Hempstead, NY (Jan. 11) - Senior guard David Fanning led all scorers with 20 points as the James Madison Men's Basketball team defeated Hofstra 65-58 on Saturday afternoon at Hofstra Arena.
Hofstra (2-11, 1-3 CAA) trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half before whittling the lead down to four at 57-53 with 1:48 left (on a three-pointer from freshman guard Anthony Noble) and down to three with 13 seconds remaining (on a three-pointer from sophomore guard Woody Souffrant). However, James Madison (6-8, 2-2 CAA) junior guard Chris Williams answered both times with a 10-foot floating jumper on the baseline with 1:16 left and with two free throws with 12 seconds remaining to secure the win for the Dukes.
The Pride fell into an early hole after struggling from the floor in the first half, making just seven of its 28 shots on its way to 33-20 halftime deficit. The key stretch was a 10-0 James Madison run, spanning 6:33, which stretched a 14-11 lead up to 24-11 with 5:50 left in the opening stanza. Hofstra got back within 10 points at 26-16 on a baseline jumper from freshman forward Omar Alston, but had to settle for a 13-point deficit at the break.
The second half saw neither team make a sustained run, as the James Madison lead stayed between 10 and 15 points until a dunk from sophomore forward Kenny Adeleke cut the deficit to 55-47 with 6:46 remaining. After Hofstra missed three three-pointers which would have brought the lead down to five, Fanning scored on a lay-up to push the lead back up to 10 at 57-47 with 4:38 left. Hofstra, though, scored the next six points on two free throws from sophomore guard Michael Radziejewski, a free throw from Adeleke, and Noble's three-pointer to come within 57-53 with 1:48 showing on the clock. The Dukes ran the shot clock down, though, and Williams converted on a running jumper from the baseline to push the lead to six.
Adeleke answered with a lay-up and the Dukes again ran the shot clock down before senior center Ian Caskill scored on a follow-up dunk with 31 seconds left to put James Madison up 61-55. Souffrant's three forced the Dukes to make some pressure free throws, but Williams knocked down both ends of a one-and-one to secure the win.
Radziejewski and Adeleke were the leading scorers for Hofstra with 15 points each and tied for team-high honors with seven rebounds. Fanning led James Madison with 20, while sophomore forward Dwayne Broyles added 15 and Williams had 14. Hofstra lost the battle of the boards for the first time all season as the Dukes had 39 rebounds to Hofstra's 38. It was only the second time Hofstra has lost the rebounding battle in its last 22 games, dating back to last year, and the other game was also by just one rebound (38-37 to VCU in the 2002 CAA semifinals).
Hofstra is next in action when it travels to Towson on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. contest before returning home to face Old Dominion next Saturday at 1 p.m. The Old Dominion game will mark the return of senior guard Rick Apodaca and sophomore center Wendell Gibson from their 14-game suspensions for violation of university policy.
