The Hofstra University men’s basketball team defeated their first power conference opponent of the season, defeating the University of South Florida (USF) Bulls with a score of 82-63 on Thursday, Nov. 30 at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. It was a thoroughly dominant win for the Pride as they established a 16-point lead within the first 10 minutes of the game. Hofstra then continued to lead by as many as 32 points for the remainder of the game.

“It was a really good job by the fellas, they executed the game plan to a tee,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton. “I feel like we can beat anybody.”

The Hofstra offense was once again led by Tyler Thomas, who scored a game-high of 25 points. Thomas’ season scoring average remained steady at 25 points per game, allowing him to keep his spot as the nation’s leading scorer for another game.

While Thomas retained his title as Hofstra’s senior leader, it was junior Darlinstone Dubar who continued his ascent toward being noted as a nationally ranked player after picking up 24 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Dubar ranks top 70 nationally in true shooting percentage over seven games, and his scoring average has already risen by eight points year-over-year.

“The key was just working out in the summer; there’s no secrets,” Dubar said. “I just try to work hard every day and I’m getting the results.”

The Bulls entered the match with the nation’s 15th-best 3-point defense, with their opponents shooting at a 22% clip from beyond the arc. Hofstra took USF’s biggest strength and annihilated it by knocking down 15 triples and converting on 50% of their 3-point attempts.

“We work on our shooting every day and we got some really great shooters here,” Claxton said. “When these guys have open looks, they’re gonna go down. Hats off to my guys.”

The Mack saw a strong showing from Jaquan Carlos, who finished with an 11-point, 10-assist double-double. The player is up to a conference-leading 6.7 assists per game in the season, pairing nicely with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.6.

“Knowing the game plan, when I drove, they were going to collapse,” Carlos said. “I played off two feet and looked for my guys, and they made open shots.”

Hofstra now looks ahead to what is undoubtedly one of the toughest stretches of the season, as the Pride will spend 16 days on the road with matchups against the Iona University Gaels, Saint Louis University Billikens and Duke University Blue Devils. Each of Hofstra’s next three opponents ranked in the top 150 on the basketball stats site, KenPom, at the start of the season. Duke came in 7th in the latest Associated Press top 25 poll.

“It was extremely important to get this one,” Claxton said. “You don’t want to be satisfied with what we did [in Florida] and come home with a letdown.”

Hofstra returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 6, against the Gaels, another in-state rival, at the Hynes Athletic Center in New Rochelle, NY. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Lee S. Weissman