The Hofstra University men’s basketball team beat the State University of New York at Old Westbury, 89-62 on Monday, Nov. 4. The Hofstra Pride began the 2024-2025 season with a win on the back of a strong second half.
“We did a great job in the second half,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton. “We picked up our energy, effort and that was the tail of the game.”
Old Westbury, a Division III school, hung on to the Division I Pride for the first 20 minutes. At the 10-minute mark, the Panthers led Hofstra 21-14 and controlled the game’s pace. The Pride dug deep and managed to knot the game up at 34-apiece going into halftime. Hofstra shot just over 59% from the field and 37.5% from 3-point land in the second half.
There are eight newcomers for Hofstra, so Claxton understands that growing pains early on can be expected.
“This is a great first game for us,” Claxton said. “With so many new guys, we have to work the kinks out. It’s hard, this is the landscape of college basketball. Hopefully, we can keep building off of this one and take it game by game.”
Hofstra guard and Iona University transfer Jean Aranguren lit up the arena with 25 points. Aranguren had an incredibly efficient night, shooting 10-15 from the field and 4-8 from behind the arc.
“When the defense’s energy level started picking up and when flow of the game was going better for me and the guys, we had a better half,” Aranguren said on how the team settled in for the second half.
While the Pride got off to a slow start in the first half and they struggled shooting from the field at only a 32% clip, this team never wavered.
“The execution on both sides of the basketball wasn’t there, but it’s a lot of new guys,” Claxton said. “We need to be patient with these kids, and hopefully, come January or February, [our play] is where we want it to be at.”
Hofstra guard and St. John’s University transfer Cruz Davis put in 19 points, thanks to a 12-14 performance from the free throw line. He also added seven rebounds and eight assists to his line.
“The first half, it wasn’t too good,” Davis said on how his first game as a member of the Pride went. “In the second half, we picked up the energy. It’s just our first game, so I’d say first-game jitters in the first half. In the second half, we played how we play in practice.”
Hofstra went back into action on Friday, Nov. 8, against Iona. Tip-off was set for 7 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Ethan Albin
