The Hofstra men’s basketball team was victorious over the UNC–Wilmington (UNCW) Seahawks, 73–71, on Monday, Feb. 8, at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. The win improves the Pride’s record to 7–4 against Colonial Athletic Association opponents (15–9 overall) and vaults the team into sole possession of third place in the conference standings.
The first-place Seahawks defeated the Pride the last time the two teams met on Jan. 29. Now on their home floor, Hofstra wanted to make sure the outcome went their way while on national television.
“They got us when we played at Wilmington,” said forward Aaron Estrada. “I feel like when we played there, it was a lot of things that wasn’t going our way when we were down there. This was a redemption game for us.”
Both teams traded baskets to start the game. With 6:21 to go in the first half, the Pride jumped out to an eight–point lead with a layup from Abayomi Iyiola. UNCW then closed the gap after a 12–6 run that was jumpstarted by a three–pointer from Jaylen Forbes. The first half closed with Hofstra leading 31–30. The highlight of the night, an alley-oop pass from Zach Cooks that was slammed home by Darlinstone Dubar, ignited the home crowd. After the first 20 minutes of play, Estrada led all scorers with 12 points while Mike Okauru led the Seahawks with 11.
With the team’s offense playing stagnantly to open the second half, Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton inserted Cooks into the game, as the graduate transfer has taken on the role of scoring threat off the bench for the Pride. With his team down by three points as he entered the game, Cooks hit a mid–range jumper to bring Hofstra to within one and then hit a pullup jumper on the next possession to reclaim the lead. The Seahawks were able to regain the lead by one, but Cooks answered once again with a three-pointer from the left-wing, putting the Pride up by two.
“[Cooks] is our energizer bunny,” Claxton said. “[When] he’s not out there, it’s pretty quiet. It’s good to have him back, and he’s somebody these young guys could learn from. He puts the work in day-in and day-out, and that’s why he’s a good player.”
With 9:12 remaining and down 55–51, Caleb Burgess provided the defensive stop that Hofstra was searching for as he stripped Jaylen Fornes and hit a streaking Dubar with an outlet pass. Dubar finished the play with a layup that brought the Pride back within two. On the next possession, Estrada drilled another step-back three-pointer, regaining the Pride’s lead.
The lead exchanged multiple times over the next several minutes. Cooks nailed his third three-pointer of the half giving Hofstra a four-point lead. Fornes added a three-pointer for the Seahawks to make it a 65–64 until an Omar Silverio layup gave the Pride a two–point advantage. Estrada then made another three–pointer giving the Pride a 70–64 lead.
With the score close in the final minutes, the teams exchanged opportunities from the free-throw line. After a foul call on Silverio, James Baker Jr. hit one of his free throw attempts to bring the score within five for UNCW. Dubar then had his chance and knocked down both of his free throws to extend the Pride’s lead to seven.
After Okauru hit with a three–pointer to make it a 72-68 ballgame, the Seahawks fouled Dubar once again, but he couldn’t convert the four-point play. Okauru added another three-pointer on the following possession to UNCW to within one with eight seconds remaining.
With the ball in his hands and time running out, Okauru drove down the lane and missed a last-chance layup that rimmed out as time expired.
“Great win, great team effort, we got contributions from everyone,” Pride head coach Claxton said.
Burgess led Hofstra with seven assists while Estrada finished with 23 points and tied Iyiola for the rebounding high with seven.
“My coaches, they’ll give me a lot of confidence to shoot the ball, so I just feel like all that contributes to me progressing as a shooter throughout the year,” Estrada said.
The Hofstra Pride ended their three-game homestand on Monday night as the team heads to Philadelphia to take on the Drexel University Dragons on Thursday. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
