By Kyle Kandetzki – SPORTS EDITOR
Records were broken, and three-pointers were flying, but without a consistent defense Hofstra couldn’t beat another power-five conference opponent Sunday.
Hofstra men’s basketball fell to the South Carolina Gamecocks, 94-84, in the semifinals of the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. The team as a whole broke a program record for three-pointers with 17, while Juan’ya Green netted 28 points, but South Carolina dominated in the paint on both ends of the ball. The Pride will now play against the Indiana State Sycamores at 7:30 p.m. on Monday for third place.
Just as they did in their win on Friday against Florida State, Hofstra started cold, surrendering the first six points to South Carolina. But, also in the same fashion as Friday, Hofstra battled back using the three-pointer, as four of their first five field goals came from deep, giving the Pride one of their only leads of the night, 14-13, five minutes in.
But the Gamecocks kept a consistent advantage over the Pride’s big men (who had zero points in the first) with tall efforts from Laimonas Chatkevicius, Mindaugas Kacinas and Michael Carrera. The trio utilized tip-ins, fouls and seamless post moves to build back their lead in the first, which added up to 30-18 after a Kacinas layup midway through the half.
With the offense sputtering at times, Green took the reins in scoring for the remainder of the period, nailing three three-pointers the remainder of the half, supplemented by his protégé, Desure Buie, grabbing one deep ball of his own. The Gamecocks struggled down the stretch, letting the Pride get within two, before they scored the half’s final five points to go into the break up 46-39.
The second half began with another offensive slugfest, where Hofstra’s attack continued, but South Carolina’s always responded right back. Nevertheless, after a Bernardi layup, five of the next seven Hofstra field goals were threes, followed by two free throws from Rokas Gustys tied the game up at 62 apiece with 11:46 to go.
Hofstra hung around the SEC team for the following three minutes, as South Carolina continued to draw fouls, forcing the Pride into foul trouble that had hurt them on Friday. Ameen Tanksley and Bernardi each knocked down one of their combined eight threes in back-to-back fashion to bring back a six-point lead to a 74-72 SC advantage, but the wheels came off from there.
Hofstra failed to score over the next four minutes, a period where the Gamecocks scored twelve points, spacing their lead to 86-72 with less than four minutes left. The offense regained life in the final moments, but it was too late. Meanwhile the defense remained asleep, allowing two dunks in the final minute, putting an exclamation point on a 94-84 loss.
Green finished with 28 points and seven assists, though turning the ball over five times. Tanksley added 18 along side Bernardi’s 14, which could’ve been 20, but he had two threes waved off due to off-ball fouls. The team still shot 51% from the field and 17-for-34 from three despite the loss.
Gustys was bullied down low, and only managed two points total, both on free throws. Malik Nichols also continued his struggles in the Virgin Islands, fouling out for the second consecutive game, and only scoring three points over both games.
The stat sheet pronounced the Pride’s frontcourt struggles: They were outrebounded 41-23, including just seven total boards in the second. The defense allowed 44 points in the paint, and 52 points combined to South Carolina’s starting forwards.
South Carolina’s entire starting five finished in double figures, with guards Sindarius Thornwell and PJ Dozier scoring 14 and 12, respectively. The team shot 54% from the field and 55% from three (5-for-9).
Hofstra will vie for third place at the Paradise Jam Monday against Indiana State, who defeated Norfolk State, but then fell to Tulsa, who will face South Carolina in the Championship game.
