CAA Men’s Basketball Recap – Feb. 5
Dylan Smith
Monmouth 76, Stony Brook 75
Box Score
Monmouth (12-12, 6-5 CAA) snapped Stony Brook’s (14-10, 6-5 CAA) five-game winning streak after earning a 76-75 victory on Long Island. Jason Rivera-Torres notched a 25-point, 12-rebound double-double, including an 11-of-12 showing at the free-throw line. The Hawks’ top scorer also logged five steals in the win. Kavion McClain chipped in 14 points, five assists and a trio of boards in 36 minutes of action. Cornelius Robinson Jr. chipped in 10 points, seven rebounds and three swipes. The Hawks recorded 15 steals on the evening, logging 23 points off turnovers.
The Hawks found themselves ahead 16-7 in the first 7:30 of the game as McClain came out buzzing with two trifectas and a layup before Rivera-Torres posted back-to-back finishes in close. Monmouth surged again after consecutive treys from Andrew Ball and Justin Ray opened a 13-2 run that put the visitors up 29-12 with 8:31 to play. Erik Pratt guided the Seawolves back to within seven, 34-27, starting the 13-5 spurt with a triple and finishing it at the rum with 4:41 to play. The Seawolves’ leading scorer posted 16 of his team-high 22 points in the opening frame. Monmouth took a 46-31 advantage into the break after closing the half on a 14-6 run.
The Seawolves stormed back to make it a six-point game, 48-42, in the first five minutes of the second half after posting an 11-2 run. Rivera-Torres bumped the Hawks’ lead back to double figures, with a personal 6-0 spree, part of a larger 11-2 retaliation with 11:17 to play. Andrej Shoshkikj rallied Stony Brook back to within three, 63-60, after hitting a triple to start a 16-4 spurt before he and Pratt went back-to-back at the rim with 6:54 to play. The Seawolves’ freshman made it a one-point game, 73-72, after hitting a triple and sinking back-to-back layups with under 30 seconds to play. Rivera-Torres put the game out of reach with a pair of makes at the line, despite another trifecta from Shoshkikj as time expired. The Stony Brook guard finished with 18 points and seven boards.
Campbell 81, Drexel 60
Box Score
A 26-point, 10-rebound effort from Dovydas Butka lifted Campbell (11-13, 5-6 CAA) to an 81-60 victory over Drexel (12-12, 6-5 CAA). The Camels’ big man logged his eighth double-double of the year, while adding four steals to his final line. Jeremiah Johnson put forth 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor and knocked down three 3-pointers. DJ Smith rounded out those in double figures with 16 points, three boards and a pair of steals. Campbell outscored the Dragons, 21-12, on miscues.
Drexel jumped out to an 11-5 lead after Eli Beard, Shane Blakeney and Kevon Vanderhorst all connected from distance in the opening three minutes. The Dragons watched their lead grow to eight, 18-10, after Blakeney hit a pair of midrange shots on a quick 5-0 spurt with 13:49 to play. Campbell’s Johnson took over and scored 10 of the next 12 points for his team, making it a two-point game, 24-22, at the 10:12 mark. It remained a two-possession game through the final 10 minutes of the half. Campbell took a 39-36 lead into halftime after watching DJ Smith finish off the glass in the final seconds. Drexel shot 76.2% from the floor (16-21 FG) in the opening stanza.
The Camels connected on six of their first seven attempts of the second half, including 10 unanswered points on a 12-2 run to open the frame. Campbell locked down defensively and allowed just three field goals in the first 12 minutes of the frame. The Camels recorded another 10-0 stretch, capped off by a Butka midrange make at 8:02 that put the home squad ahead, 63-42. Smith and Butka helped maintain a double-digit lead down the stretch, combining to score 16 of the team’s final 18 points of the contest. The Dragons’ Blakeney and Josh Reed chipped in 15 and 14 points apiece, respectively.
Hofstra 80, Northeastern 63
Box Score
A near triple-double effort from freshman Preston Edmead propelled Hofstra (15-9, 6-5 CAA) to an 80-63 victory over Northeastern (6-16, 2-9 CAA). The Pride’s rookie guard racked up 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, including five trifectas. Edmead also pulled down nine boards and dished out eight assists. Cruz Davis matched his backcourt mate with eight helpers to go with his 16-point effort. Joshua DeCady posted 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor, including makes on his two attempts from distance. German Plotnikov rounded out the group in double figures with 10 points on a 5-of-9 clip.
Edmead led the Pride out to a 20-12 lead with a trio of 3-pointers in the first nine minutes of the contest. Joshua DeCady helped Hofstra double its advantage, 34-18, with 12 points on the squad’s 14-4 run with 4:24 to play in the half. Shortly after, Northeastern’s Ryan Williams willed his team back to within eight, 36-28, unloading 10 of his 17 total points in a span of 1:47. Hofstra took a 41-28 lead into the intermission.
The Huskies’ William Kermoury hit a pair of treys in the first three minutes of the frame, including a four-point play that slashed the Huskies’ deficit to 10, 47-37. Hofstra’s Plotnikov registered eight of the team’s next 12 points to put the Pride back ahead, 59-44, with 12:29 to play in the game. Hofstra maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the second half before securing a 17-point victory at home. Kermoury finished with 12 points and eight boards, while Xavier Abreu chipped in a 16-point showing.
