The Hofstra Pride men’s basketball fought back from a 14-point deficit to beat the San Jose State University Spartans, 85-76, at the Provident Credit Union Event Center on Thursday, Nov. 17, in a game that was a tale of two halves.
“[The players] wanted it,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton. “We knew that in order to win this, we were going to have to win it on the defensive end.”
The first half featured an abysmal shooting performance from the Pride who had plenty of open shots, but couldn’t get any of them to fall, shooting just 4-19 from three-point range.
“I thought we got some great looks in the first half although we missed them,” Claxton said. “I told the guys to keep shooting it. We’re getting great looks and they’re good shooters.”
To make matters worse, San Jose couldn’t miss, shooting 58% from the field in the half, and, at one point, went on a 17-0 run. Tibet Görener and Alvaro Cardenas had 11 and 10 points respectively in the first half to help keep the lead for the Spartans.
Quick ball movement from the Spartans stretched the Pride’s defense out with lots of off-ball screens, allowing them to create more assists and scoring opportunities. San Jose had 12 assists in the first half while Hofstra had four.
The Spartans went into the half up 41-31 and stayed on the attack, not letting the Pride change the momentum. Darlinstone Dubar and Aaron Estrada each made threes that brought the deficit to within nine points, but the Spartans followed up with buckets of their own. Tyler Thomas hit a three to cut the lead to seven, but once again the Spartans brought it back up to 13 points. It wasn’t until the 12-and-a-half-minute mark that the Pride started to claw back.
Nelson Boachie-Yiadom blocked a shot, grabbed the rebound and passed to Thomas for a three, making the score 56-45, that gave Hofstra some life.
“That was the turning point,” Claxton said. “He’s a vet. He knows how to play and knows what’s expected of him, and he’s just out there playing his game.”
Thomas’s three sparked a 15-2 run for Hofstra that saw all members of the team add to the scoreboard. German Plotnikov sank two free throws, a big layup to tie the game and then a three that gave Hofstra its first lead since early in the first half, 61-59.
And just as the Pride began to get hot, the Spartans proceeded to go ice cold with a five-minute scoring rut.
Estrada capped off another excellent performance on the season with a dagger step-back three to give the Pride a 10-point lead. Estrada and Thomas combined to make 8-11 threes for the Pride in the game. After not having any success from long range early on, Hofstra shooting 64% from three in the second half and held San Jose to a just 29% from behind arc. Free throws also helped the Pride wage its comeback, making 21 of its 27 attempts.
The nine-point victory is Hofstra’s largest win of the season thus as each of the Pride’s four victories have come by single digits. Now 4-0, this is Hofstra’s best start to a season since 2004.
The Pride next take on Saint Mary’s College of California on Saturday, Nov. 19. The Gaels and Pride are both undefeated thus far and will be a huge mid-major game.
“Both teams are 4-0, oh we’re going in there, we’re ready,” Claxton said.
Photo Courtesy of Todd Fierner/Hofstra Athletics
