By Steven Wolff – STAFF WRITER
Over winter break, the Hofstra men’s basketball team stayed hot, going 8-3. Six of those eight wins came in crucial conference contests; however, the two losses came against the College of Charleston and James Madison. The third loss came back in late December to Long Island rival Stony Brook, where Hofstra lost a back-and-forth contest, 71-68. Guards Ameen Tanksley and Brian Bernardi each had over 20 points against the Seawolves, but the Pride only shot 36 percent from the field. Bernardi, who started off the season shooting well from behind the arc, has cooled off recently. Hofstra then finished off its nonconference schedule with two victories against Florida Atlantic and Sacred Heart.

The team then continued its winning ways to open up CAA play, picking up victories over Delaware and Towson. The Pride edged Delaware 90-80 while hitting 14 three-pointers and shooting about 50 percent from the field. They also had five players score in double figures, including graduate student Denton Koon who notched 17 points and continues to be a consistent force for this team. The hot shooting continued for the Pride, carrying them past Towson in a 90-58 rout.

The Pride then traveled to South Carolina to face a tough College of Charleston team. Hofstra led at halftime, but the Cougars pulled away in the second half with a late run of their own to get the 72-61 victory and snap Hofstra’s four-game winning streak.

The Pride did not let the tough loss phase them, rebounding for two more conference wins against the Elon Phoenix and the Drexel Dragons. Hofstra would go on to beat the Phoenix 80-76. Center Rokas Gustys continued his breakout season with another double-double as he posted 19 points and grabbed 12 boards.

In the second contest, Hofstra roared past the Dragons 69-61. In the process, senior point guard Juan’ya Green went over 2,000 points for his career, a remarkable feat. He had 25 for the game and sparked a late Hofstra rally that would eventually propel them to victory.

However, the Pride’s two game winning streak would come to an end again, coming up just short in a tightly contested overtime loss against James Madison, 86-82. The loss came despite a huge performance from Rokas Gustys, who scored 25 points and brought down 20 boards.

Gustys has put forth a huge year in his sophomore season. He is averaging about 13 points a game, as well as 12 rebounds, and can almost guarantee a double-double on a nightly basis. The significant improvement in his game has given opponents trouble when they try to guard him inside the paint, where he is shooting 64 percent. Gustys still needs to improve his free-throw shooting, especially down the stretch of tight games, hitting just a meager 41 percent from the charity stripe.

The Pride continued to play in overtime as they next beat Northeastern in a triple-OT affair by a final score of 96-92. Gustys posted another enormous performance with 20 points and 20 boards. Juan’ya Green also added a double-double with 23 points and dished out 14 assists.

Green has been the leading scorer and emotional leader for Hofstra for the past two seasons. Not only did he surpass 2,000 career points this year, but he is averaging about 18 a game, while dishing out about seven assists per contest. Free-throw shooting has also been a key factor for his success on the court, hitting over 80 percent from the line. Hofstra has many different players crashing the boards to help out Gustys, including Green who is snatching four rebounds per game. He could improve on his overall shooting percentage, but has still been a force to be reckoned with for this Hofstra team.

Hofstra then finished off the break with a 28-point demolition of William & Mary. The Pride played well over the break, but if this team is going to make a run at a CAA title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, it will to have to continue to shoot the ball efficiently, and make its free throws down the stretch.