Green Leads Hofstra Past Drexel, 80-67
Rob Washburn
BALTIMORE (March 5, 2016) – Senior guard Juan’ya Green paced four players in double figures and Hofstra led wire-to-wire in an 80-67 victory over Drexel in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at Royal Farms Arena.
The top-seeded Pride improved to 23-8 this season and advances to Sunday’s semifinals where they face the winner of this second quarterfinal matchup between No. 4 James Madison and No. 5 William and Mary at 1 p.m. The 23 wins for Hofstra is the most since 2005-06. The ninth-seeded Dragons ended the season with a 6-25 record.
Green scored a game-high 22 points, to go with six rebounds and four assists, while sophomore center Rokas Gustys produced his 20th double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Junior guard Brian Bernardi made four 3-pointers and provided 14 points and senior forward Ameen Tanksley added 13 points. Graduate forward Denton Koon was just two points shy of a double-double with eight points and 10 boards.
The Pride, who led by as many as 20 points, shot 48 percent (25-52) from the floor and 41 percent (9-22) from beyond the arc while holding the Dragons to 41 percent (28-68) shooting, including 29 percent (5-17) from long range. Hofstra outscored the Dragons 21-6 from the free throw line and edged DU on glass, 38-34.
Junior forward Rodney Williams led Drexel with 20 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the year. Graduate forward Kazembe Abif tallied a career-high 18 points and eight rebounds while sophomore guard Sammy Mojica chipped in 10 points. The Dragons had 18 assists on 28 field goals, as freshman guard Terrell Allen and sophomore guard Rashann London both dished out career highs of eight and seven assists, respectively.
Leading 13-11, Hofstra knocked down three straight shots and a pair of free throws to produce a 9-2 run and extend its advantage to 22-13 at the midway point of the first half. Green heated up late in the frame, scoring 11 of his 13 first-half points over the final 6:29. The CAA Player of the Year drained his first 3-pointer to spark a 10-2 run, in which he scored eight of those points, pushing the Pride’s lead to 36-21 with 4:03 to go. HU rode the momentum into the halftime break, leading Drexel 42-29.
The Pride extended their lead to 20, at 49-29, with a quick 7-0 run in the opening 94 seconds of the second half but the Dragons answered with the game’s next seven to climb back to within 49-36 with 15:51 to play. Drexel cut its deficit to single digits, using a 7-1 run in less than two minutes to trim Hofstra’s lead to 59-50 with 9:40 to go, but Bernardi, Tanksley and Green knocked down treys on three consecutive possessions to put the Pride up 73-54 with 5:11 left. Drexel never came closer than 13 points down the stretch.