Boxscore

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- The Hofstra University men’s basketball team went a perfect 20 for 20 from the free throw line in the second half as the Pride held off the Blue Hens, 66-61, in a defensive struggle Wednesday night at the Mack Sports Complex.

Hofstra, which snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 10-5 overall and 2-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association, made just seven second half field goals but made up for it at the charity stripe to defeat the Blue Hens for the ninth straight time in Hempstead.

Delaware, which fell to 7-9 overall and 1-3 in the league while dropping its second straight, limited the Pride to 29.7 percent shooting for the game but the Blue Hens shot only 30.5 percent themselves.

Brian Johnson (at right) led the Blue Hens by tying his season-high with 19 points, while Marc Egerson posted his league-leading ninth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Alphonso Dawson collected a career-high 13 rebounds and scored eight points, while Jawan Carter also scored eight points but had his consecutive games of reaching double figures stopped at 14.

Egerson, Dawson and Carter - the three Blue Hens averaging over 15 points per game, combined to shoot just 6 of 37 from the field including 1 of 12 from three-point range.

Cornelius Vines led the Pride with a career-high 23 points, while Charles Jenkins added 18 despite shooting just 4 of 24 from the field. Jenkins was a perfect 10 of 10 from the free throw line as Hofstra, which entered the game shooting just 63 percent from the charity stripe before going 24 of 26 against the Blue Hens.

Hofstra led 32-24 at the half and was still up 38-32 early in the second period, but Delaware went on a 7-0 run to go up 39-38 on a Johnson three-pointer with 10:07 remaining. Hofstra regained the lead with four free throws, but Dawson and Johnson each score to put Blue Hens back on top 43-42 with 8:34 left.

A basket by Dawson and two free throws by Johnson gave UD a 48-46 margin at the 5:47 mark, but Greg Washington tied the game with a bucket 15 seconds later. Two free throws and a basket by Vines gave Hofstra a 52-48 lead with 3:08 to play and UD still down 54-50, but Johnson scored in the lane and Egerson hit two free throws to tie game at 54-54 at the 1:44 mark.

Vines converted two free throws and then scored in transition to put Hofstra up 58-54 with 1:07 to go, but Egerson hit two free throws with 49.9 seconds left to make it a two-point game. Jenkins then turned the ball over, but Dawson was called for a controversial charging foul while scoring on a drive to the basket with 39 seconds remaining.

The basket was waived off, and Greg Johnson then hit two free throws with 34.3 seconds on the clock to put the Pride back up four points. Egerson then hit his first foul shot and misses second, but UD forced a jump ball, giving Blue Hens the ball back with 21.0 seconds to play.

Brian Johnson was then fouled with 11.8 seconds to go and made one of two from the charity stripe to make it a 60-58 game. Vines then connected on two free throws, and following a UD turnover Jenkins added four more foul shots to close the scoring.

“I’m really happy with our defensive effort, and we outrebounded a team that entered the game ranked second in the country in rebounds per game,” said third-year UD head coach Monté Ross, whose team posted a 49-43 rebounding advantage.. “In the second half we missed six free throws but they didn’t miss any, so that was the difference in the game. You have to give credit to Hofstra’s
defense, but I’m surprised we shot so poorly. I thought Brian Johnson was great tonight and led us back into the game.”

UD trailed 13-8 early on but used a 14-4 run to take a 22-17 lead. Hofstra responded with a 10-0 spurt to go back up 27-22 at the 3:07 mark as Delaware was held scoreless for over four minutes. A Nathaniel Lester three-pointer with 52 seconds left gave the Pride its largest lead of half as Hofstra carries a 32-24 advantage into the break

Delaware will look to snap its two-game losing streak Saturday when the Blue Hens travel to UNC Wilmington for a 7 p.m.