It’s hard to beat a team three times in one year. That sentiment reigned true on Monday, March 11, as Hofstra University were defeated by local rival, the Stony Brook University Seawolves, 63-59 in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) tournament semifinals.
“Hats off to Stony Brook, they made big shots when they needed to so congrats to them and good luck to them in the finals,” said head coach Speedy Claxton. “Hell of a year by my guys, super proud of them. There’s no head-hanging here, they gave us all that we wanted game after game.”
Stony Brook’s Tyler Stephenson-Moore was the story of the first half, leading the Seawolves with 14 early points and shooting 50% from three-point, going 3-6. Chris Maidoh continued his strong CAA tournament play in the post, by attacking the glass with six easy points and two offensive rebounds.
As custom, the Battle for Long Island was a tightly contested affair from the opening tip. With both teams struggling from the field, physicality and tough-minded basketball became the focal point of the first half.
CAA Player of the Year Tyler Thomas led the Pride early on with 11 points on 4-9 shooting, three of which came from behind the arc. He wasn’t the only one connecting from long range, as Jaquan Carlos added two threes after 20 minutes of play.
The second half pushed the physicality and grinding nature of the game to its peak. Hofstra eventually took their first lead of the game since seven minutes left in the first half. At the 11:19 mark, Dstone Dubar drained a three pointer off an assist by Carlos to put the Pride in front 44-41.
With Hofstra still in front, 51-48, Stony Brook kicked things up a notch, scoring 13 unanswered points, 61-51.
Despite an end-of-game sprint in the final 30 seconds for the Pride, the Seawolves held on to advance to the CAA Championship game, overcoming their own 15 giveaways.
The sluggish turnover play of the first half didn’t translate to the final 20 minutes of ball, but still, Stony Brook, even with 15 giveaways, pulled off the upset with their clutch gameplay down the stretch.
Stephenson-Moore continued to guide Stony Brook, putting up 23 points on an efficient 7-14 shooting, while also cushioning the stat sheet with nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Maidoh continued his persistent presence down low, finishing with 13 points in the night. Clarke contributed 12 points and gathered eight rebounds.
The Pride’s star in Thomas played all 40 minutes, despite coming down with an injury mid-second half. Thomas shot 10-27 from the field, good for 32 points thanks to six made three-pointers. He also pulled down nine rebounds and handed out six assists.
Carlos once again was the iron man, dishing the rock six times and picking the pocket thrice to go along with his 13 points.
It was an off night for Dubar, as he only attempted six shots and made two of them. It was a five point, six rebound and two steal effort for the junior.
The Pride finished the season 20-13 overall, Hofstra’s third straight 20-win season.
Photo courtesy of Rafael Suanes/CAA
