All season long, the Hofstra University men’s basketball team has consistently been paced by star Tyler Thomas. On Thursday, Feb. 1, Thomas added another chapter to his celebrated Hofstra career, hitting a fadeaway jumper with two men on him to give Hofstra the lead with 0.4 seconds on the block, sealing the game for the Pride to win the battle for Long Island over the Stony Brook University Seawolves, 72-71.
“I saw space on the baseline, and I just had to get the shot off,” Thomas said.
“If anyone deserved that shot to go in it’s [Thomas],” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton. “The work that he puts in on a daily basis, he deserved to make that shot, so I’m extremely proud of him and happy for him.”
Thomas finished the game with back-to-back 20-point outings, scoring 26 points on 10-21 shooting and adding six rebounds with three assists while playing all 40 minutes of the game.
The iron man of the team was also aided by a near triple-double performance by Jaquan Carlos. Carlos had 11 points on the night to go along with his 10 assists and nine rebounds with an impressive zero turnovers to show for it.
While the ending of the game was filled with satisfaction by a rowdy crowd at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex, the first half was a different story for the Pride.
Stony Brook controlled the majority of the first half, being led by guard Aaron Clarke who had 11 points in the first half. Clarke would finish the night with 18 points off 6-14 shooting from the field.
The story for the Seawolves in the first half was their red-hot start from beyond the arc. Stony Brook held a stellar 8-14 from the 3-point range after 20 minutes, with three of them shot by Clarke. Because of that, Stony Brook took a 41-31 lead going into halftime.
“They shot the ball extremely well from 3-point land,” Claxton said. “We were there on the closeouts but hats off to them, they really shot it well tonight.”
The early stages of the second half were more of the same for Stony Brook, with more attempts from downtown going in, as well as getting to the free-throw line early and often. This led to the Seawolves taking their largest lead of the game, 44-31 with about 18 minutes left in the game.
After some back-and-forth possessions, the Pride found their rhythm with German Plotnikov accounting for six shots in a row, including an and one and a 3-pointer, to give Hofstra a one-point lead with just over 5 minutes on the clock. Plotnikov had 17 points on an efficient 6-9 shooting, with four of them connecting from outside.
“I think the first half I didn’t take a couple of the shots, passed up on them, but then coach Speedy kept telling me to shoot the ball and it shows how much he believes in me, so whenever I caught it next time, I just kept shooting,” Plotnikov said.
The tight lead quickly vanished, as Stony Brook guard Tyler Stephenson-Moore drilled two jumpers in a row to put them back in front.
With the crowd on their feet and less than a minute to go, every possession felt significant. The Pride was gunning to retake the lead and shock the Seawolves, while Stony Brook was hoping to get to the foul line and walk out of Hempstead with the victory.
Despite missed opportunities by Hofstra, they had one last chance to win the game after a missed free throw by Clarke.
Darlinstone “Dstone” Dubar corralled the rebound and sent the pass right to Thomas. Thomas faked going through the paint and instead settled for the jumper off the baseline, drilling it to send the Hofstra faithful into a frenzy.
“Proud of my guys,” Claxton said. “Big win, you know we were down 10 going into halftime and we could’ve easily quit. Shots weren’t falling and they were killing it from 3-point, but this team didn’t quit and I’m extremely proud of them. They battled and fought that whole second half and we came back and never hung our heads, not for one second.”
With the win, the Pride now stand at 5-4 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play, tied for fifth in the standing with four other teams in what is shaping up to be a hectic stretch in the fight for the double-bye in the CAA Tournament. Overall, Hofstra is 12-10 on the season.
For Stony Brook, the Seawolves sit at 4-5 in the CAA and 11-11 overall this season.
Hofstra will stay home for their next conference matchup, as the second-place Towson University Tigers come into town on a five-game winning streak, the hottest team in the CAA.
“We know it’s going to be a very physical game. Towson’s always one of the more physical teams in the league, so you know we’re going to rest up and do some cryotherapy tomorrow and get ready for battle,” Claxton said.
That matchup will take place on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex and will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Matteo Bracco
