The Hofstra University men’s basketball team lost to the College of William & Mary 61-60 on Thursday, Feb. 13. Chase Lowe knocked down a layup in the final seconds to put William & Mary up by one and sealed the game. The loss extended the Pride’s losing streak to four games and worsened their Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) record to 4-9.
Five days after Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton questioned his team’s heart after their 80-75 loss to Stony Brook University, his team battled and fell to the now 9-4 Tribe.
“I’m proud of the effort,” Claxton said. “I thought my guys competed and got back to playing Hofstra basketball. On the defensive end, we had a couple of bad bounces down the stretch – a couple of 50/50 balls that we should’ve had. We ran a couple of their non-shooters off the line, and we gave up three straight layups – man that cost us the game.”
Cruz Davis continued his stellar season with a 22-point effort in the contest. Davis shot 52.9% from the field and kept his hands active on defense, adding a block and a steal to his stat line. He also hit some big shots down the stretch to keep his team in the game.
“Not just tonight, but the last couple of games [Davis] been there and if we get consistent play like that, I think we can make a run,” Claxton said.
Claxton’s bench played a key role in the game, scoring 21 points throughout the game. Jaquan Sanders and TJ Gadsden came up clutch in the second half, as both teams were trading baskets since the halfway point in the period.
“We got some good minutes from [Sanders] off the bench,” Claxton said. “He made a layup, made a three [and] he was solid on the defensive end – if he’s going to play like that then he’ll earn himself more minutes. German [Plotnikov] fouled out, but he did hit a big three. We’ve just got to get more consistent play from [Plotnikov].”
The Pride hasn’t held an opponent to 65 points or fewer in over three weeks until the Tribe. If Hofstra is going to make a run from now through the CAA Championships, they will need to lean on their defense to stifle opposing offenses and create offensive opportunities.
“We dialed in,” Claxton said on the improved defensive in the second half. “[The] guys were focused, and they followed the gameplan to a T. We just had a couple of mishaps on blow-bys.”
The Pride were back into action on the road against Hampton University. Tipoff was set for 2 p.m.
