Hens fall at Hofstra in season finale

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Saturday afternoon on Long Island was supposed to be all about Hofstra star Charles Jenkins.

The senior guard, possible NBA draft pick, probable CAA Player of the Year, and Naismith Award candidate had his No. 22 jersey retired in a pre-game ceremony. He held up his end of the bargain with 21 points in his final home game at the Mack Sports Complex.

But it was the rest of his Pride teammates, four of whom finished in double figures, who turned the game into a Hofstra rout.

Delaware, which was already locked into the No. 7 seed for the CAA tournament by virtue of a UNC-Wilmington loss earlier in the day and could not improve its position, suffered a 79-60 loss in its season finale. The Hens struggled mightily with their shooting, especially from deep, going 17-48 from the field and 3-15 from beyond the arc.

"We just had one of those nights where the ball wouldn't go into the basket," head coach Monte Ross said. "I thought we had some really good looks. It just wouldn't go in for us."

Hofstra meanwhile, had no trouble fitting the ball into the basket. With the capacity crowd, most of which was clad in Jenkins' jersey, cheering them on, the Pride hit more than half their shots, including 57 percent in the second half.

Seniors Greg Washington and Brad Kelleher, who were also honored before the game, each had 12 points. Junior Mike Moore and freshman Shemiye McLendon also got in on the fun, providing 11 points apiece. A 16-5 run which concluded midway through the second half allowed the Pride to storm out to a 20-point lead, more than enough against the Hens' poor shooting.

"We sort of got out of sync defensively because our shots weren't falling," senior Jawan Carter said of Delaware's effort. "We had to play a way we weren't used to playing. Scrambling around, and it led to some open shots for them and they took advantage of the two-on-one situations."

Carter was the Hens leading scorer, matching Jenkins' effort with 21 points. Freshman Devon Saddler was chipped in 17, but the next highest total was 6 by junior forward Hakim McCullar. All of McCullar's points came in the first half.

Turnovers were another factor in Delaware's struggles. The Hens turned the ball over 15 times and had only a combined four assists as a team.

"You can't win like that," Carter said of the assist to turnover ratio.

At the conclusion of the first half, Delaware had a chance to make it a one-possession game, trailing by only 5. Saddler was called for a five-second closely guarded violation with seven seconds left in the half. The Pride capitalized with a layup by Moore at the buzzer to take a 33-26 lead into the break and later pulled away.

More turnovers by the Hens in the second half further hampered their ability to mount a comeback.

"When you're struggling to make a shot, you need every opportunity you can get," Ross said. "We fumbled some of those away."

Delaware had to play without the CAA's leading shot blocker sophomore Jamelle Hagins for the second straight game. Hagins is still recovering from an infection in his left pinky toe.

The Hens are already shorthanded in the frontcourt. Sophomore Josh Brinkley is out for the season with a stress fracture in his foot, and Malcom Hawkins is still sidelined due to a back injury he suffered early in conference play.

This left McCullar and sophomore Kelvin McNeil as the only two available forwards on Saturday. At some points, 6-foot-5 guard D.J. Boney was playing power forward, and later in the game Saddler, the Hens' point guard, had to play some time there in the Hens' defensive zone.

Ross said he hopes to have Hagins back for the CAA tournament, set to begin on Friday. Delaware will face off against No. 10-seed Northeastern in the first round. The Hens have beaten the Huskies both times they have met this season.