A strong second half performance led the Hofstra men’s basketball team to a victory over the Towson University Tigers on Saturday, Jan. 23 at the David S. Mack Sports & Exhibition Complex by a score of 71-58.
The Pride was led by senior Jalen Ray, who, after a scoreless first half, scored 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting after halftime. He went 2-of-6 from the 3-point line and made all four of his free throw attempts, while also tallying three assists, three steals and three rebounds.
“In the first half, I was just forcing a lot of stuff,” Ray said. “I just have to let the game come to me, and in the second half, that’s how I got 16 points: just slowing the game down.”
Freshman Kvonn Cramer added a career-high of 16 points while also making multiple 3-pointers for the first time in his career, as he went 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
“Kvonn [Cramer] being able to do that obviously adds a different dimension to us,” said acting head coach Mike Farrelly. “That’s what he does in practice. And [that’s] why we were letting him shoot threes: [it] was because he works so hard at it. He stays after every day.”
Junior Isaac Kante posted his fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while senior Tareq Coburn added 12 points and nine boards. Sophomore Caleb Burgess achieved a career-high in assists, setting up teammates for field goals nine times throughout the contest, and also posting seven points, three rebounds and a steal.
Zane Martin was the top scorer for the Tigers, putting up 17 points, followed by Jason Gibson’s 12-point performance on 5-of-8 shooting. All 15 of the Tigers’ 3-point attempts were taken by three players: Martin, who went 0-of-4, Gibson, who went 2-of-5 and Nicolas Timberlake, who went 2-of-6 and added 10 points.
It was a tale of two halves for both teams, as the Tigers’ field goal percentage plummeted from 53.57 percent in the first half to just 27.59 percent in the closing frame. The Pride’s stout defense allowed just eight made shots in the final 20 minutes of play.
“We had a good defensive performance in the second half,” Farrelly said. “Probably one of our better defensive performances, and [the Tigers] got some offensive rebounds because they were missing some shots, but we have to do a little bit of a better job of that tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, the Pride made a jump offensively after halftime sparked by the 16-point performance from Ray. Hofstra’s field goal shooting, which sat at 36.36 percent at halftime, jumped to 50 percent for the second half as the team went 13-of-26.
The Pride also found success from the 3-point line in both halves, shooting 6-of-16 in the first half and 5-of-9 in the second. The 11 made 3-pointers tied the team’s most this season.
With the win, the team’s record improved to 8-6 and 4-3 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) games heading into the finale of their double-header with Towson on Sunday.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
