The Hofstra University men’s basketball team kicked off Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play with an 82-76 win over James Madison University (JMU) on Saturday, Dec. 28, at the JMU Convocation Center.
Eli Pemberton scored 25 points to help the Pride earn their fourth consecutive victory and improve their overall record to 10-4. JMU dropped to 7-5 on the season.“We’re really proud of this win,” said Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich. “It’s tough to win on the road and a conference road win is like gold so we’re happy to get this and proud of our guys for keeping their poise.”
The Pride found themselves in an early 8-0 hole to start the game but they fought back and used a 13-4 run to go in front at the 13:37 mark. Later in the half, Matt Lewis caught fire for JMU and scored eight straight points to lead the Dukes on a 12-1 tear and take back their lead 28-16.
Following the Dukes’ run, Hofstra and JMU traded baskets, but the Pride struggled to gain momentum and cut their deficit. Pemberton hit a last second three to close out the first half with JMU up 36-30.
Hofstra continued to struggle in the first few minutes of the second half and saw their deficit grow to 13 points. The Pride quickly came alive and cut JMU’s lead down to four with 12:49 remaining.
The Pride and Dukes went back and forth once again but Hofstra kept fighting and took their first lead since the first half at 68-67. Desure Buie came up clutch and scored nine of the Pride’s next 11 points to give them a 78-72 lead.
Hofstra sealed the game by making six out of eight free throws in the final two minutes of the game and won their first CAA matchup of the season.
“I’m not sure if we’ve ever been worse in the first half but we kept our poise and kept our composure,” Mihalich said. “We had some stars certainly not playing like stars who had a little talk with themselves and decided to play the way they know how in the second half.”
Hofstra had four players reach double digits in scoring, with Pemberton notching 25 points, Jalen Ray with 18 points while Buie and Tareq Coburn each scored 15. Buie made the difference late in the game and led Hofstra on a 12-5 run to complete the comeback.
“At the 16-minute timeout, I said to [Buie], ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you but you’re a star and you’re not playing like a star,’’’ Mihalich said. “After that it just clicked. I think his pride set in and his character really set in.”
The Dukes were led by Matt Lewis with 22 points and Deshon Parker with 17 points.
Hofstra overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half thanks to an incredible 70.8% shooting percentage, going 17 of 24 from the field.
Hofstra continues CAA play on Monday, Dec. 30, when they travel to SECU Arena to battle Towson University at 2 p.m.
