The Hofstra University men’s basketball team secured a gritty 62-51 comeback victory over Drexel University at home on Tuesday, March 3. The win came on the Pride’s annual Senior Night, as Hofstra honored its five seniors in the final regular season game of the year.
With the victory, Hofstra closed the regular season with a 21-10 overall record and a 12-6 mark in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA).
“It was the tale of two halves,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton. “I thought the first half we were kind of stuck in mud, and we weren’t playing hard. In the second half, we got our feet up under us, and we actually executed the game plan with some force and some intensity.”
The opening 20 minutes were a bizarre half of basketball, dominated by the Dragons’ unconscious 3-point shooting. Drexel scored all of their early points from beyond the arc. They didn’t record a non-3-point field goal until just under four minutes remained in the half.
The Dragons shot a blistering 52.9% from deep, knocking down nine 3-pointers in the first half. Outside of the long range makes, Drexel managed only two additional field goals. On the other end of the floor, the Pride struggled to find any rhythm offensively.
Hofstra shot just 33% from the floor and an abysmal 1-10 from 3-point range in the opening half. With the Dragons scorching from deep and the Pride struggling to generate offense, Hofstra headed into halftime trailing 32-26.
The script quickly flipped coming out of halftime as the Pride were determined to claw their way back into the game. Hofstra’s CAA-leading defense was on full display, as the Pride held the Dragons scoreless for more than eight minutes.
“We were guarding the basketball,” Claxton said. “I thought in the first half they were able to get into the paint and relocate, and we had to collapse, and they were able to get some threes. They had, like, nine threes in the first half and only one in the second half. We just guarded the basketball better.”
The Pride’s struggling offense quickly came to life in the second half, sparked by freshman star Preston Edmead and senior Biggie Patterson. Patterson capped an 11-0 run with a deep 3-pointer with just over 14 minutes remaining in the half.
“I thought those two guys were great,” Claxton said. “[Patterson] was great the whole night. [Edmead] got it going in the second half, which we needed.”
The seven-time CAA Rookie of the Week winner continued his dominance in his first season, leading the Pride to a 21-4 run to open up a 49-39 lead with about ten minutes left. Edmead finished the night with 19 points and cashed in four triples.
The Pride honored Patterson, German Plotnikov, Joshua Aaron Reaves, Silas Sunday and Alex Tsynkevich at center court before the tip on their senior night.
The Pride’s road to a CAA Championship is set for Sunday, March 8, in Washington, D.C. Hofstra’s opponent is currently unknown, as they secured the double-bye. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m.
