CHARLESTON, SC – The Hofstra men’s basketball team was defeated 69-67 in a nailbiter by the College of Charleston on Saturday, Jan. 18, at TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina.
Senior forward Sam Miller converted a layup with nine seconds to go to give the Cougars (12-8) the win. This game was a battle of two of the top teams in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) as the Pride and Cougars went into the game ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the conference, respectively.
The Pride (14-6) had four players in double digits, led by Desure Buie’s 19 points and Isaac Kante’s 10 points and 11 rebounds.
“[Buie] was the best player on the floor,” said Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich. “And [Kante] just keeps getting better and better.”
Buie also added a game-high nine assists and Kante’s double-double was his fourth on the year. Eli Pemberton, on the other hand, posted his lowest offensive output of the season with just two points on 1-for-8 shooting from the field.
After a back-and-forth beginning to the game, the Pride began to take over midway through the first half, leading by as many as nine points. Kevin Schutte’s jumper with 8:33 to go in the first gave the Pride a lead they would take into halftime and Omar Silverio’s three-pointer exactly five minutes later gave the Pride that nine-point advantage. They did not score for the final three and a half minutes of the half, however, allowing Charleston to cut the lead to two points, 41-39, heading into the break.
The drought continued into the first four minutes of the second half before two Buie free throws at 3:59 tied the game at 43 and got the Pride back on the board. The Hofstra defense held Charleston to four points in the first four minutes of the second half to keep it close.
In a half dominated by defense, the Pride took two four-point leads, the second of which coming with 5:38 to go as Buie’s three-ball made it 62-58. Charleston took the lead exactly 3:30 later as guard Grant Riller’s layup made it 64-62.
Jalen Ray responded with another three-pointer to put the Pride back on top 65-64 with 1:31 to go, but Miller matched it with a three of his own to make it 67-65. Kante came back on the next possession, knotting the score back up at 67 with a layup off Buie’s ninth assist of the evening.
On Charleston’s final possession, Riller missed a three-point attempt but Miller grabbed the put-back to make it 69-67 with nine seconds to go. Hofstra turned the ball over on its final possession to end the game.
The Cougars outrebounded the Pride 34-27 and outscored them on second-chance opportunities 12-0, including the final two points of the contest.
With the loss, Charleston jumps over Hofstra into second place in the CAA with a 6-2 conference record. The Pride, meanwhile, drops to 5-2 in conference play as they prepare for five of their next seven games at home after having five of their first seven conference matchups on the road.
“When you have five of your first seven games on the road, you’re supposed to be 2-5 and we’re 5-2,” Mihalich said. “We came within one rebound of being 6-1. I couldn’t be prouder of this team.”
The Pride’s next game will be at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex on Thursday, Jan. 23, when the team hosts the University of Delaware Blue Hens at 6:30 p.m.
