By Nick Bond
The final result of the Pride’s showdown with the Longwood University Lancers, a 75-60 drubbing that wasn’t nearly that close, was a surprise to no one. However, the way in which they reached it was quite remarkable, and indicative of the problems that Hofstra has had all year.
Keeping with tradition, the Pride started off slow, trading the lead back and forth for much of the first half, at one point finding themselves down by six points with less than five minutes remaining. The men struggled getting open shots from the floor, shooting under 40% for the half. Coach Pecora was well aware of his team poor shooting performance saying, “I got into them pretty good at halftime because we didn’t want to shoot the ball that early in the clock”. Though, as luck would have it, the Lancers shot even worse, making only 35% of their shots, including a dismal 25% from behind the arc, which allowed the Pride to muscle their way to a 5 point lead going into the locker room.
As is often the case, the only bright spot in the half was senior guard Antoine Agudio, who lead all Pride members with 12 points in the first half, hitting four of his seven shots, including 2 of 5 from outside, keeping his team in the game despite the absence of freshmen sensation Charles Jenkins, who missed the game due to illness.
The Pride’s poor play continued to prove problematic for the first few minutes of the final frame, as they again jockeyed for the lead until, as if a light had went on over the collective head of the team, the men took the reins and beginning at the 15:05 mark went on a game-deciding 21-1 run over the next ten minutes.
Not all went well for the Pride, however, as Junior Forward Arminas Urbutis went down with what looks to be a season-ending knee injury. Despite the loss of Urbutis, the Pride were able to establish a major inside presence, as Junior Center Dane Johnson had an outstanding 7 blocks, with 6 of them coming in the second half.
Following the offensive outburst that ended with the Pride being up 63-43, many unsung bench players found their way onto the court, as bench players Ryan Johnson, Kevin Nee, Sam Cherilus and David Vallins all saw playing time. This allowed the Lancers to close the gap ever so slightly, trimming the lead from 73-48 to the final score of 75-60.
Junior Center Dane Johnson records one of his 7 blocks as he and the Pride routed Division I rookie Long wood University Lancers. Johnson added 12 points and 5 rebounds for a solid all-around performance. (Sean M. Gates)