UNC-Wilmington goes dancing thanks to 11-minute Hofstra drought
When the final buzzer sounded at the end of regulation time of the Colonial Athletic Association championship game Monday night, Hofstra players and coaches had to feel fortunate the score was tied and they still had a chance to win in overtime.
The Pride endured a 10-minute, 47-second drought in the second half without making a field goal but somehow still had a chance to get to the NCAA Tournament.
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UNC-Wilmington took advantage of Hofstra's shooting woes to overcome a double-digit second-half deficit and force overtime and then won the game 80-73 in the extra period thanks to a three-point play by C.J. Bryan and a 3-pointer by Denzel Ingram.
It's the first CAA tournament title for the Seahawks in 10 years. UNC-Wilmington was the second-seed in the CAA field and had split the season series with Hofstra. So winning the title wasn't much of an upset.
Senior Craig Ponder scored 20 point to lead the Seahawks with the bulk of that effort coming in the second half as Hofstra struggled to put the ball in the basket. Junior Chris Flemmings added 19.
When Rokas Gustys scored on a layup with 12 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the game, it gave Hofstra a eight-point advantage, but the Pride didn't make another field goal until a Juan'ya Green layup at the 1:43 mark. In the interval, the only Hofstra scoring came at the free throw line.
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Hofstra hasn't been to the NCAA tournament since 2001 and this will be among its most painful close calls. Senior Ameen Tanksley finished the game with 24 points and Gustys scored 18 points with a whopping 23 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to overcome a determined opponent in UNC-Wilmington and missing 12 straight shots in the second half.
UNC-Wilmington is a likely No. 13 or No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament with no wins over the RPI top-50 but only a few bad losses over the course of the season. The Seahawks have won eight of their final 10 games and went 4-0 on a neutral court this season.
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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
