Richmond, VA – Hofstra senior guard Stevie Mejia had 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists, but Devon Saddler scored 22 points to lead Delaware to a 62-57 victory over the Pride on Saturday evening in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship at the Richmond Coliseum.
Sophomore guard Taran Buie tied Mejia for team-high honors in scoring and rebounding with 13 and eight, respectively. Senior forward David Imes joined the duo in double figures with 12 points, while also chipping in with six rebounds.
The game marked the final contest in the careers of Hofstra seniors Mejia, Imes and guard Matt Grogan.
The loss ends Hofstra's season at 7-25, while Delaware improves to 19-13 and moves on to the semifinals.
Jamelle Hagins had a double-double for Delaware with 12 points and 15 rebounds.
A tight first half would see neither team lead by more than four points in a low-scoring affair that saw Hofstra take a 27-24 lead at the break. Delaware took the largest lead of the game up to that point at 10-6 with 14:56 left before the intermission following a jumper from Jarvis Threatt, but Hofstra immediately responded with four straight points to knot the score at 10 after back-to-back buckets from Mejia and Buie.
The first half would feature seven tie scores and six lead changes with the Pride rallying late in the stanza to take the three-point lead into the locker room. A basket from Delaware's Terrell Rogers with 4:47 showing on the clock made the score 20-17 in favor of the Blue Hens before Hofstra scored five straight points to earn a 22-20 lead with three minutes left in the first half.
The teams would be knotted at 24 in the closing seconds of the half before IMES gave Hofstra a boost of momentum heading into the break with a three-pointer from the corner with ten seconds left.
Down three at the break, Delaware scored the first five points of the second stanza and forced Hofstra to take a timeout with 18:34 left on the heels of basket from Devon Saddler.
After the Blue Hens opened the half with seven straight points, a layup from redshirt freshman forward Jordan Allen got Hofstra to within two, 31-29, with 16:19 showing on the game clock.
Two free throws from Threatt with 11:04 left in the second stanza would give Delaware a 41-36 advantage, one off the high for the Blue Hens for the game.
After the two teams traded baskets over the next few minutes, Delaware would finally begin to pull away as a three-pointer from Rogers pushed the lead to 53-36 with under seven minutes remaining.
Buie answered almost immediately with a three-pointer of his own as Hofstra continued to fight down the stretch.
Hofstra continued to pressure the Blue Hens as they would cut the deficit to 53-50 with just over five minutes left in regulation as Allen had a layup to force Delaware into a timeout after a 7-0 Pride scoring run.
A three-pointer from Saddler with 3:05 left in the second half would prove to be the difference for Delaware as it gave the Blue Hens a commanding 58-50 lead en route to the 62-57 victory.
Threatt finished with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists for Delaware.
