Charlotte holds off Hofstra 80-72 Eds: APNewsNow. Charlotte 80, Hofstra 72.

hempSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) Shamari Spears scored 26 points to lead Charlotte to an 80-72 victory over Hofstra on Tuesday night.

Spears finished the first half with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Overall, he was 9-for-13 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line.

After Charlotte extended the lead to 68-58 with 5:40 to play, Hofstra rallied to 71-68.

Chris Braswell's offensive rebound and pass to a cutting RaShad Coleman made it a five-point game. DiJuan Harris hit 3-of-4 free throws to give the 49ers (4-1) a six-point lead with less than 1 minute to play in the NIT Season Tip-Off.

Braswell had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Derrio Green added 12 points for Charlotte. RaShad Coleman added nine points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Hofstra (3-3) was led by Charles Jenkins, who scored 25 points.

Greg Washington added a career-high 18 points, to go with nine rebounds.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-24-09 2329CST | save this article / add to your favorites list