JMU basketball falls 74-57 to Hofstra in CAA Quarterfinals

Senior forward Moussa Kone had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds and junior guard Ameen Tanksley scored 16 points to lead Hofstra to a 74-57 victory over James Madison in Saturday’s second quarterfinal game in the Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Championship at Royal Farms Arena.

Fifth-seeded Hofstra (20-12) advances to a 2:30 p.m. Sunday semifinal meeting with top-seeded William & Mary (19-11), a 72-59 winner over eighth-seeded Elon in Saturday’s opening quarterfinal game. It will be the Pride’s first semifinal appearance since 2011. Fourth-seeded James Madison fell to 19-13 with the loss.

Kone hit on nine of 12 shots from the field and six of his game-high 11 rebounds were off the offensive board in his third double-double of the season and sixth of his career.  He had 12 second-half points when the Pride pulled away from a 39-33 halftime advantage.

Tanksley hit on five of 15 shots, including two three-pointers, and he and Kone led a balanced Hofstra attack that produced four double-figure scorers and points from eight players overall.  Freshman forward Rokas Gustys added 11 points on five-of-six shooting and junior guard Juan’ya Green contributed 10 points, four rebounds and eight assists for the Pride.

Hofstra trailed only briefly during the opening half when it survived a 10-0 JMU scoring burst for a 20-15 Dukes’ lead and controlled play for most of the game with strong play on the offensive glass and an aggressive defense.  The Pride had a 39-32 rebounding edge, including 18 offensive rebounds, and scored 25 second-chance points and 23 points off 14 James Madison turnovers.

Kone had four points during an 8-3 Hofstra scoring run to start the second half and gave the Pride a 47-36 lead.  James Madison cut the margin to eight on two occasions, the last at 51-43 with 10:31 remaining, and was within 56-47 with eight minutes left before Kone scored twice off rebounds and graduate guard Dion Nesmith had three-pointer and a layup during an 11-2 run that increased the Pride’s advantage to 67-49 with 3:28 left.

Hofstra shot 55.6 percent (15-27) during the second half and 49.2 percent (31-63) overall to James Madison’s 37.0 percent (20-54) for the game.

Hofstra led 15-10 at the 13:31 mark of the opening half on Tanksley’s three-point  play before sophomore forward Dimitrije Cabarkapa’s two three-pointers led the 10-0 Dukes’ run that put James Madison in front 20-15.  Hofstra responded with a 22-4 run of its own, with points from five players, to lead 37-24 with 3:20 left in the half.

Ron Curry with 18 points and Cabarkapa with 12 were James Madison’s only double-figure scorers.  Curry had 11 second-half points, and all of Cabarkapa’s points came during 16 first-half minutes.