Omar Silverio had a record-breaking night on Wednesday, Feb. 16, as the Hofstra Pride defeated the Phoenix of Elon University 97-64 at the Schar Center in Elon, North Carolina. Silverio set a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) single-game record with 11 three-pointers.
This was the Pride’s fifth straight win and bumps them up to an 18-9 overall record, with a CAA record of 10-4. Elon’s record dropped to 8-19 overall with a 5-9 conference record. Hofstra is now 11-4 all-time against the Phoenix.
Silverio led the way off the bench for Hofstra, scoring a career-high 40 points, 12 more than his previous high of 28. Silverio shot 11-16 from three-point land, which shattered the Hofstra record of eight three-pointers made in a single game. This also made Silverio the first Hofstra player to record 40 points in a game since Desure Buie did it on Jan. 4, 2020, also against Elon.
“I trusted my teammates, I trusted my shots,” Silverio said. “I was really focused coming in because I had been struggling shooting the ball lately. So today, I was on a mission, I had to make some shots, make every shot count. I thank my teammates, coach called some plays to help me down the stretch.”
“Tremendous job, we knew it was only a matter of time,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton. “[Silverio]’s a great shooter, and he’s a gym rat. He gets [shots up] every day, and we knew it was only a matter of time before he started making shots, and tonight he showed how great of a shooter he really is.”
Three of Silverio’s teammates also scored point totals in double-digits, with Aaron Estrada recording 14, Darlinstone Dubar with 11 and Jalen Ray putting up 10.
It took ten minutes for the Pride to go full throttle and take command of the game in North Carolina. With the score tied at 17, the Pride went on a 15-0 run over 3:30 and led the game 32-17 with 8:17 left in the first half. Two of Silverio’s 11 three-pointers came in this run, and by the end of the first half he had scored 25 points.
The Pride ended the half in style, as Estrada caught an inbound pass with three seconds remaining, took two dribbles and heaved up a shot from inside the Pride’s own three-point line that found the bottom of the net. The successful heave extended Hofstra’s lead to 56-34 at halftime.
“I thought [our] defense was great,” Claxton said. “Not so much to start the game, but midway through that first half, we buckled down on defense and then [Silverio] checked in and made some shots on the offensive end and that propelled us.”
The second half saw much of the same for both squads, as Elon trailed by 20 or more points for the rest of the contest. The Pride closed things out with a 23-12 run, bringing the final score to 97-64 for a whopping 33-point win.
Hofstra’s remaining CAA schedule will all be at home, with the Pride beginning its four-game homestand on Saturday, Feb. 19, against the Huskies of Northeastern University. The game starts at 2 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
