Hofstra trounced in BracketBuster, 82-56

DAYTON, Ohio - Senior guard Vaughn Duggins scored 31 points, the highest total for a Hofstra opponent this season, as Wright State beat the Pride, 82-56, Saturday in an ESPN BracketBuster game.

Hofstra, which had won all five of its previous BracketBuster matchups, was hurt by poor shooting. The Pride (18-10) shot just 33.3 percent from the field and was 1-for-17 from three-point range.

"All the credit to Wright State and their staff. They put in a terrific defensive game plan against us and really took us out of our comfort zone,'' Hofstra coach Mo Cassara said. "That said, I'm disappointed with how we responded. Sometimes when we don't execute on offense and get good shots, our defensive intensity starts to suffer, and we can't afford to have that happen.''

Hofstra's Charles Jenkins (18 points) was only 3-for-8 from the field. He often was denied the ball, with Duggins spending most of the game face-guarding him and the Raiders double-teaming him whenever possible.

"I know he had 18 points, but when Charles only has eight shots, we're not going to win a lot of games,'' Cassara said. "Offensively, we just didn't execute at the level we need to.''

Jenkins, Hofstra's all-time leading scorer, has 2,420 points, moving him into a tie for second in Colonial Athletic Association history with George Mason's Carlos Yates. Only Navy's David Robinson (2,669) has scored more.

Mike Moore added 14 points for the Pride, but Hofstra had only four assists (three by Jenkins) and 13 turnovers. Wright State (18-12) had 15 assists and four turnovers.

Hofstra returns to conference play Wednesday at UNC Wilmington before coming home for the regular-season finale Saturday against Delaware. The Pride is tied for second with Old Dominion and VCU, two games behind first-place George Mason.

"We took a step or two backwards today, so it now becomes another challenge for us,'' Cassara said. "We've faced a lot of challenges this year and have responded well, but now we have to go get on a plane and go down to Wilmington, which is a tough place to play. We just have to get back to work in practice this week and put this one behind us.''