HOFSTRA ENTERTAINS UNC WILMINGTON TONIGHT (7 P.M.)

1/27/2010 2:40:00 PM

Hempstead, NY - The Hofstra Men's Basketball team will look to start the second half of the Colonial Athletic Association schedule on the right foot when it entertains UNC Wilmington at the Mack Sports Complex tonight at 7 p.m. in a game presented by Anton Community Newspapers.

Hofstra (9-12, 2-7 CAA) plays four of its next five games at home as it tries to recover from a difficult first half of the league schedule. The Pride has dropped its last five games to teams that are a combined 33-12 in league play this year, but plays its next three games against teams that are a combined 7-20, beginning with UNC Wilmington (7-13, 3-6 CAA).

Hofstra and UNC Wilmington have played some memorable games over the years, with the Seahawks holding a 12-6 lead in the series. Last year, Hofstra won at the buzzer in Wilmington on a put-back lay-up from graduated senior Arminas Urbutis, and then won in overtime at home, behind 35 points from current junior Charles Jenkins (Queens, NY), who also had 33 points in the first meeting at Wilmington.

The two teams have had a game go into overtime in each of the last four years, including a triple-overtime game in 2005-06 at Hofstra and a double-overtime game at Wilmington in 2006-07, both won by the Pride. The Seahawks won an overtime game at Hofstra in 2007-08, when current junior Nathaniel Lester (Brooklyn, NY) tied the score with a three-pointer with 0.1 seconds left. UNC Wilmington has also won both postseason games, including a 78-67 win in the 2006 CAA championship game.

Hofstra was down to seven scholarship players in its last game, a 75-62 defeat at Drexel on Saturday, as freshman forward David Imes (Brooklyn, NY) and senior guard Cornelius Vines (Syracuse, NY) both sat out with injuries. Imes has missed the last four games since being injured in the first half at Old Dominion on Jan. 9.

Senior forward Miklos Szabo (Szeghalom, Hungary) had a solid performance against Drexel, tallying 14 points to lead the Pride, one game after having 14 points and 12 rebounds against George Mason on Tuesday. Freshman guard Yves Jules (Brooklyn, NY) also picked up his production off the bench last week, tallying eight points against Drexel and six against George Mason, his second and third highest totals of the season behind the 12 points he scored against Division III Farmingdale State on Nov. 20.

Jenkins continues to be the Pride's top performer this season, as he is one of only seven players in the nation who currently average at least 18 points, four rebounds and four assists per game. He also now stands in ninth place on Hofstra's career scoring list with 1,449 points, 46 ahead of the pace that all-time leading scorer Antoine Agudio had at the same stage of his career (82 games).

The Seahawks are a deep team with 13 players receiving consistent playing time, led by guard Chad Tomko (14.3 ppg, 5.0 apg) and forward John Fields (11.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg). They lead the nation at defending the three-pointer (25.2 percent), and Fields (2.5 blocks per game) also gives them an inside presence defensively. The Achilles heel for the 7-13 Seahawks is turnovers - they average 17.3 per game, most in the CAA. UNC Wilmington has had a couple of strong road performances, including a 62-61 win at William & Mary and two-point losses at Richmond and at Virginia, but has also had a couple of poor ones, losing 91-57 to VCU and 79-56 to Northeastern.

The first 1,000 fans will receive Hofstra foam fingers, courtesy of Anton Community Newspapers.

For tickets call (516) HOF-TIXX or online by clicking here
Can't make it to the game? Sign-up for the all new PrideZone here and watch and/or listen to the games online.

Print Friendly Version

Hofstra University Athletics