The Hofstra University men’s basketball team lost a very physical game to Temple University 60-42 on Sunday, Dec. 15. Hofstra fell to 8-4, while Temple improved to 6-4. The lack of second-chance points and timely rebounds cost the Pride in this game.
Hofstra shot 14-56 from the field and 5-29 from behind the arc while playing without starters Cruz Davis and Jaquan Sanders.
“The effort was there; I’m proud of the effort,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton. “When you’re down two starters, it’s going to be hard to beat an opponent like Temple. I’m proud of the way they came out, but today we just didn’t make shots.”
Pride guard Jean Aranguren led all scorers with 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to give himself his second double-double of the season. Aranguren only shot 4-15 from the field and 1-6 from the 3-point line, but he managed to get to the free-throw line 10 times and sink seven of them.
“That’s just [Aranguren]; we expect that from him on a nightly basis,” Claxton said. “He’s a really good player and I’m not surprised by that stat line.”
In the first half, the Owls out-rebounded Hofstra offensively 12-5. In the second half, the Pride were only outrebounded 4-3. Hofstra had an active hands-on-defense, recording 12 blocks and six steals.
“The defense wasn’t the problem,” Claxton said. “In the second half we controlled [the offensive rebounds] and today we just couldn’t make a shot. We had terrific looks at the basket by really good shooters and we just had one of those days.”
Silas Sunday had quite the afternoon, as he made his presence known around the rim and on the defensive side of the court. Sunday recorded 11 rebounds, three blocks and one steal.
“[Sunday] was tremendous, he’s a big presence in the middle,” Claxton said. “That’s why I stuck with him mostly over Michael [Graham] today, he’s a rim protector. I’m happy with the way he’s playing, hopefully he can continue to play the way he is.”
The Pride have two weeks to get fully healthy since their next game isn’t until Sunday, Dec. 29, against Quinnipiac University. Their game against Quinnipiac is their last non-conference opponent before conference play, which begins on Jan. 2, against The College of William & Mary.
“I like where we’re at,” Claxton said. “We’ve lost four games now; two I think that we could’ve put ourselves in a position to win. I like where we’re at and we’ll continue working over these next couple of weeks until we get to Quinnipiac.”
Tipoff against Quinnipiac is set for 1 p.m. in Hamden, Connecticut.
Photo courtesy of Amelia Bashy
