March 5, 2006

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Carlos Rivera scored 25 points and Hofstra turned the tables on one of the nation's top defensive teams, holding George Mason to just four field goals in the second half of a 58-49 victory in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament Sunday.

Rivera had 17 points in the second half to rally Hofstra (24-6) to its sixth consecutive victory and its first trip to the CAA championship game in the Pride's five years in the league.

Second-seeded George Mason (23-7) came into the tournament holding opponents to 38.3 percent shooting, sixth best in Division I. But Hofstra pressed the Patriots into 32.7 percent shooting, including 17.4 percent off 4-for-23 shooting in the second half.

The third-seeded Pride advanced to Monday night's title game against top-seeded North Carolina-Wilmington, a 69-54 winner over Northeastern earlier Sunday.

Hofstra also got 20 points from Loren Stokes, who left after a collision with another player with 55 seconds left. Rivera added 10 rebounds.

Will Thomas led George Mason with 17 points. Tony Skinn added 10.

George Mason built a 10-point lead before making just one field goal over a span of more than eight minutes bridging the two halves. That allowed Hofstra to cut its deficit to 36-35 on Stokes' short jumper in the lane with 13:16 remaining.

Hofstra took its first lead when Rivera converted a 3-point play to make it 42-40 with 8:38 left.

After the Pride stretched it to 51-44 on Stokes' 18-footer at the 2:25 mark, George Mason cut it to 53-49 on a 3-pointer by Skinn with one minute remaining. But Hofstra sealed the victory by making five of eight free throws the rest of the way.