By Andy Walter

NEWARK — It wasn’t as though Hofstra never missed a shot.

It just felt like it.

And certainly the Pride made enough shots that Delaware simply couldn’t keep pace as Hofstra handed the Blue Hens a decisive 80-66 loss in CAA men’s basketball at the Carpenter Center on Sunday evening.

The Pride (9-4 CAA, 17-9 overall) led for 39 minutes and were never up by fewer than seven points after the first couple minutes of the second half. It was their fourth win in a row — not to mention their 17th victory in the last 20 meetings with Delaware (7-5 CAA, 16-9 overall).

Leading only 39-35 at halftime, Hofstra hit nine of its first 10 shots of the second half — including five three-pointers — to take control at 62-47.

“I feel like we were playing good defense, they just made a lot of tough shots — a lot of tough shots,” said Delaware senior guard Kevin Anderson. “I feel like, as a team, they really had it going in the first eight minutes of the second half.

“There was a point in time where I was just like, ‘Dang, they’re just not missing at all.’ That’s a really good team and they’re coached really well.”

Five players scored in double figures for the Pride, who are in their first season with former Hofstra star Speedy Claxton as their head coach. They own a win over No. 24 Arkansas early in the season.

Guard Aaron Estrada, who is playing for his third school in three years, finished with a game-high 21 points.

“I don’t know if I want to go back and watch the tape,” said UD coach Martin Ingelsby. “But I thought we played some pretty good defense at times. They just had better offense than our defense.

“I feel for our group because we wanted this so bad. We were ready to compete. It was a tough night. We didn’t get it done but we battled to give ourselves a chance.”

The Hens did get something going midway through the second half. When Ebby Asamoah pulled up and hit his second straight three-pointer, Delaware trailed only 67-60 and the crowd had come to life.

The Hens had a couple possessions after that with a chance to get even closer but had a turnover and a missed shot. When Hofstra then ran off seven straight points, its lead was back to 74-60 and the moment had passed.

“If we’re going to give ourselves a chance, we’ve got to dig in and get more stops than we did,” said Ingelsby. “We were teasing ourselves a little bit. We battled back but I don’t know if we had enough in the tank to be able to get it to one or two possessions.”

Freshman Jyare Davis came off the bench to net a team-high 16 points for the Hens. Ryan Allen (12), Anderson (10) and Asamoah (10) were also double-digit scorers.

Delaware’s 66-point total was its third-lowest of the season.

The Hens don’t have any time to dwell on the loss, though. They turn around and host James Madison on Monday night for their third game in five days.

“We’ve just got to be able to come back out here on Monday and play as hard as we did tonight,” said Anderson.

Free throws

Center Dylan Painter (sprained ankle) saw his first action in the last four games. But he played less than 10 minutes while going 1-for-4 from the floor. ... Allen passed Greg Smith for third place on Delaware’s all-time scoring list. ... Hofstra is 8-1 in its last nine trips to the Carpenter Center.

Follow Andy Walter on Twitter at @DSNSports.