 run. Williamson took over shortly after, hitting four triples across a span of 3:35 that propelled the Tigers to their largest lead of the game, 66-50. Towson’s leading scorer posted 16 of the team’s final 20 points of the contest en route to the 13-point win. Chandler Cuthrell posted a team-best 17 points and seven rebounds for the Phoenix.
Charleston 87, Campbell 83
Box Score
Charleston (12-8, 5-2 CAA) weathered a late surge to pick up an 87-83 victory over Campbell (9-11, 3-4 CAA). Jlynn Counter registered 20 of his team-high 23 points in the final 20 minutes, going 7-for-11 from the floor and dishing out nine helpers. Christian Reeves also produced a 20-point effort, logging 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting inside the arc to go with nine boards and two blocks. Connor Hickman rounded out those in double figures with 18 points. The Cougars scored 50 of their 87 points in the paint, part of a 59.1% shooting clip inside the arc (26-44 FG).
Campbell jumped out to an early six-point lead, 8-2, after back-to-back finishes from Muneer Newton. After continuing to trade buckets, the Cougars capitalized on the hot hands of Connor Hickman, scoring 10 points on the squad’s 16-6 spurt to make it a five-point lead, 22-17, with 9:08 to play. Four minutes later, Tasos Cook and DJ Smith combined to score 10 unanswered points to reclaim a 35-28 advantage with under 90 seconds to play. Charleston closed the frame on a 6-0 spurt as Reeves found an open path to the rim for a pair of slams, making it a one-point contest, 35-34, through 20 minutes.
A slugfest ensued to start the second half as the Camels and the Cougars traded four lead changes in the opening four minutes. Charleston rattled off 14 consecutive points shortly after that started and ended with makes in close by Reeves for a 58-46 Cougars lead with 13:02 to play. The CofC lead grew to as many as 13, 73-70, after Counter finished off a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer at 4:45. Smith nearly helped the Camels erase the double-digit deficit late after sinking a pair of trifectas with under a minute to play to make it a two-point game. He produced a 31-point effort with six of his 11 made shots coming from distance, adding eight rebounds, six assists and four steals. Newton and Cook both recorded 15 points in the setback.
N.C. A&T 79, Hofstra 78
Box Score
Lewis Walker and Trent Middleton Jr. combined for 44 points to lift N.C. A&T (8-10, 1-6 CAA) to its first conference win of the season with a 79-78 triumph over Hofstra (13-7, 4-3 CAA). Walker notched 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor and an 8-for-8 showing at the line. The Aggies’ freshman also pulled down seven boards and dished out two assists. Middleton watched three of his seven makes go down from distance en route to a 20-point showing. Zamoku Weluche-Ume produced his third double-double in the last four games with 16 points and 10 boards.
The two teams traded blows with five ties in the opening seven minutes of the contest. Hofstra started to connect from distance, hitting four triples over an 87-second span, including a pair from Roberts, to put the Pride ahead by six, 25-19, with under 11 minutes to play. After the Aggies’ Dwayne Pierce completed a three-point play to make it a one-possession game, Hofstra turned on the jets. The Pride continued to catch fire from distance as a pair of Preston Edmead triples guided a 9-0 run, part of a larger 20-7 stretch that put the visitors up by double digits, 45-29, with 5:08 to play. Roberts sank three more triples before the halftime horn, finishing the frame with five treys and 17 points. Hofstra’s Davis logged 20 of his game-high 30 points in the opening 20 minutes of the contest, sinking eight of his 12 attempts from the floor to guide the Pride to a 53-40 advantage.
The Aggies fought off an early 15-point deficit in the second half with 13 unanswered points, seeing Middleton Jr. sink a pair of 3-pointers before a jumper inside the arc pulled the home team to within two, 57-55, with 14:11 to play. Edmead tried to halt the run with back-to-back trifectas, but N.C. A&T sank six straight shots from the charity stripe, part of a 14-2 run that put the home team ahead by five, 70-65, with 5:34 to play. The Aggies continued to find a way to get to the foul line, utilizing their free opportunities to maintain a lead down the stretch. The Pride tied the game twice in the final two minutes, but it was Middleton scoring the back end of his two free throws that sealed the one-point win. Hofstra’s Edmead and Roberts each finished with a 20-point showing and five 3-pointers.
Hampton 65, Monmouth 63
Box Score
Hampton (10-10, 4-3 CAA) remained undefeated at home and extended its winning streak inside Convocation Center to 11 games following its 65-63 victory over Monmouth (9-11, 3-4 CAA) on CBS Sports Network. Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt scored nine of his 16 points from the charity stripe, adding four assists and two boards to his final line. Aidan Haskins knocked down four 3-pointers for 12 points in the win.
After Monmouth took an early three-point lead, Hampton rattled off 15 straight points, part of a 17-1 run that saw the Pirates secure a double-digit advantage, 19-6, eight minutes into the contest. The Hawks started to find their rhythm and connect from distance over the next 10 minutes to chip their deficit down to as little as one. Andrew Ball provided an emphatic slam with 3:27 remaining to spark a seven-point spurt that made it a 31-30 contest. Aiden Haskins connected on a 3-pointer in the final 90 seconds to give Hampton a three-point edge at the break.
Neither team secured a lead larger than four to start the second half as the two programs kept pace with each other in the opening seven minutes. Haskins made it a five-point game, 54-49, for the Pirates after finishing an 11-2 run with a triple at the eight-minute mark. Monmouth’s Jason Rivera-Torres helped cap off with an 11-3 counter with an and-one finish through traffic to claim a three-point edge, 60-57, with 2:22 to play. Hampton outscored the Hawks, 8-3, down the stretch and prevented Monmouth from getting a clean attempt on frame in the final seconds to hold on for the win. The Hawks’ Ball went perfect from the floor on Thursday, going 7-for-7 from the floor with five 3-pointers en route to a 19-point showing in reserve. Rivera-Torres joined his teammate in double figures with 12 points, four boards, three assists, two steals and a block.