By Anders Jorstad — STAFF WRITER
A rematch of epic proportions for the Hofstra Pride lived up to expectations as the Pride came away with a close 70-67 victory over the fifth-seeded William & Mary Tribe at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore.
After falling to the Tribe in the CAA semifinals last year 92-91 in double overtime, Hofstra had something to prove against the same foe. The Pride swept the season series against the Tribe but sought the postseason victory to seal the deal.
The crowd was expectedly electric directly from tipoff. It was easy to sense the rivalry brewing in the building. Every basket, turnover and foul call was met with a combination of roaring applause and deafening boos.
Emotions were flying on the court just a minute into the game when Rokas Gustys got fouled by CAA Defensive Player of the Year Terry Tarpey, and the two wrestled to the floor. A flagrant foul was called on Tarpey and the tone for the contest was set. There were 22 total foul calls and dozens of travels, palm balls and double dribbles over the course of the game.
“I thought last year’s game was probably a better played game for both teams,” William & Mary head coach Tony Shaver said of the difference between this year’s semifinal game and last year’s. “I thought this game was a slugfest. Neither team was great, but both teams played with desire. Very contrasting games, I thought.”
The contest was extremely physical as the squads went back and forth throughout the first half. The Tribe closed the first half out on a 9-3 run to give William & Mary a 34-30 lead heading into the locker room.
The Pride came into the second half with a lot of energy on offense. It only took Hofstra three minutes to retake the lead 43-41. The teams went back and forth until the Pride used a 7-0 run to stretch to a 65-59 lead with 4:13 remaining.
As anyone who watched last year’s contest remembers, a lead like that is anything but safe. Hofstra led 66-59 with 5:13 to go in the game during last year’s semifinal and couldn’t hold onto it.
Coming out of the media timeout, Daniel Dixon and Greg Malinowski each hit a three to tie the game 65-65. A layup by David Cohn and a pair of free throws by Juan’ya Green knotted it back up at 67-67.
The Pride then had possession with just 38 seconds to go. With the shot clock winding down, Green considered attempting a shot before deferring to Denton Koon in the post for an easy layup. William & Mary had eight seconds to get down the court for a shot. Cohn attempted a desperation three that clanked off the rim. Ameen Tanksley hit a pair of free throws to seal the 70-67 Hofstra victory.
“We’ve thought about this game for 364 days,” confessed Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich. “Yes, it was a tough loss last year. A heartbreaking loss. It was the kind that stays with you. In this profession, that’s what you sign up for. So yeah, we’ve thought about it for a year. We were thankful to have the chance to make up for it. We’ve got a team that just refuses to lose. We should have lost this game. It’s because of these guys [that we won].”
Tanksley led the way for the Pride with 23 points while Green and Brian Bernardi each had 14. Gustys had a rough night as he attempted one field goal but collected 13 boards.
For William & Mary, Malinowski came off the bench and scored a career-high 22 points. Other than he and Dixon (10 points), no other Tribe player got into double figures on the night.
The Pride will play in the CAA championship game for the first time since 2006. Hofstra is playing for the opportunity to compete in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001. The Pride will face the winner of #2 UNCW and #6 Northeastern in the title game Monday night with tip off set for 7 p.m.
