The Hofstra men’s basketball team took the second game of the Northern Classic in Laval, Quebec, Canada, with a win over the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG) Spartans, 65-53, on Saturday, Nov. 26. This win snaps a two-game losing streak and pushes the Pride’s record to 5-2 for the season.
“Great character win,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton. “After our performance last night, that’s the response that we needed to see.”
Darlinstone Dubar led the way for Hofstra, leading the team with 17 points on 7-10 shooting while also grabbing six rebounds. Tyler Thomas and Amar’e Marshall were right behind him in scoring with 14 and 10 points respectively.
“[Dubar] was big for us,” Claxton said. “Thomas played huge in the first half. Then Marshall came off the bench and gave us outstanding minutes. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know where we would have been, but he’s been there all year, and we’re thankful that we have him.”
The first half started out fairly even, as the score was set at 12 for both teams within the opening five minutes of play. Five minutes later, Hofstra went on a 13-0 run and led 25-12. They held the lead and ended the half up 35-27.
Even though both teams had an identical 3-11 from 3-pointers at the half, Hofstra shot better overall going 13-27 from the field compared to UNCG’s 11-30. The Pride also cashed in on more opportunities from the free throw line, going 6-7, compared to UNCG going 2-5.
The second half provided some more back-and-forth action, but Hofstra outscored UNCG 30-26. They shot 8-20 from the field and 2-7 from behind the 3-point line, compared to UNCG going 9-26 and 1-13 respectively.
Overall, the Pride outmatched the Spartans, going 21-47 (44.7%) from the field, 5-18 (27.8%) from 3-point line and 18-23 (78.3%) from the free throw line, compared to UNC Greensboro’s 20-56 (35.7%), 4-24 (16.7%) and 9-14 (64.3%), respectively.
The fact that Hofstra was able to limit the Spartans to just 16.7% shooting from the 3-point line reflects their strong defensive effort.
“We want to close out this trip strong,” Claxton said. “We got a tough Quinnipiac team. It’s going to be a quick turnaround.”
Hofstra will wrap up the Northern Classic as they take on Quinnipiac University on Sunday, Nov. 27, at 4 p.m., at Place Bell in Lavel, Quebec, Canada.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
