Sophomore guard Loren Stokes (Buffalo, NY - pictured) tallied game-highs of 20 points and seven assists, but it wasn't enough as the UNC Wilmington Seahawks outscored Hofstra 50-29 in the second half to defeat the Pride, 81-74, on Wednesday evening at Trask Coliseum.

The loss was Hofstra's second straight and drops its overall record to 10-3 and its CAA mark to 2-2.  It marked the first time this season that the Pride has dropped back-to-back games.  UNC Wilmington improves to 8-5 and 3-1 in conference play, as well as 8-0 in the all-time series with Hofstra, since the Pride moved into the CAA in the 2001-02 season.

Sophomore guard T.J. Carter scored 16 points, including 10-of-10 at the foul line in the final three minutes to led the Seahawks to the victory. Senior center Aaron Coombs also had 16, including a pair of clutch baskets down the stretch.

The Pride led 45-31 at the half, but UNC Wilmington started the second stanza with a 9-0 run, capped off by seven straight points from junior guard John Goldsberry, to cut the lead to 45-40. A three-point play by Stokes put the Pride up 56-51, but UNC Wilmington converted a four-point play on a fast break to pull even. Junior forward Mitch Laue made the lay-up and the Pride was whistled for an intentional foul. Senior forward Halston Lane came off the bench and made both foul shots to even the score at 57-57.

Sophomore guard Carlos Rivera (San German, PR) made two foul shots to give the Pride a 63-61 lead, but Coombs answered with a three-point play to give the Seahawks the lead 64-63 with 5:55 left. A Coombs put-back gave the Seahawks a 68-64 edge with 3:48 left. Hofstra trailed 70-66 when Rivera knocked down a three-point shot with 2:32 to go to pull the Pride within 70-69, but Carter hit the first two of his 10 foul shots to stretch the lead back to three.

Freshman guard Antoine Agudio (Huntington Station, NY) made one of two at the line with 1:51 left to cut the lead to two, but Laue made two foul shots to make the score 74-70 with 1:28 left. After the Pride missed on its next possession, Carter hit six foul shots around two Stokes lay-ups to keep the Seahawks with a working margin down the stretch.

Hofstra went into the locker room with a 45-31 lead after controlling the latter part of the opening stanza. After UNC Wilmington took a 16-14 lead on a fast break lay-up from sophomore guard T.J. Carter, the Pride went on an 8-1 run to pull ahead 22-17 on a driving lay-up from Stokes. With the score 24-21, Stokes then picked up consecutive assists on kick-out passes to Agudio and sophomore guard Carlos Rivera (San German, PR) to put the Pride ahead 30-21. The Seahawks got the margin down to 32-26, but Hofstra ended the half on a 13-5 run, capped off by a buzzer-beating finger roll from junior forward Aurimas Kieza (Marijampole, Lithuania) to take a 45-31 lead into the break.

Agudio hit all four of his shots from the field in the first half, including three from beyond the arc, as the Pride shot 64 percent from the floor as a team (16-25). The 45 points were the most that Hofstra has scored in the first half this season, but the Seahawks held the Pride to only 29 points on 33 percent shooting (8-24 in the second half).

Hofstra placed five players in double figures for the fourth time this season -- all of which have been conference games. Stokes' 20 points gave him double figures in scoring for the 28th game in a row. Agudio added 15 points for his 12th game in double figures in his first 13 college contests. Rivera tallied 11 points, while Kieza and junior forward Adrian Uter (Queens, NY) each had 10. Goldsberry had 15 points for the Seahawks, while Laue added 14.  

The Pride will next be in action when it travels to Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday for a 4 p.m. contest. That game will be televised locally by Fox Sports New York as part of the CAA Game of the Week package.