The Hofstra Pride men’s basketball team defeated the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks with a score of 78-64 on Saturday, Feb. 15.
The win allowed the Pride to clinch their third straight 20-win season, and ensured that they will stay in first place in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) at 11-3 (20-7 overall). The win also gave coach Joe Mihalich his 400th career win as head coach.
Leading the way in Hofstra’s effort was sophomore Isaac Kante with a game-high 23 points to go along with a game-high 14 rebounds. In addition to notching his career high, it was the first time all season that Kante led the Pride in scoring.
“I just tried to be strong inside. That’s what Coach likes to preach to me,” Kante said. “[He tells me] to be a beast in there. I just knew those two centers on their team couldn’t guard me. They played hard, and they got me last time at their place, so I just tried to get at them at home.”
Up 17-14 with 13:05 left in the first half, Hofstra went on a 14-0 run, helped by three pointers from Tareq Corburn and Jalen Ray over the next 5:36 to break the game open. The Pride punctuated on a three by senior Desure Buie with 7:44 left to go in the first half.
Buie, who came in having scored in double digits in 22 straight games, was held to just nine points on Saturday afternoon as the Seahawks trapped him continually and forced the ball out of his hands.
“Let’s not forget this. If you have Desure Buie on your team, the other team can’t press, and the other team can’t trap ball screens. The other team can play any funky defense they want. If you have Desure Buie on your team, you’re going to win,” Mihalich said. “So, forget the points. He [couldn’t] care less about the points. He handled the press, he handled the traps, and he handled changing defenses. That isn’t easy to do.”
Pemberton’s 23 points were also key for Hofstra in their winning effort. Additionally, his scoring output moved him past David Taylor for ninth on Hofstra’s all-time scoring list.
“Both these guys (Kante and Pemberton) know they don’t get 23 if Desure Buie isn’t on the floor,” Mihalich said.
Despite the day being filled with personal milestones, there are bigger things ahead and much more lofty goals to accomplish.
“We’re lucky enough to be a part of a team. You don’t want to personalize things. Elijah didn’t come out here to say, ‘I’m not worried about winning, I just want to get my points.’ He didn’t do that, and I would never do that,” Mihalich said. “There will be an upcoming time when you think about it and talk about it and all that stuff, but it’s certainly not now.”
The victory was Hofstra’s six consecutive and improved their record in CAA play to 11-3. Their 20th win also marked the 23rd time in program history that they’ve won that many games in a season and 14th at the Division 1 level.
“I’m sure Elijah would rather go to the NCAA tournament than pass Speedy Claxton. I know Isaac would much rather go to the NCAA tournament than average 23 and 14 a game. I mean, that’s the dream,” Mihalich said. “It’s why we do what we do, so we can climb up that ladder and cut the nets down. There’s nothing like it.”
Hofstra returns to action next Thursday, Feb. 20, when they travel to Drexel University for a 7 p.m. contest[JZ1] .
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
