Hofstra shook off a poor shooting first half to advance past upset minded William & Mary 72-56 Saturday night in the second round of the CAA Tournament in Richmond.
The Pride used a 35-11 run in the second half to grab momentum and a spot in the semifinals. Back-to-back CAA Player of the Year Charles Jenkins scored 20 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and dished out 3 assists in the game but struggled mightily in the first half. Whatever happened at half worked as he exploded for a deep 3, a driving layup and 4 straight trips to the FT line resulting in 13 straight points that essentially put the game out of reach.
Hofstra coach Mo Cassara gave his thoughts on the first half:
“We were just a little flat. We weren’t quite clicking on all cylinders. I think a part of that was having a week off, being in a big arena, we just got a little tight.”
William & Mary ends their year at 10-22 and were led by Marcus Kitts with 10 points and 8 rebounds.
Hofstra will face #2 seed Old Dominion on Sunday at 2:30pm ET.