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MBBvsHofstra
John Crouch
82
Winner Hofstra Hof 10-6,6-3 CAA
73
UNCW UNCW 7-7,1-4 CAA
Winner
Hofstra Hof
10-6,6-3 CAA
82
Final
73
UNCW UNCW
7-7,1-4 CAA
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Hofstra Hof 39 43 82
UNCW UNCW 36 37 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Browning

Late Surge Lifts Pride Past Seahawks

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Reserve guard Omar Silverio came off the bench to score 13 of his career-high 17 points in the second half to propel Hofstra over UNCW, 82-73, in a Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball matchup early Saturday at Trask Coliseum.
 
The Pride won for the fourth consecutive time and hiked its record to 10-6 overall and 6-3 in the CAA. The Seahawks, 7-7 and 1-4, have dropped four of their last five outings.
 
Junior forward Isaac Kante paced four Hofstra players in double digits with 18 points. Senior guard Jalen Ray pumped in 17 points to go along with Silverio's total, and freshman forward Kvonn Cramer tied his career best with 16 points.
 
Senior guard Mike Okauru played all 40 minutes and led the Seahawks in scoring for the third time with 21 points. Sophomore guard Joe Pridgen added 17 points, while senior guard Ty Gadsden and senior forward John Bowen closed with 12 points apiece.
 
Bowen, from Bladenboro, N.C., went 6-for-6 off the bench to surpass his previous scoring high of 10 points at Norfolk State on Dec. 18 in Norfolk.
 
"Give a lot of credit to Hofstra," said Takayo Siddle, UNCW's first-year head coach. "They have a lot of seasoned guys that know how to win. They made winning plays at both ends of the floor and I thought that was the difference in the game.
 
"We just have to keep fighting and get stops. We have to keep plugging way. We'll show our guys what it looks like and try to get over the hump."
 
UNCW trailed at the half, 39-36, and regained the lead early in the second period before the resilient Pride rallied down the stretch.
 
The Seahawks led by four points, 55-51, at the 12:35 mark when Bowen grabbed an offensive rebound and converted the putback. But the Pride scored five quick points to regain the lead before sophomore guard Jake Boggs tipped in a miss to put the Seahawks back in front, 57-66, their last lead of the contest.
 
It was still a three-point game with just under five minutes left to play when Hofstra, the defending CAA champions, made its move.
 
After Okauru scored on the left elbow to cut the deficit to 68-65, the Pride reeled off nine straight points over a 2:42 stretch to gain separation. Silverio drained a key three-pointer in the spurt and Ray tossed in four free throws as the Pride built its largest lead of the game, 77-65, with 1:33 left to play.
 
Hofstra's balanced attack overshadowed an outstanding first half by Pridgen, who led all players with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the opening 20 minutes. Pridgen has now reached double figures in eight of the 11 games since he joined the team back on Dec. 7.
 
The Pride used a 7-0 spurt early and grabbed a 10-3 advantage on Cramer's putback before the Seahawks rallied. Pridgen's reserve layup capped an 8-0 run over a 2:58 stretch to give the Seahawks a 13-11 edge.
 
Kante got into the act with three straight buckets midway through the period and Silverio gave the Pride a lift. A Rhode Island transfer, Silverio connected on a stepback jumper and Ray's driving layup with four minutes left pushed Hofstra's lead to 33-28.
 
In three games against the Seahawks, Kante has averaged 17.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and made 70.3 percent of his shots on 19-of-27 field goals.
 
Both teams played with key contributors. UNCW's Jaylen Sims, the squad's leading scorer at 17.9 points per game, was sidelined with an injury and senior guard Tareq Coburn of Hofstra, the Pride's second leading scorer at 15.5 ppg, did not play.
 
GAMES NOTES: Okauru has scored 20 or more points in three out of the last four contests…The teams combined for 84 points in the paint…Ty Gadsden matched his season high with four triples…The Seahawks equaled a season-low with five turnovers…Hofstra shot 57.4 percent from the floor, the team's second highest this season…Hofstra now leads the all-time series, 23-22…The two teams have split 20 games in Trask Coliseum…The Pride have won two in a row at Trask...Hofstra finished with a 36-24 advantage on the boards…The Seahawks have featured four or more players in double figures scoring in eight games…Okauru matched his season high with seven helpers…Gadsden's 12 points represented his 41st game in double figures in 59 career appearances.

 
 
 
 
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