Jenkins scores 26 as Hofstra beats Towson

Hofstra's men's basketball fortunes are unavoidably hitched to guard Charles Jenkins' star. But yesterday's 74-62 Colonial Athletic Association victory over Towson demonstrated the kind of support Jenkins might expect in his senior season and revealed what coach Mo Cassara identified as yet "another player on our side now."

He - it - is named "confidence," Cassara said, that feeling building through what now is a three-game winning streak. Though the game's first 30 minutes had a familiar theme - Hofstra at times seemed a wayward soul in terms of field-goal shooting, and the ending certainly wasn't given away until a late flurry - the plot ultimately offered some welcome twists for the home team.

Jenkins scored 26 points and added five assists, four rebounds and a steal. He had 19 points in the second half, including 16 of the Pride's first 26, and has a career total of 1,923, the highest total of any active player in the country.

But it was the work of several others that provided the late separation from Towson, which led almost constantly through the game's middle 20 minutes, once by as much as seven at 30-23.

Hofstra finally went ahead for good with 6:18 to play when center Greg Washington snapped a perfect pass from the free-throw line to sophomore David Imes, whose three-point play gave the Pride a 60-57 lead. Imes added a baseline jumper on the next trip down the court and finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Then junior Dwan McMillan (10 points, five assists) hit a fast-break layup on a feed by Jenkins and junior Mike Moore (15 points) sank two free throws to join the fun. Suddenly, just about everything seemed to have been easy for Hofstra (4-3).

Washington's contributions included blocking five shots, adding to his school career record. Cassara noted the perfect "10-for-10" afternoon from the free-throw line (and quickly was corrected by Jenkins: "12-for-12.") And, yes, Imes said, Cassara constantly tells his players that "free throws are going to win us a game this week."

Also, Hofstra committed only six turnovers. "Because our guys just don't want to run in practice the next day," Cassara figured.

Not that this clear-cut superiority over Towson (2-4) was evident for a while, with Hofstra long in a Sisyphus mode, unable to push the boulder up the hill without it coming back.

Towson, meanwhile, was efficient even by accident at times. Troy Franklin's bad three-point shot just before the first-half buzzer turned into a good pass that Braxton Depree tipped into the basket.

But Cassara's repeated mantra - that "we're a work in progress but we're learning how to win" - was true enough. "My message at halftime," he said, "was to loosen up and get past your frustration, and I'm happy about the way we stuck with it."

With Jenkins lighting the fuse on the comeback, his Hofstra teammates hardly stood around and joined the 3,417 fans as watchers, though Jenkins' show was worthy. Instead, they became watchees as well.