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Hofstra University Athletics

THE PRIDE OF LONG ISLAND
THE PRIDE OF LONG ISLAND
Hofstra Basketball
Malik Nichols had 12 points and seven rebounds in Sunday's loss to William & Mary
80
Winner William & Mary WM 17-10 (11-5 CAA)
78
Hofstra HOFSTRA 18-11 (9-7 CAA)
Winner
William & Mary WM
17-10 (11-5 CAA)
80
Final
78
Hofstra HOFSTRA
18-11 (9-7 CAA)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
William & Mary WM 41 39 80
Hofstra HOFSTRA 34 44 78

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | By Len Skoros

MBB: Late Free Throws Lift William & Mary Past Hofstra

Hempstead, NY - Marcus Thornton's two free throws with 3.7 seconds remaining lifted William & Mary over Hofstra, 80-78, at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex Sunday evening.

Hofstra falls to 18-11 overall and 9-7 in the Colonial Athletic Association with the loss. William & Mary moved to 17-10 overall and 11-5 in the CAA. The loss snapped a two-game win streak for the Pride, while the Tribe ended a two-game losing streak with the win.

William and Mary led at halftime, 41-34, behind 10 points from Terry Tarpey. The Tribe led 17-10 with 13:56 to play in the opening stanza following a three-point play from Thornton. Hofstra went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 17 with 10:20 remaining on a jumper from graduate guard Dion Nesmith. William & Mary followed with a 16-7 run to take a 33-24 lead on Thornton's layup with 6:04 to go. The Pride would pull within two, 35-33, following junior guard Juan'ya Green's three-pointer with 1:53 to go. But the Tribe closed out the half on a 6-1 run to go into the break with the seven-point lead.

Early in the second half the Pride cut the deficit to two, 45-43, on a steal and layup by junior guard Malik Nichols. After the Tribe went back up by six, 49-43, Green and Nesmith hit back-to-back three-pointers to tie the score at 49-49 with 12:54 to play.

William & Mary responded with a 7-0 run to go up 56-49 before red-shirt sophomore Brian Bernardi hit a three-pointer to make it a four-point game. The three-pointer also was Hofstra's 257th of the season, establishing a new team record for three-pointers in a season. Tarpey and Bernardi traded three's, before Thornton and Tarpey scored back-to-back buckets to put the Tribe back up by eight, 63-55, with 8:28 to play. Two free throws from junior Ameen Tanksley and a three from Green pulled Hofstra within three, but Tarpey had a steal and fast break layup to quell the run.

The Tribe took their largest lead of the game, 73-63, with 4:30 to play following a 5-0 run that featured a three-point play from Greg Malinowski and a layup from Tarpey. Green pulled Hofstra within seven with a three-pointer, his fourth of the game, with 4:17 to play. The junior hit his fifth three to make it a four-point game, 73-69, with 3:18 to go.

Tanksley, who leads the CAA in three-point percentage, hit his first of the game with 1:46 on the clock to bring Hofstra within three, 77-74. After a Tribe turnover, Green hit a pair of free throws with 1:14 to go to make it a 77-76 game.

Following a William & Mary timeout, Thornton was fouled on a three-point attempt and hit just one to keep it a two-point game. Green hit a tough layup in traffic to tie the score at 78 with 34 seconds to play, setting up the Tribe for the final possession. After Thornton's free throws, the Pride did have one final shot but Nesmith's contested shot was off the mark as the horn sounded.

Green led five Hofstra players in double figures with 21 points, shooting 7-13 from the floor and 5-8 from three-point range. Nesmith had 17 points and a season-high nine assists. Bernardi added 15 points while Nichols had 12 points and seven rebounds and Tanksley chipped in with 11 points.

Thornton led all scorers with 23 points. Tarpey had 21 points and eight rebounds, while Sean Sheldon and Malinowski each tallied 11 points.

The Pride's 13 three-pointers in the game give them 262 for the season, bettering the previous mark of 256 set during the 2006-07 season.

Hofstra plays its final home game Wednesday night, hosting Charleston at 7 p.m. Call (516) HOF-TIXX or visit GoHofstra.com/tickets to purchase tickets. The Pride will celebrate Senior Night before the game and honor both Nesmith and Moussa Kone as they play their final regular season game at the Mack Sports Complex. 
 
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