Hofstra

Drexel will host Kent State in an ESPN BracketBusters game on Friday, Feb. 18, at 9 p.m. in the Daskalakis Athletic Center. ESPNU will televise the game. After winning at Hofstra on Saturday, the Dragons are 14-7 this season, 6-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Dartaye Ruffin scored 15 points and had 14 rebounds in the win. The freshman was named the CAA Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this season. Kent State (14-7, 5-2 Mid-American Conference) has won five of its last six games; it has a victory this season over South Florida, and its losses include a three-point decision to Florida.

Coming off a 60-52 loss at James Madison on Thursday, Drexel will visit Hofstra on Saturday with time running out on the Dragons' hopes of playing their way back into the thick of the Colonial Athletic Association championship race. Its most recent contest left Drexel with a 13-7 overall record that includes a 5-5 mark in league play. The top four teams in the CAA are Virginia Commonwealth (9-1), Hofstra (8-2), George Mason (8-2), and Old Dominion (7-3). Thursday night, VCU defeated Hofstra, which still has dates at George Mason on Feb. 2, and at home on Feb. 5 against Old Dominion.

Jasmina Rosseel scored 26 points, all in the second half, on Sunday, to lead Drexel to a 69-57 victory over Hofstra in a Colonial Athletic Association game at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Tyler Hale pulled down a career-best 15 rebounds and added 11 points as the Dragons (12-6, 4-3) remained unbeaten (8-0) at home. Kamile Nacickaite neatly balanced Rosseel's scoring, tallying 17 of her 19 points in the first half. Hofstra fell to 11-7, 3-4. Duke 65, North Carolina State 64 - Freshman Chelsea Gray made a driving layup with 12 seconds left and led the Blue Devils to a thrilling win over the Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C. The No. 3 Blue Devils (19-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference)

The big question going into Monday night's Colonial Athletic Association game between Drexel and visiting Hofstra was: Would the Dragons be able to contain Pride guard Charles Jenkins, a Naismith Trophy candidate who was leading the league in scoring and drawing attention from NBA scouts? With the help of Jenkins' own foul trouble, Drexel did manage to keep him from running wild. But the senior still managed to get his average (23 points) in a 75-69 Hofstra victory at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

If you like subtle coaching chess matches, the DAC was the right venue last night. Drexel's Bruiser Flint and first-year Hofstra coach Mo Cassara were matching move for move. The difference was not coaching. The difference was Charles Jenkins. And Hofstra had him. There were several NBA scouts in the house, including Portland's Steve Rosenberry and Orlando's Dave Twardzik, the man who practically became a resident of Philadelphia 7 years ago when he was watching Jameer Nelson's every move during the national Player of the Year's senior season at Saint Joseph's.

The streak is at 56 but not counting - at least until next season. Garrett Wittels extended his hitting streak to 56 games Saturday, but Florida International was eliminated by Dartmouth with a 15-9 loss in the Coral Gables regional of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. Wittels hit an RBI double in the top of the first inning, leaving him two games shy of the Division I record set by Oklahoma State's Robin Ventura in 1987. The sophomore infielder went 3 for 5 and finished with a .417 average.

Nicole Hagerty likes the bright lights and the big city. She likes the bright lights and the little city, too. The Gloucester Catholic softball star says one of the reasons she decided to continue her athletic and academic careers at Hofstra University was its proximity to New York. Hagerty has played some of her best softball under the lights. She led the Rams to Saturday-night victories over rival Gloucester City before huge crowds at the town's Ponytail League softball field as a junior and senior.

St. Joseph's took a step toward addressing the need to improve its rebounding by announcing that Halil Kanacevic, a 6-8, 245-pound forward, has transferred from Hofstra to Hawk Hill. Kanacevic, who is from Staten Island, N.Y., was named to last season's Colonial Athletic Association all-Rookie Team. He led the Pride in rebounding with an average of 7.6 a game as a freshman. Under NCAA transfer guidelines, Kanacevic must sit out next season. He will have three years of eligibility beginning with the 2011-12 season.

A person familiar with negotiations says Robert Morris basketball coach and former Saint Joseph's assistant Mike Rice has agreed to become the coach at Rutgers. The school plans to introduce Rice at a news conference later this week, the person told The Associated Press yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity because no official announcement had been made. Fred Hill, a former Villanova assistant, resigned 2 weeks ago after 4 seasons as coach of the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers was 47-77 under Hill, including a 13-57 record in the Big East.