ESPN Men's Basketball

TOWSON, Md. -- Jerome Hairston and Marcus Damas scored 17 points each as Towson ended a remarkable turnaround season by defeating Hofstra 67-64 Saturday.

The Tigers (18-13, 13-5 Colonial Athletic Association), who are ineligible for the postseason because of NCAA academic progress rules, improved by 17.5 games over last year's 1-31 finish, based on the difference in both wins and losses, divided by two. That bettered the mark of plus-17 by Mercer in 2002-03 and UTEP the following season.

Jerrelle Benimon had 14 points and 13 rebounds for Towson for his 20th double-double this season. His two free throws tied the game 55-55 with 3:52 left, and two by Rafriel Guthrie made it 57-55. Benimon's three-point play stretched the lead to 62-55 with 1:08 remaining.

Stevie Mejia scored 22 points and Moussa Kone 20 for the Pride (7-24, 4-14), who will play No. 2 seed Delaware in the conference tournament on March 9.