CAA Men’s Basketball Recap – Jan. 24
Dylan Smith
N.C. A&T 80, Towson 73
Box Score
N.C. A&T’s Lewis Walker matched a season-high with 33 points to help the Aggies (9-10, 2-6 CAA) secure an 80-73 victory over Towson (12-10, 4-5 CAA). The freshman guard went 9-of-15 from the floor with five 3-pointers, while sinking 10 of his 11 attempts from the free-throw line. Walker also pulled down seven boards and dished out four assists in A&T’s second straight win. For the fourth time in five games, Zamoku Weluche-Ume produced a double-double, registering 11 points and 15 boards. Dwayne Pierce scored 12 points in the win, while Trent Middleton Jr. and Will Felton chipped in 11 points apiece.
Neither team led by more than three through the opening 16 minutes of the contest, exchanging nine ties and six lead changes. Towson’s Jack Doumbia Jr. and N.C. A&T’s Walker each produced matching 12-point efforts over that span. With under four minutes to play, Walker connected on his third 3-pointer of the half to give the Aggies a 29-26 lead. Tyler Coleman helped Towson secure a 36-35 halftime lead after banking in his attempt as time expired. Coleman finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists.
The Aggies turned on the jets to open the second half, led by Weluche-Ume capping off an 11-2 run with consecutive buckets in close to take a 46-38 lead. A&T bumped its advantage to double figures, 67-50, with under eight minutes to play after Dwayne Pierce connected on a trifecta to jumpstart another 19-6 stretch. Middleton Jr. and Walker continued to stave off the Tigers down the stretch as the duo combined to score 11 of the final 12 points for N.C. A&T before securing the seven-point win. Towson’s Tyler Tejada scored 14 of his team-high 22 points in the final 6:40 of the contest. Doumbia posted 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor in his 26 minutes of work.
William & Mary 89, Hofstra 82
Box Score
A stellar team shooting performance from behind the arc lifted William & Mary (14-6, 5-3 CAA) to an 89-82 victory over Hofstra (13-8, 4-4 CAA). The Tribe sank 18 3-pointers in the win, marking the most by a CAA team this season. Kilian Brockhoff unloaded eight triples in the win, part of a game-high 28 points to go with four boards and three assists. Reese Miller sank four 3-pointers en route to a 17-point showing. Chase Lowe pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds in the win, joining three others with eight points on the evening. The Tribe is the only team in the CAA to remain unbeaten at home (9-0) following Saturday’s action.
The Pride’s Preston Edmead registered five points out of the gate to help his team claim a 7-0 advantage at 16:52. The Tribe’s ability to connect from distance provided the spark that erased the early deficit, watching Brockhoff sink two of the team’s first five 3-pointers to give the home team a 21-20 edge with under 10 minutes to play. Following a brief exchange of buckets, W&M surged with a 14-5 run capped off by another Brockhoff trifecta to earn a seven-point cushion, 37-30, with 3:31 to play. Hofstra’s Cruz Davis quickly registered five straight points, part of a 7-0 spurt that tied the game at 37. The Tribe controlled the final 91 seconds and took a 42-37 lead into the break.
Brockhoff knocked down three straight 3-pointers to open the second half. Miller, Kyle Pulliam and Jhei-r Jones combined to rattle off another four straight shots from distance to put the Tribe ahead by double digits, 63-48, with 15:38 left. After watching the Tribe extend their lead to as many as 17, the Pride started to chip away back-to-back finishes at the rim by Biggie Patterson, part of a 6-0 spurt with 12:29 to play. Edmead and Joshua Reaves started to find their range down the stretch, each connecting from distance to make it a five-point game, 84-79, with 4:28 remaining. The two teams locked in defensively down the stretch, combining to sink just two combined field goals before the Tribe sealed the seven-point win. Edmead finished with 18 points, while Patterson chipped in 16 of his own. Davis chipped in 14 points of his own.
Monmouth 88, Campbell 73
Box Score
Monmouth (10-11, 4-4 CAA) secured an 88-73 road win over Campbell (9-12, 3-5 CAA), marking the Camels’ first setback at home this season. Justin Ray led the charge with five of his nine makes coming from distance en route to a 24-point, six-rebound performance. Jason Rivera-Torres racked up 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in the victory. Jack Collins notched 17 points, nine helpers and six boards in a full 40 minutes of work. Cornelius Robinson Jr. and Dok Muordar chipped in 11 points apiece. The Hawks scored 48 of their 88 points in the paint.
Campbell quickly jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the opening two minutes of the contest. Monmouth retaliated on the sharpshooting ability of Ray to sink a pair of triples, sparking a 17-7 stretch that put the visitors ahead by five, 19-14, with 11:57 to play. The Camels continued to pester the Hawks, keeping the game within two possessions over the next nine minutes. Campbell took a 38-35 lead after Cam Gregory connected from distance to close out a 15-8 run at the 2:18 mark. Monmouth reclaimed a 42-40 lead at halftime thanks to five unanswered points from Jack Collins, followed by a Ray finish at the rim with under 30 seconds remaining.
The Hawks continued to turn to Ray from distance as his triple put the visitors ahead by five, 51-45, with 16:38 remaining. Jason Rivera-Torres helped grow the Hawks’ lead with a personal five-point spurt, part of a 13-2 run, to take a 71-55 advantage with 9:17 to play. Campbell’s Tasos Cook and DJ Smith hit consecutive treys on a 7-0 run to bring the deficit back down to single digits, 71-62. It was all Monmouth down the stretch, watching a well-rounded scoring effort led by Rivera-Torres connecting on five free throws to bump the Hawks’ lead to as many as 17 before the final horn. The Camels’ Jeremiah Johnson notched a team-high 21 points, including a 9-for-10 showing at the charity stripe. Cook and Gregory chipped in 15 points apiece, each connecting on three 3-pointers.
