Four graduating students, including Tyler Thomas, the NCAA’s fifth-highest scorer at 22.1 points per game, will be honored on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Hofstra University men’s basketball Senior Day and last home game of the 2023-2024 season. The Pride looks to defeat the Elon University Phoenix for a Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) matchup.
The Pride and Phoenix are meeting for the first time since last season, when Hofstra bested Elon 82-65 on the road on Jan. 26, 2023. The Pride hold a 12-5 record over the Phoenix entering Saturday’s matchup.
After Thomas missed a 3-pointer to defeat Drexel University on the road on Thursday, Feb. 15, the Pride were crowned victors hosting Drexel one week later, with a 69-57 score on Thursday, Feb. 22. Six players accounted for the Pride’s score, led by Thomas’s 28 points. Darlinstone “Dstone” Dubar trailed with 10 points and seven rebounds, while Jaquan Carlos, who set a CAA record for single-game rebounds on Saturday, Feb. 17, once again led the Pride with 10 rebounds.
Hofstra entered conference play with a mediocre 7-6 record but has now won eight of their last 10 games.
On the other end of the standings, Elon struggles to rise, having not won more than two consecutive games this season. Despite having defeated second-seeded UNC-Wilmington 73-72 on Saturday, Feb. 17, the Phoenix began another losing streak the next game with a 58-61 loss at Northeastern University.
While four members of the Phoenix put up double-digit points against Northeastern, three Phoenix members consistently average double-digit points per game. Max Mackinnon, the team’s scoring leader at 14.9 points per game, put up 13 points at Northeastern.
Rebounding is more of a team effort for Elon than at Hofstra; Dubar’s 6.6 rebounds per game places him at the top of the Pride’s leaderboard, while the Phoenix’s rebounding leader, Sam Sherry, leads Elon with only 4.7 rebounds per game. The Phoenix also do not have a clear role player for assists, although TK Simpkins leads with 74 total assists and three at Northeastern.
The Pride is tied for third place in CAA standings with a 17-11 overall record and a 10-5 record against CAA opponents, while the Phoenix hold the No. 11 spot as they are 12-16 overall and 5-10 against conference foes.
Tip-off for the Pride’s home finale on Saturday, Feb. 24, is at 7 p.m. at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. The game will be televised on both FloHoops and MSG, while WRHU 88.7 FM will air an audio-only broadcast.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Evan Bernstein
