On Saturday, Feb. 1, the Hofstra men’s basketball team made a statement with its victory over the top team in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) standings, the Tribe of the College of William & Mary, by a score of 83-60 at the Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, VA.
4:28 into the second half, a step-back shot from mid-range by Desure Buie kicked off a 21-4 run for the Pride that created a 68-44 advantage over the Tribe with 9:48 left in the game. Buie led all players in scoring with 22 points as he shot 9-15 from the field and added seven assists.
“[Buie] is a candidate for (CAA) Player of the Year,” said Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich. “[He] should be in the conversation. Does he get it at the end of the year? Probably not, because everybody else has been more hyped, but what a year he’s had. He’s just been unbelievable.”
With 18 seconds left in the first half and the Pride holding a four point lead, Tareq Coburn hit back-to-back three-pointers after going just 1-5 from the field prior to the burst, creating a 10 point lead for Hofstra and placing the momentum firmly in the Pride’s corner at the halftime horn.
Hofstra’s offense was efficient all game long as the team shot above 50% from the field in both halves. The Pride finished the game shooting 54% from the field and went 11-23 on attempts from long range, hitting 48%. The team also held a key advantage over the Tribe in turnovers, as William & Mary lost the ball 13 times in the game due to Hofstra’s defense firing on all cylinders and forcing mistakes throughout the game.
All five members of Hofstra’s starting unit finished the game with double digits in the points column. Coburn had 19 points while shooting 5-8 from beyond the arc. Eli Pemberton had 16 points and five rebounds. Isaac Kante shot a perfect 6-6 with a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Jalen Ray added 10 points despite a shaky shooting performance and tallied four assists and two steals.
William & Mary’s star center, Nathan Knight, put up an impressive stat line of 19 points and 16 rebounds, 11 of which came in just the first half. Bryce Barnes was the only other member of the Tribe to reach double-digits in points, as he tallied 11 points on 4-9 shooting.
“As good as we played today, that’s the way they played when they came to our place,” Mihalich said, referencing the Tribe’s 88-61 win at the Mack Center on Jan. 2. “I guess we’re even now, and if there’s a rubber match, we have to wait and see what happens.”
With the victory, the Pride is now in a three-way tie for first place in the CAA standings with the Tribe and the College of Charleston Cougars, as all three teams boast conference records of 8-3. The Pride also leads the nation in road wins this season with nine. Hofstra returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 8, to host Northeastern University at the Mack.
Image courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
