The Hofstra men’s basketball team pulled off a thrilling 82-65 victory over the Elon University Phoenix on Thursday, Jan. 26, at the Schar Center in Elon, North Carolina. With the win, Hofstra improves to 14-8 overall and 7-2 within Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play.
“Great team win,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton. “But great performance by [Aaron Estrada] to drop a 40-ball. That’s a special night.”
It was indeed a special night for Estrada, as he broke his previous record of 35 points in a night by dropping 40 points. He finished the night going 16-25 from the field and 8-15 from downtown.
“Obviously in the zone you’re going to be able to catch and shoot and really just find what the defense is giving you,” Estrada said. “My first couple of shots didn’t go down, but my coaches always give me the confidence to keep shooting.”
Hofstra appeared to be in control to begin the first half. They found themselves up 28-17 with 7:46 to play in the half and still maintained an eight-point lead with 3:32. However, the defense started to let their guard slip from that point, as Elon scored 10 unanswered points to go up 35-33 heading into the intermission.
The second half was all Hofstra. Estrada scored 26 of his 40 points in the second half alone and went 6-9 from downtown. The Pride outscored Elon 49-30 in the half while committing just two turnovers and taking advantage of seven committed by Elon.
Hofstra had a 63-59 lead with 7:19 left to play, before scoring 11 unanswered points, at which point they won by a 17-point margin.
“It was making shots we were attacking ,” Claxton said. “They tried to slow us down with their one-two-two, and I told the guys attack, attack, attack. If you have a good one that you love, take it.”
While Estrada stole the show, he was not alone. Tyler Thomas put in a solid effort, scoring 23 points on 9-17 shooting and 5-11 from downtown. He and Estrada combined for 63 of Hofstra’s 82 total points. Jaquan Carlos also helped create scoring opportunities for the duo, as he notched nine assists, including six in the second half.
Hofstra was far more efficient from the field than Elon, shooting at 55.9% from the field compared to 40.6% for Elon. They also shot 47.1% from the 3-point line compared to 29.6% from Elon.
The Pride will look to continue the momentum against a tough matchup against The College of Charleston.
“It’s time to go have some fun now,” Claxton said. “We know Charleston is a really good team and they’re sitting at home waiting for us. And here we come.”
“For me, I’m going to take it a little bit more personal because they knocked us off last year,” Estrada added. “So I’m coming into that game with a killer mentality from the jump.”
That game will take place on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 4 p.m. from the TD Arena at the College of Charleston.
Photo courtesy of Alexis Friedman/Hofstra Chronicle
