HEMPSTEAD, NY – Antoine Agudio scored 26 points while Charles Jenkins added 20 points and had a key steal in the final minute as the Hofstra University men’s basketball team came back to defeat Delaware, 64-58, Saturday afternoon at the Mack Sports Complex.

Hofstra, which improved to 7-14 overall and 4-7 in the Colonial Athletic Association, defeated the Blue Hens for the eighth consecutive meeting in Hempstead. Delaware, which fell to 9-12 overall and 6-5 in the league, dropped its third consecutive game by a combined total of 11 points.

Blue Hen junior guard Marc Egerson (at right) led Delaware with a season-high 26 points, including 18 in the first half, and pulled down seven rebounds. Alphonso Dawson scored nine points, while Herb Courtney added eight and Brian Johnson contributed six points, seven rebounds and five assists. Jim Ledsome pulled down a season high-tying eight rebounds to lead the team in boards for the second consecutive game.

Delaware raced to a 34-25 halftime lead behind Egerson, who connected on six of his seven field goal attempts in the period including all three of his long range shots. The Blue Hens still led 48-40 at the 11:38 mark on a fast break dunk by Egerson, but Delaware would hit just 2 of its final 17 field goal attempts from there.

Hofstra answered with seven straight points to pull within one, and after two Egerson free throws, the Pride scored four more points to go up 51-50 at the 6:12 mark, taking its first lead since the game’s opening minutes.

Hofstra led 59-56 before Johnson converted a driving layup while getting fouled, but he missed the free throw following a timeout as the Pride held on to the lead. It was still a one-point game in the final minute, but the Pride’s Darren Townes collected a loose ball in the paint and scored a layup to make it a 61-58 game with 59 seconds to play.

Courtney then missed a three-pointer from the left corner, but the Blue Hens got another chance when Dane Johnson missed a one and one with 46 seconds on the clock. However after UD called a timeout, Brian Johnson’s pass was stolen by Jenkins, who drove the length of the court before being intentionally fouled by Courtney. Jenkins then hit two free throws and Agudio, who entered the game ranked 11th in Division I in scoring and surpassed the 2,000-point total a week ago, added one to put the game away.

“We were able to get out on the fast break and get some easy baskets in the first half, but they made a lot of contested shots in the second half,” said second year UD head coach Monte Ross. “We gave up too many offensive rebounds and had too many turnovers in key spots down the stretch. We also didn’t shoot well from the foul line, which is a recipe for disaster on the road.”

After shooting 43 percent in the first half Delaware was held to 8 of 28 shooting in the second as the Blue Hens finished at 35.7 percent, their third straight game under 36 percent. Delaware also went just 14 of 23 from the free throw line and was 4 of 19 from behind the arc.

After Hofstra look an early 12-10 lead eight minutes into the game Delaware scored 12 straight points, including eight by Egerson, to go up 22-12 at the 4:57 mark. The Blue Hens held Hofstra scoreless for almost eight minutes between Agudio baskets at 12:13 and 4:29 and eventually took a nine-point advantage into the break.

Hofstra pulled within 43-40 before a three-pointer by Courtney and the dunk by Egerson put UD up eight points, but Hofstra outscored the Blue Hens by 14 the rest of the way.

Delaware returns home Wednesday to host UNC Wilmington at 9 p.m. in a game that will be televised live by MASN.

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