RICHMOND, VA - All season long, coach Tom Pecora emphasized that his young roster embodied the “early pains for late gains” philosophy. During a 12-17 regular season, the Pride experienced plenty of the former. Starting today at noon, Hofstra will have a chance to prove the struggles can lead to immediate dividends in a first round matchup against Towson.

Senior guard Antoine Agudio led his team to the eighth spot in the 12-team conference, setting up a matchup against the ninth-seeded Tigers in the opener of the CAA Tournament. When the ball tips off at noon at Richmond Coliseum, the Pride will be looking to make a surprise run in the four-round tournament concluding Monday that gives the champion an automatic entry in the NCAA Tournament.

Not even Agudio’s 22.5 points-per-game scoring average led his school to four straight wins all season. The longest winning streak was a three-game run which came last week. Before heading on the bus for Virginia Wednesday afternoon, Pecora said a team featuring three freshmen in the 10-man rotation is ready to bust out after concluding the regular season with four wins in the five games.

“You need to go into a tournament like this with a swagger,” Pecora said. “I talked to them about no regrets. We have not had a game yet where we’ve had seven guys play their ‘A’ game. It’s time for us to go in there and go on a run. We’re capable of doing it.”

One of those freshmen is Charles Jenkins, who captured the conference’s Rookie of the Year award by averaging 15 points and four rebounds. Jenkins, who was a high school standout for Queens’ Springfield Gardens, will look to alleviate the Towson pressure off Agudio and duplicate his 17 point effort that helped the Pride beat the Tigers 81-67 two weeks ago in the playoff preview.

“You can only rise as far as I’m concerned at tournament time,” Jenkins said. “We didn’t do that well this year to get an [automatic NCAA] bid. We can change the season around by cutting down the nets on Monday.”

Hofstra (8-10 in CAA) split the season series with Towson, finishing one game ahead of the Tigers (7-11). The top four teams receive first-round byes; a position Hofstra earned last season before losing to George Mason in the quarterfinals. This season, Pecora is embracing a new role for his unit: the underdog label.

“Whatever it takes for them to be motivated,” Pecora said. “I know I sound like an old man but I tell these guys when you’re done playing, you’ll give your right arm for one more game. They have to understand how precious these games are.

“We’ll go into next season as a very experienced team. I think the future is very bright but I live in the present.”

Last year’s team featured a fearsome three-guard group that provided most of the scoring. Only Agudio, who broke the school’s 43-year-old career scoring record last week, remains from the trio that included Carlos Rivera and Loren Stokes. Both of those players are now professionals in Europe, and Agudio will look to go to log his first NCAA appearance after being part of three straight Pride teams to qualify for the NIT.

Unlike last year’s version, then new Hofstra team features two developing frontcourt prospects. Juniors Darren Townes and Dane Johnson averaged 11 combined rebounds. They helped the Pride establish a rebounding edge in both games against the Tigers and will be entrusted to come up big on the glass against Junior Hairston, Jonathan Pease and Rodney Spruill.

Towson held Agudio to 3-15 shooting and Jenkins to 4-15 from the field in Hofstra’s 60-51 loss in Maryland Jan. 30. Both guards fared better in the rematch and will look to duplicate that success. All 11 tournament games are hosted at a neutral site, a plus for the Pride considering Towson finished 0-9 against conference opponents away from home and 1-13 overall away from Towson Center.

“The first game, me and Antoine couldn’t hit the ground if we fell twice,” Jenkins said. “We didn’t let it get to us. We stayed confident and came out and performed.”

Hairston, Spruill and Josh Thornton each averaged just over 12 points to give Towson a balanced offense. Thornton hit his first five threes in the second meeting before going cold in the second half. Another good shooting performance from him could fatigue Agudio on the defensive end and sustain the Tigers’ momentum.

“The win over Delaware was a great way to end the regular season and it's important to go into the tournament with a lot of confidence and a positive attitude,” Towson coach Pat Kennedy told the school’s website. “I really believe the winner of this tournament is going to come from the five through 12 seed. I've seen it happen many times before. We're certainly capable.”

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