Nov. 26, 2011

Final Stats

Contact: Greg Murphy

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KINGSTON, R.I. - Cleveland State was handed its first defeat of the season on Saturday afternoon, falling to Hofstra, 63-53 in a Sub-Regional Round game of the Ticket City Legends Classic at the Thomas M. Ryan Center.

The Vikings fall to 5-1, while Hofstra improves to 3-3.

Jeremy Montgomery led CSU with 12 points, while D'Aundray Brown scored 10 and Aaron Pogue finished with nine.

"We came out mentally ready to play, but were not physically ready," head coach Gary Waters said. "You need to have both of those going for you in order to have success. We were out-rebounded by 19 rebounds today and didn't do a very good job on the glass or being physical.

"We also need to play without committing as many fouls as we're committing. That's hindering some of the progress we need to be making and that's one of the things this team will work on and get better at. And with all the fouls we've had, it forces us to change up our defense, but we'll learn from this experience and move forward."

Hofstra used a strong run midway through the second half to take control of the game. With the score tied at 29-29 at the half after a Montgomery three-pointer right before the buzzer, CSU took its largest lead of the game (42-37) on a Brown up-and-under reverse layup with 13:48 left.

However, a 14-2 spurt over the next four minutes gave Hofstra a 51-44 lead and the Vikings could not get it under five the rest of the way.

The first half was a back and forth affair with seven ties, the last one coming on Montgomery's three-pointer and neither team led by more than four points in the first stanza.

For the second straight day, CSU fell victim to fouls as the Vikings were whistled for 29 fouls. The Pride took advantage, hitting 20-of-31 from the free throw line.

CSU was just 7-for-11.

Hofstra also dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Vikings, 38-19, including 12 on the offensive end. Two of those came on one possession in the final three minutes that allowed Hofstra to kill more than 90 seconds off the clock. The offensive rebounds also led to 15 second chance points.

Dwan McMillan and Stephen Nwaukoni each had 12 points to lead Hofstra, while Nathaniel Lester and Stevie Mejia had 10 each.

The Vikings held Mike Moore in check as he finished with just five points. He came in averaging more than 20 per game.

The Vikings conclude play in the Ticket City Legends Classic on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. when CSU plays host Rhode Island.