WASHINGTON, D.C — For about 15 minutes, Delaware hung right with Hoftsra in the CAA Tournament quarterfinal on Sunday night.

But once the favored Pride took control of the game, it never gave it back.

Third-seeded Hofstra used a 10-point run at the end of the first half to take the lead for good before finishing off the No.6 Blue Hens, 73-58, in the CAA men’s basketball tourney.

Delaware led 29-25 on a jumper by Christian Ray with 5:59 left before halftime. But the Hens went scoreless the rest of the half as Hofstra took a 35-29 advantage into intermission.

The Pride were up 39-29 one minute into the second half before Delaware scored again. Hofstra led by as many as 18 and never by less than eight the rest of the way.

Delaware was hurt by 15 turnovers, including nine in the first half alone. The Hens made only 7-of-23 three-pointers and were 23-of-56 from the floor.

The loss was Delaware's eighth straight to Hofstra (20-12).

“I thought their defense was fabulous,” said UD coach Martin Ingelsby. “We weren’t able to get into a great flow offensively. ... Credit to them for really digging in and guarding us.

“They’re a very good defensive team. They get up into you. They’re active. ... We had a couple careless ones (turnovers). I just think we needed to do a better job of staying poised in the moment and being strong with the basketball.”

Gerald Drumgoole, Jr. led Delaware with 23 points after hitting 4-of-9 three-pointers. Jyare Davis with 13 was the only other Blue Hen to reach double figures.

Hoftsra, which faces No. 7 Stony Brook in Monday’s second semifinal, got 23 points and 11 rebounds from Darlingstone Dubar and 20 points from Tyler Thomas.

The Hens finish the season with a record of 19-14, which is two more victories than it had last winter. They went 2-4 in their last six games.

Ray and one-year transfer Jalen Trent are the only UD players with no eligibility remaining. Ray, a two-year transfer from LaSalle, reached 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds for his career this season.

He was also named the CAA’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

“Obviously Christian is such a big part of what we do and who we are,” said Ingelsby.