Up 14, Hofstra falls to Western Kentucky, 62-60

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Ahead by 14 points with a little more than five minutes remaining, the Hofstra men's basketball team lost to Western Kentucky, 62-60, Friday night in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

"We're going to have to learn how to win tight games like that," Hofstra coach Mo Cassara said.

Charles Jenkins scored 27 points - breaking 20 for the 12th straight game, dating to last season - and Mike Moore added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Pride (1-2), which lost to North Carolina in the first round, 107-63.

Juan Pattillo had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Steffphon Pettigrew scored 12 points for Western Kentucky (3-1).

Moore's free throw gave Hofstra a 48-34 lead with 5:18 to play. Hilltoppers coach Ken McDonald said he had a message for his team at that point: "There's a lot of game left."

Hofstra's Shemiye McLendon hit two free throws with 2:53 remaining to make it 54-46 and Jenkins sank two more with 1:45 to play for a 57-50 lead. But Kahlil McDonald sandwiched a pair of three-pointers around a jumper by Jenkins to pull Western Kentucky within 59-56 with a minute to play.

"We felt like we had them reeling a little bit," Ken McDonald said. "You could just see it building from our bench."

Said Jenkins, "We gave them confidence."

Caden Dickerson's three-pointer with 35 seconds left brought the Hilltoppers within 60-59, and Brandon Peters' steal and layup six seconds later put Western Kentucky ahead 61-60.

Moore missed a jumper with 12 seconds left and fouled Pattillo, whose free throw gave Western Kentucky a two-point lead. Greg Washington rebounded Pattillo's miss on the second attempt, and Hofstra called a timeout to set up a final play.

With Western Kentucky focused on Jenkins, McLendon tried a running floater in the lane that hit off the back rim as time expired.

"Wow," Ken McDonald said. "We showed a lot of heart, hustle and teamwork to get that done."

"We got a little tired, a little lazy at the end, and they were able to make a couple of threes," Cassara said. "I was proud of the way we played tonight until the very end."

Washington grabbed 10 rebounds for the Pride but failed to score.

Through three games, Jenkins is averaging 25.7 points and has shot 31-for-46 from the field. Moore is at 14.3 points per game and McLendon is at 10.0.

Hofstra will face Nebraska at 10:30 EST Sunday. Nebraska has lost to Vanderbilt, 59-49, and Davidson, 70-67.- AP