The Hofstra University men’s basketball team lost a 75-69 overtime thriller to Quinnipiac University on Sunday, Dec. 29. The Pride concluded their two-month stretch of non-conference play with a record of 8-5 while the Bobcats improved to 7-7 with the victory.
“The tougher team won,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy. “To give up 23 second-chance opportunities, you’re not going to be able to win a game like that. The number one key on the board was boxing out. We knew the possession didn’t really start until the shot went up, and that’s how we lost.”
Jean Aranguren and Michael Graham were Hofstra’s main contributors in the second half as they battled back to force overtime. Aranguren finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, six assists, a block and three steals. Graham recorded 13 rebounds and eight points, but it wasn’t enough to put the Pride over the top.
“Those two guys played great,” Claxton said. “[Graham] held down the fort in the middle… but this one is on the guards. They need to do a better job of cleaning [Graham’s] man out when he tries to help them out.”
In overtime, Hofstra experimented with a unique lineup. The Pride put Joshua DeCady in at power forward to try and get bigger and battle harder on the boards.
“At that point, they were hurting us so much on the offensive glass that we tried to put a bigger guy in there and then we had to dumb down the offense on the other end,” Claxton said. “[DeCady], to his credit, we’ve never put him at the four, but he went out there and played his hardest, so I’m proud of him.”
Hofstra had 14 days between their loss to Temple University and their visit to Hamden, Connecticut. Not only had the Pride not seen game action in two weeks, but they had barely practiced together due to injury and illness.
“We were probably a little rusty and during that time we didn’t even get to practice because guys were banged up or sick,” Claxton said. “Even though we had off, we didn’t practice once. We had individual and group workouts, but our first practice back was Dec. 26 – after Christmas. We had three really good practices leading up to this game.”
While Hofstra has been playing basketball for nearly two months, the games are about to become much more meaningful. Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play is about to tip off, and for a team like the Pride, a conference championship is their only chance to make the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament.
“We need to get tougher,” Claxton said when asked about the adjustments his team needs to make come CAA play. “We have to play every possession like it’s our last and get better on the rebounding side of things.”
Hofstra is back in action on Thursday, Jan. 2, against the College of William & Mary. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
