Hempstead, NY - Starting guards Matt Janning (17 points) and Chaisson Allen (16 points) combined for 33 points and Northeastern used a big second half to capture a 75-55 win over Hofstra on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, Northeastern improves to 16-8 overall and 11-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association, taking over sole possession of first place after today's losses by Old Dominion and George Mason. Hofstra, which was led by junior guard Charles Jenkins (Queens, NY) with 14 points, sees its three-game win streak snapped as it falls to 12-13 overall and 5-8 in the CAA.  

Northeastern trailed 32-30 at halftime, but held Hofstra without a field goal for almost the first 10 minutes of the second stanza, using a 20-3 run to pull ahead 50-35.  Freshman forward Halil Kanacevic (Staten Island, NY) converted on a baseline move to end the drought at the 10:12 mark, and Jenkins followed with a three-pointer at the 9:35 mark to pull Hofstra within 50-40, but the Pride could come no closer as Northeastern answered back with a 5-0 run, capped off by two Janning foul shots.

Hofstra jumped out quickly to a 15-2 lead, behind the strong inside play of junior forward Greg Washington (Centereach, NY) and senior forward Miklos Szabo (Szeghalom, Hungary). Szabo had six points during the spurt, four of which came on tip-ins, while Washington had five points, four of which came on the offensive glass as well.

Northeastern regrouped quickly, though, and answered with a 16-0 run, taking its first lead of the game at the 10:41 mark on a three-pointer from Baptiste Bataille which made the score 18-15. The rest of the half was back and forth, before the Pride took a 32-30 halftime lead on two Jenkins foul shots.

Northeastern shot 57.1 percent in the second half (12-21), while holding Hofstra to only 25.0 percent shooting (7-28) as it outscored the Pride 45-23 after intermission. Hofstra held a 49-27 edge on the glass, including 19-3 in offensive rebounds, but still fell on the short end of a 75-55 final score. Washington finished with 10 rebounds and one blocked shot, improving his career total to 175 blocls, three shy of the school record held by David Taylor (1979-83). Szabo finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, while senior guard Cornelius Vines (Syracuse, NY) added 11 points.

Senior forward Manny Adako had 12 of his 14 points in the second half for Northeastern, while senior guard Baptiste Bataille came off the bench to score 11 points and add a game-high six steals.

Hofstra will next be in action when it returns home to face Drexel on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.