Richmond, Va. - Senior forward Jamie Skeen had 18 points and junior forward Bradford Burgess added 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead a balanced offense as the VCU Men's Basketball team took over sole possession of first place in the Colonial Athletic Association with an 82-67 win over Hofstra on Thursday evening at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Senior guard Charles Jenkins (Queens, N.Y.) had 20 points for Hofstra, which slips to 14-7 overall and 8-2 in the CAA with the loss. Jenkins now has 2,261 career points and is 15 away from the Hofstra career record, set by former teammate Antoine Agudio (2004-08), which he will try to break on Saturday at home against Drexel. VCU improves to 17-5 overall and 9-1 in the CAA with the win, its eighth in a row and its sixth straight in the series with Hofstra.

Hofstra trailed 48-33 at the half, and quickly fell behind by 18 on a falling-out-of-bounds three-pointer from Ed Nixon on the first possession of the second half. The Pride hung around, and got back to within 13 points on two occasions, the second on a three-pointer from sophomore guard Yves Jules (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 12:22 left. The Rams, though, answered with a quick 8-2 run on a pair of three-pointers and a fast break lay-up from Juvonte Reddic to stretch the lead to 71-52 and Hofstra wasn't able to threaten again.

The teams traded blows in the early going, as Reddic and Hofstra's Greg Washington (Centereach, N.Y.) each had a pair of dunks in the first five minutes. VCU led 33-28 after a Jenkins three-pointer, but Washington then picked up his third foul, and the Rams went on a 13-1 run to take a 46-29 lead on a three-pointer from Troy Daniels. The Pride got within 48-33 at the break as Jenkins had 15 points on 6-10 shooting, but VCU forwards Jamie Skeen (13 points) and Bradford Burgess (nine points, 10 rebounds) each had big first halves as well.  

Skeen led a balanced offense that included 15 from Burgess, 14 points and six assists from Nixon, and 13 from Reddic. Washington added 15 points for the Pride in a losing cause, while Jenkins had five assists for the eighth straight game.

Hofstra will next be in action when it returns home on Saturday for a 4 p.m. game against Drexel, as Jenkins will try to become the Pride's all-time leading scorer on Welcome Back Students Day at the Mack Sports Complex. The Pride won the first meeting with Drexel in Philadelphia back on Jan. 3, behind 22 points from Jenkins and 20 points on 8-8 shooting from sophomore forward David Imes (Brooklyn, N.Y.).