In a tale of two halves that saw Hofstra turn a narrow three-point halftime lead into a comfortable 18-point advantage, the No. 1 Pride advanced past No. 8 Drexel University 61-43 in the quarterfinals of the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) Men’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday, March 8.
It was an uncharacteristic first half offensively for the CAA frontrunners, whose overall sporadic play brought them to a 2-10 start from the field after 10 minutes, turning the ball over four times. Hofstra shot a mere 39%, connecting on only 22% on their shots from beyond the arc.
“We had the jitters the first half,” said Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich. “Credit to [Drexel] for the way they played, but our guys had great poise and great composure. We know what we had to do at halftime.”
Fortunately for the Pride, Drexel fared even worse, shooting 33% from the field and 10% from three. Though the Dragons had some mishaps of their own, Hofstra’s defensive intensity was largely what kept them in the game during the first half.
Drexel’s second team All-CAA guard, Camren Wynter, was held scoreless on 0-for-8 shooting, turning the ball over five times in the game.
“The goal for any player that you play against is to not let him get comfortable,” Mihalich said. “It wasn’t like we said, ‘Hey, lets hold this guy scoreless.’ The guy’s too good.”
Despite the lackluster shooting performance, the effort shown on defense translated to the offensive side as well, as players like Eli Pemberton and Isaac Kante displayed a strong presence in the paint. Pemberton finished the first half with a team-high six rebounds while Kante hauled in five as the two combined for nine points.
After 20 minutes of play, the teams entered the half with Hofstra leading 25-22.
When Mihalich’s halftime adjustments matched the Pride’s intensity, Hofstra took off. Pemberton’s aggression in getting into the lane translated directly into points, singlehandedly pushing Hofstra out to a 7-0 scoring run as well as a 10-point lead – their largest of the game up to that point. Just four minutes in, Hofstra had forced three turnovers, led 5-1 in rebounding and 6-0 in points in the paint.
Production came in bunches for Hofstra in the second as all five starters got on the board in the half at a much more efficient 53% clip, also knocking down an improved 43% of their threes.
Pemberton tripled his first half scoring output with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, Kante went 4-of-4 with eight points and Desure Buie matched his seven in the first half with another seven in the second alongside five rebounds and four assists. The three players finished with 19, 13 and 14, respectively, while Jalen Ray added 14 of his own alongside Tareq Coburn’s one.
“I feel like I’m definitely playing the best I’ve ever played,” Pemberton said. “This is my last go-around, and my brothers make it so easy for me just to have fun. Those guys fight for me, so I have no choice but to fight for them and have fun.”
Hofstra led 38-32 in rebounding, 12-6 in assists and 11-9 in turnovers.
After finding their groove in the second half, the Pride hopes to keep it going when they step on the court on Monday, March 9, against the winner of the matchup between No. 4 Charleston and No. 5 Delaware.
Tip off will take place at 6 p.m.
Image courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
