Stevie Mejia scores 22, but Hofstra falls to Towson
Hofstra guard Stevie Mejia drives the baseline defended by Old Dominion guard Dimitri Batten in the first half of the NCAA Division I men's basketball game at the David S. Mack Center. (Feb. 24, 2013) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Although senior guard Stevie Mejia tied a career high with 22 points and sophomore forward Moussa Kone scored a career-high 20 points, visiting Hofstra couldn't hold a late second-half lead in a 67-64 loss to Towson Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Hofstra (7-24, 4-14 CAA), which led 30-28 at the break, held a 55-53 advantage after Kone fed David Imes for a dunk with 4:17 left.
But Jerome Hairston had five points during a 9-0 run for Towson, which went ahead 62-55 with 3:09 remaining.
Hairston and Marcus Damas each had 17 points for Towson. Jerrelle Benimon added 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Imes added 10 points, shooting 4-for-6, and had five rebounds for the Pride, which will face Delaware in a CAA Tournament quarterfinal at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Va.
Towson (18-13, 13-5), which finished 1-31 last season, completed the largest single-season turnaround in NCAA history. But the Tigers are ineligible for the CAA Tournament and the NCAA Tournament because of academic issues.
Free throws played a big role as Towson converted 16 of 22 attempts, including 11 of 12 in the final 4:41. Hofstra went 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.
Towson also outrebounded the Pride 33-26 and shot 7-for-18 from three-point range.
