Dayton, Ohio - Senior guard Vaughn Duggins had 31 points, the highest total for a Hofstra opponent this season, as Wright State captured an 82-56 win over the Pride in a Sears ESPN Bracket Buster game on Saturday afternoon at the Nutter Center.
The loss drops Hofstra's record to 18-10 overall on the year, and marks its first loss in a Bracket Buster game (5-1) after it first joined the event in 2006. Wright State improves to 18-12 overall with the win.
Senior guard Charles Jenkins
(Queens, N.Y.) led Hofstra with 18 points, but was just 3-8 from the floor as Duggins spent most of the game face-guarding him, and the Raiders defense double-teamed him whenever possible. The 18 points give Jenkins 2,420 in his career, moving him into a tie for second in Colonial Athletic Association history with Carlos Yates of George Mason (1981-85). Only David Robinson of Navy (2,669 points) has scored more in the history of the CAA.
The Pride struggled offensively in the first half, but stayed within 33-26 after senior guard Brad Kelleher
(Victoria, Australia) hit a three-pointer with 28 seconds left. Hofstra shot only 7-19 in the opening stanza and had eight turnovers, but was able to stay in the game by getting to the foul line, where it was 11-16. Wright State also shot just 1-13 from three-point territory in the first half to prevent the Raiders from getting any separation.
However, Wright State heated up in the second half, scoring 49 points and was able to pull away. A Duggins jumper with 15:44 left capped off a mini 13-6 run to put the Raiders ahead 48-32. Vance Hall's three-pointer with 13:06 left stretched the lead to 21 points (56-35), and the Pride was unable to get closer than 18 the rest of the way.
Junior guard Mike Moore
(New Haven, Conn.) added 14 points for the Pride, but Hofstra as a team had only four assists (Jenkins had three) and 13 turnovers, while Wright State had 15 assists and four turnovers. N'Gai Evans had 12 points and seven assists for the Raiders.
Hofstra will next be in action when it travels to UNC Wilmington for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday evening, before returning home for the regular season finale on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Mack Sports Complex against Delaware. The Delaware game will also feature Senior Day ceremonies at 1:40 p.m. for Jenkins, senior forward Greg Washington
(Centereach, N.Y.) and senior guard Brad Kelleher
(Victoria, Australia).
