By Nick Mazzarella – Staff Writer
Hofstra was handed its fourth conference loss in five games on Wednesday night, as the Pride were blown out by William & Mary on the road, 100-79.
The Tribe (13-7, 7-2 CAA) shot a red-hot 64.8 percent (35-54 FG, 8-17 3FG), while the Pride (14-8, 5-4 CAA) shot 40 percent (26-65 FG, 9-29 3FG).
CAA Preseason Player of the Year and senior guard Marcus Thornton – who scored his 1,900th career point in the game – had a game-high 24 points for William & Mary. Daniel Dixon was perfect from three-point distance (6-for-6) and scored 18 points in just 21 minutes of play.
For Hofstra, Brian Bernardi hit five threes as part of his 23-point performance. Ameen Tanksley recorded a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds.
After the score was tied at five, William & Mary went on an 11-0 run to take a double-digit lead, 16-5, fewer than seven minutes into the game. A layup by Dion Nesmith cut Hofstra’s deficit to eight, 21-13, with 11:44 left, but a 16-0 run by the Tribe – which featured three of Dixon’s three-pointers – put the Pride in a 24-point hole, 37-13, with 7:34 until halftime.
William & Mary’s 27-point lead with 6:22 left in the first half was its largest of the game. Hofstra cut its deficit to 16, 44-28, with 3:33 remaining thanks to a 13-2 run during which Bernardi had eight points. The Tribe’s lead was 20 at halftime, 54-34.
Hofstra began the second half with a 13-4 spurt that included threes by Green, Tanksley, and Bernardi. The Pride were down by only 11 after that, but that was as close as they would get. Dixon put an end to that run and drilled a three on the ensuing possession to extend the William & Mary’s lead to 14, 61-47, with 13:50 to play.
The Tribe pushed their lead to 18, 73-55, right after the under-8 media timeout. Hofstra got it down to as few as 12, 77-65, with 6:05 remaining, but a mini 6-0 Tribe run made it an 18-point game again with 4:45 left. William & Mary went on to reach the 100-point plateau in the win that kept the Tribe undefeated at home (10-0).
William & Mary’s Terry Tarpey finished with 17 points (7-9 FG) and eight rebounds, while last season’s CAA Rookie of the Year, Omar Prewitt, had eight points, six assists, and four rebounds.
Green scored 14 points for Hofstra, but shot just 4-19 from the field. Rokas Gustys added seven points and seven rebounds, but missed six of his nine free-throw attempts.
Hofstra will play at home for the fourth time in five games this weekend versus Towson (9-12, 2-6 CAA) in a rare Saturday night game. Tipoff at the Mack Sports Complex is set for 8 p.m., and the game will be televised on SNY.