Hampton 87, Elon 79 (2OT)
Box Score
Hampton (11-13, 5-6 CAA) outlasted Elon (13-11, 5-6 CAA) in double overtime with an 87-79 victory at home. The Pirates’ Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt led the way with 23 points, three boards, a trio of assists and three steals. Etienne Strothers registered seven of his 18 points in the final overtime period, finishing with four boards and four steals. Daniel Johnson also chipped in 18 points to go with seven rebounds. Elon’s Chandler Cuthrell logged the league’s first 30-point, 10-board effort in nearly a year, finishing with 32 points and 10 rebounds.
The two teams traded blows to open the contest, with neither team gaining a two-possession lead until a Ja’Juan Carr finish in the paint lifted the Phoenix to a four-point edge, 13-9, at 10:31. Hampton surged shortly after with a 14-4 stretch led by Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt and Josh Ogundale in close to take a 23-17 lead with 6:31 to play. After the Pirates saw their lead grow to as many as nine, Elon’s Cuthrell registered the first five points on the team’s 12-3 run to end the frame, deadlocking the game at 33 at halftime.
Much like the start of the game, Elon and Hampton went back and forth to open the second stanza until a 9-2 run sparked by a Carr triple put the Phoenix up by four, 46-42, with 14:51 to play. The Pirates and the Phoenix traded scoring sprees until Isaac Harrell’s and-one finish through traffic at 3:57 put Elon up by five, 64-59. Daniel Johnson forced overtime and tied the game at 64 with his triple from the wing with 24 seconds to play. In the first extra period, Johnson found the bottom of the bucket from behind the arc again to take a 69-66 edge. Elon’s Ned Hull nailed his fourth trifecta of the contest with 55 seconds remaining to deadlock the score at 73 and send the game into double overtime. The Phoenix’s guard finished with 15 points. Wyatt-Gaines took over with an early triple and a pair of makes at the line to open the second overtime period before a slam from Strothers rattled the rim with a slam to take a five-point lead. The Pirates’ forward scored seven of the team’s final nine points to help secure the victory. Elon’s Carr rounded out those in double figures with 13 points.
William & Mary 85, UNCW 78
Box Score
William & Mary (15-8, 6-5 CAA) completed the season sweep of UNCW (19-4, 8-2 CAA) by erasing a 12-point deficit en route to an 85-78 victory. The Tribe saw 46 of their 85 points come from their reserves, led by a 23-point showing from Reese Miller. The 6-foot-4 guard went 6-of-11 from the floor with a pair of treys, while sinking nine of his 12 attempts from the charity stripe. Jo’el Emanuel went 5-of-7 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the line to finish with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists. Kyle Pulliam and Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi chipped in 10 points apiece.
UNCW’s Nolan Hodge connected on three of the team’s first five 3-pointers en route to a 15-7 lead with 14:47 to play in the opening frame. Hodge hit his fourth triple of the half with 10:36 on the clock before Madison Durr connected from distance 70 seconds later to make it a 27-15 advantage for UNCW. The Tribe rallied over the next four minutes as Ryan Jackson opened a 17-7 run with a trey of his own to help bring the visitors to within two, 34-32, with 5:08 left in the first half. The Seahawks nearly took a seven-point lead into the break, but it was Vahlberg Fasasi hitting a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left that made it a 45-41 game at the intermission.
The Seahawks managed to take a six-point edge, 59-53, following a Jahnathan Lamothe trey at 13:47. The Tribe rattled off 12 unanswered points, including a pair of triples from Pulliam, to claim their first lead of the half, 65-59. William & Mary never looked back as an Emanuel dunk and transition layup helped spark a six-point spurt and put the visitors ahead by nine, 75-66, with 3:04 to play. Miller closed out the game with eight made free throws and 10 total points in the final 2:07 of the contest to secure the seven-point victory. The Seahawks’ Hodge finished with 22 points, while Patrick Wessler logged a 16-point, eight-rebound outing. Noah Ross and Greedy Williams chipped in 10 points each.
Charleston 78, N.C. A&T 62
Box Score
A pair of 16-point efforts from Jlynn Counter and Christian Reeves guided Charleston (16-8, 9-2 CAA) to its fifth straight win, a 78-62 victory over North Carolina A&T (9-13, 2-9 CAA). Counter went 7-of-12 from the floor, while logging six assists, four steals and a trio of rebounds in 31 minutes of action. Reeves shot an effective 7-of-9 from inside the arc and pulled down six boards. Colby Duggan joined the duo in double figures with a 12-point showing. Charleston shot 52.5% from the floor as a team (31-59 FG), including 65.8% from inside the arc (25-38 FG).
Lewis Walker helped the Aggies to an early 14-9 edge after draining a triple with 13:28 to play. Charleston’s Reeves posted back-to-back slams before Colby Duggan capped an 11-0 run with a trey from the win to take a 20-14 lead with 8:37 to play. North Carolina A&T flipped the script over the next five minutes as Walker led a 17-7 rally with a triple to start the run before a pair of makes at the free-throw line by KJ Debrick gave the Aggies a 31-27 lead with 3:21 to play. The Cougars took a 41-37 lead into the break as the home team closed the half on a 14-6 run.
CofC carried its momentum into the second half and saw Martin Kalu and Chris Davis connect from distance to help the Cougs to a double-digit lead, 57-47, at the 13:22 mark. Following a pair of buckets in close from the Aggies’ Walker, Charleston scored nine unanswered points, part of a larger 17-5 capped off by Counter finishing in transition for a 74-56 lead with 3:29 remaining. Walker scored the Aggies’ final bucket of the game with 12 seconds remaining, recording a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double with a pair of steals. Trent Middleton Jr. joined Walker in double figures with 12 points and seven boards.