CAA top seed Charleston dismisses Hofstra
Hofstra guard Tyler Thomas shoots against Northeastern on Feb. 17. Credit: Lee S. Weissman
Reyne Smith scored 21 points as host College of Charleston beat Hofstra, 87-76, on Saturday for its ninth straight win.
Smith scored nine points on three three-pointers during 15-4 run early in the second half that gave the Cougars (24-7, 15-3 Coastal Athletic Association) an 18-point lead (60-42) with 15 minutes, 40 seconds left.
The Pride (19-12, 12-6) chipped away at the deficit and got it down to seven points (70-63) on a German Plotnikov three-pointer with 9:44 left.
But a brief 6-0 burst brought Charleston's lead back to 13 and it was never less than nine the rest of the way.
Hofstra's Tyler Thomas led all scorers with 27 points. Darlinstone Dubar had 19 points Jaquan Carlos had 13 points and seven assists and Jacco Fritz had 12 points and three blocks.
Ante Brzovic had 18 points and five rebounds for Charleston, former Stony Brook forward Frankie Policelli had 11 points and seven rebounds and Kobe Rodgers had 11 points and eight assists.
The Pride shot 50%, including 42.9% on threes (9-for-21) but were outrebounded 35-25 and Charleston had 16 second-chance points to the Pride's five.
The Cougars also shot 42.9% on threes but were 15-for-35, led by Smith, who was 6-for-11.
The Pride now await their seeding (a No. 3 or 4 seed) and assignment for the CAA Tournament, which begins Friday in Washington. Charleston will be the No. 1 seed.