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UNC Wilmington Athletics

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Events/Results

Craig Ponder
Chris Crouch
70
Winner Hofstra HOFSTRA 21-8 (13-4 CAA)
69
UNCW UNCW 21-7 (13-4 CAA)
Winner
Hofstra HOFSTRA
21-8 (13-4 CAA)
70
Final
69
UNCW UNCW
21-7 (13-4 CAA)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Hofstra HOFSTRA 25 45 70
UNCW UNCW 41 28 69

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Browning

Hofstra Forces Tie For First Place By Trimming Seahawks

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Senior guard Juan'ya Green scored 15 of his 18 game-high points in the second half, including the final eight points of the game, to lift Hofstra into a tie for first place in the Colonial Athletic Association with a 70-69 victory over UNCW on Thursday night at Trask Coliseum.
 
The Pride won its fifth in a row to improve to 21-8 overall and 13-4 in the CAA. The Seahawks stand 21-7 and 13-4.

"It was a hard-fought game and were very disappointed," said Kevin Keatts, UNCW's second-year head coach. "We were aggressive in the first half and did some great things to get the lead. Give Hofstra credit on the defensive end. They picked the defensive pressure up

"There were a lot of 50-50 balls that we didn't get. To come up short is a tough one. We've got to have a short term memory. As disappointing as it is, you've got to move on."

Green, who went without a field goal until just under five minutes left in the contest, finished with a flurry, canning 4-of-10 field goals, 2-of-4 treys and 8-of-11 at the free throw line to share scoring honors with backcourt mate Ameen Tanksley. The 6-6, 218-pound Tanksley added 18 points, while sophomore center Rokas Gustys scored 12 points and grabbed 21 rebounds and senior guard Brian Bernardi had 10.

Sophomore playmaker Jordon Talley paced the Seahawks with 16 points off the bench. Senior guard Craig Ponder chipped in 13 points and four assists and senior center C.J. Gettys wound up with 10 points and nine boards.

The Pride, who trailed by as many as 18 points late in the first half, were still behind, 69-62, with 1:46 remaining when Green, the CAA's Preseason Player-of-the-Year, got untracked.

The slippery guard connected on a three-pointer at 1:27 to pull the Pride within 69-65 and then drained another triple 30 seconds later as Hofstra crept to 69-68 with 53 seconds showing. After a pair of missed free throws by the Seahawks, Green sank a pair of charity tosses to give the Pride a 70-69 edge with 25 seconds left to play.

The Seahawks misfired on the other end, but came up with a loose ball, only to miss three shots near the bucket as time expired.
UNCW shot 56.3 percent in the first half to open a 41-25 cushion at intermission, but the Pride roared back in the early moments of the final period to close the gap.

UNCW still led, 49-36, when the Pride, with Tanksley leading the way, used a 9-0 run to climb within four points, 49-45, with just under 10 minutes remaining. Tanksley had six points in the rally and a conventional three-point play by reserve guard Desure Buie helped Hofstra close the gap to 49-45 at 9:55.

UNCW responded to get the lead back to 58-47, but the Pride answered again with nine points in a row to get the score back to 58-56, capped by Green's first basket of the game with 4:36 on the clock. The Seahawks remained in control the next three minutes until Green took over and put the Pride on his back to gain a split of the regular season series.

The Seahawks got off to a quick start in Thursday's critical game by turning up the defensive heat on the Pride and capitalizing on Hofstra's early shooting woes. After Green dropped in the first of two free throws for his first points of the game to get the Pride within 15-11 at 11:19, the Seahawks strung together seven straight points to gain some early breathing room.

Ponder started the spurt with a soft jumper in the paint and a hook shot by Gettys hiked UNCW's lead to 22-11 with 9:26 remaining in the first half.

While the Pride was missing seven shots in a row, the Seahawks tacked on to their lead and built an 18-point cushion, 41-23, on a bank shot by Talley before Tanksley closed out the half with a bucket with three seconds left to slice the deficit to 41-25 at the break.

UNCW concludes the regular season on Saturday with a 1 p.m. tilt against Towson as the Seahawks salute seniors Ponder, Kevin Hickson, and Dylan Sherwood in their final home appearances.

GAME NOTES: The Pride snapped a two-game losing streak to the Seahawks…Hofstra leads the all-time series by an 18-16 margin…Hofstra has won eight of its 15 appearances in Wilmington…UNCW scored 40 of its 69 points in the paint…The Seahawks forced 15 turnovers by the Pride…Hofstra outscored UNCW, 23-6, at the free throw line…The Pride outscored the Seahawks in the second half, 45-28…Each team made five trifectas…Juan'ya Green played all 40 minutes…Hofstra's largest lead of the game was two points with 14:42 left in the first half…Hofstra outrebounded UNCW, 41-32…Three Seahawks –Jordon Talley, C.J. Gettys and Craig Ponder – fouled out of the game.





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