UNCW 75, Hampton 67
Box Score
UNCW (18-3, 7-1 CAA) snapped Hampton’s 11-game home winning streak with a 75-67 victory. Greedy Williams led all scorers with a 19-point, seven-assist performance, going 5-for-10 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. Patrick Wessler notched 16 points and eight rebounds in the win. Nolan Hodge posted 13 points and six boards, while Noah Ross rounded out those in double figures with 12 points. The Seahawks shot 53.1% from the floor (26-49 FG) and outscored Hampton, 32-22, in the paint.
The Seahawks and the Pirates (10-11, 4-4 CAA) exchanged blows to open the contest as neither team held a lead larger than four, trading four ties and a pair of lead changes in the opening 10 minutes of action. Ahead by one, UNCW rattled off four straight points to take the largest lead of the half, 23-18, with 9:15 to play. Hampton quickly responded as Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt and Daniel Johnson connected from distance on back-to-back possessions to spark an 8-1 run that put the home team ahead, 26-24, with 7:21 to play. After seeing the Pirates’ lead grow to as many as five, Jahnathan Lamothe drained a pair of triples in the final four minutes of action to help the Seahawks secure a 38-37 lead at the break.
UNCW jumped out to a six-point lead in the opening three minutes of the second frame after a trio of transition buckets to go up 44-38. The Pirates battled back to make it a one-point contest, 53-52, after Daniel Johnson connected from distance with 10:28 to play. It was as close as Hampton would get as Patrick Wessler went on a personal seven-point run shortly after to take a 60-52 advantage. The Seahawks led by as many as 12 following a pair of makes from the charity stripe by Greedy Williams with just over a minute to go before capturing an eight-point win. Johnson finished with a team-high 17 points, while Gaines-Wyatt added a 14-point, six-assist effort.
Charleston 80, Elon 70
Box Score
A 29-point, 18-rebound effort from Christian Reeves propelled Charleston (13-8, 6-2 CAA) to an 80-70 victory over Elon (12-9, 4-4 CAA). The Cougars’ big man went 11-for-12 shooting from the floor and pulled down six offensive boards. Reeves became the first CAA player to produce at least 29 points and 18 rebounds against a Division I program since Towson’s Jerrelle Benimon on logged 30 points and 18 boards against Temple on Dec. 12, 2012. Colby Duggan posted 17 points, five assists and three rebounds in the win. Martin Kalu recorded 10 points and five boards in 28 minutes of work.
Charleston and Elon traded 3-pointers to start the game before the Cougars rattled off a 16-5 run, scoring all of their points inside the arc, to take an early 19-8 edge with 11:58 to play. Shortly after, Reeves scored five straight points to bump CofC’s lead to 26-12 with 8:36 remaining in the first half. The Phoenix slashed their deficit to as few as six before the end of the frame, starting with a Bryson Cokley triple. The Cougars took a 35-27 lead into the intermission after shooting 66.7% from inside the arc (14-21 FG).
Out of the intermission, Charleston charged out to a 14-point lead after a Martin Kalu crashed the lane and threw down a one-handed slam to make it 47-33 with 15:33 to play. The Cougars grew their lead to 15 before the midway point, watching Chol Machot sink a triple and Connor Hickman drain a pair of free throws. Elon’s Chandler Cuthrell and Randall Pettus II led a valiant comeback after their 9-0 run made it a 61-55 game with 6:18 to play. It was as close as the Phoenix would get as Charleston closed the game outscoring the opposition, 19-15, to capture the 10-point victory. Elon’s Cuthrell chipped in 20 points and seven rebounds, while Pettus and Cokley added 16 and 14 points apiece, respectively.
Drexel 83, Northeastern 78
Box Score
Drexel (10-11, 4-4 CAA) staved off a late surge to secure an 83-78 win over Northeastern (6-14, 2-7 CAA). Josh Reed notched 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor with six free throws off the bench. Shane Blakeney saw two of his four makes come from distance, turning in 14 points, four boards, four assists and three swats. Kevon Vanderhorst and Garfield Turner rounded out those in double figures with 12 points each. The Dragons saw 43 points come from their reserves in their fourth win in the last five games.
After the two programs exchanged buckets over the first 6:11 of the contest, Vanderhorst finished off a 12-0 run with an and-one finish through traffic to take a 21-10 lead with 7:45 to play. Northeastern’s Xavier Abreu and William Kermoury hit back-to-back trifectas, part of a 16-7 counter and bring the Huskies within two, 28-26, with 2:48 to play. Victor Panov gave Drexel a five-point cushion, 33-28, at the intermission after he beat the halftime horn with a triple from the wing.
Shane Blakeney started the second half with a trey to put the Dragons ahead by eight on the opening possession. The Huskies slashed their deficit down to three, 37-34, thanks to Abreu hitting a midrange bucket to finish off a 6-1 spurt with 14:51 to play. It was as close as Northeastern would get as Vanderhorst helped jumpstart a 21-6 run with a 3-pointer and a baseline two-handed slam en route to putting Drexel ahead by double digits, 58-40, at the under-eight media timeout. The Huskies did not go down quietly, utilizing a 10-2 run with five minutes to go to make it a nine-point game. Northeastern’s JB Frankel, Luca Soroa Schaller and Ryan Williams all hit 3-pointers with under a minute to play to bring the visitors to within three, 81-78, with six seconds remaining. Reed scored 14 of the final 25 Dragon points to help seal the five-point victory. Abreu added 19 points and seven boards in the setback. Soroa Schaller and Kermoury chipped in 15 and 14 points apiece, respectively.