HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.– The Hofstra men’s basketball team completed their non-conference schedule on Dec. 22 with a 63-51 victory over Manhattan College at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
Eli Pemberton and Desure Buie led the way for the Pride (9-4) with matching stat lines of 19 points, four assists and five rebounds. Both also reached milestones too as Pemberton became the 11th player in team history to reach 1,600 career points while Buie became the sixth player to suit up for 120 games.
“Elijah and Desure have been just off the charts all season long, this whole non-conference schedule,” head coach Joe Mihalich said, “[but] we don’t win the game today without number 32 [Isaac Kante].”
Kante turned in his third double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
“He kind of made a statement today,” Mihalich said, “he’s back and ready to go for league play.”
Coming into this matchup, Kante had failed to record double-digit points in four straight games and failed to record double-digit rebounds in eight straight.
“[Manhattan] is very aggressive,” Kante said. “I just had to come out, play hard and match their intensity.”
Once again for the Pride, it was their defense that helped win the game. The Pride held the Jaspers (4-5) to their second-lowest point total of the season.
“We grinded it out defensively,” Mihalich said, “I thought our slides were terrific, communication was terrific.” Hofstra also only gave up five free throw attempts for the whole game.
The game was back and forth in the beginning but the Pride was able to go on some runs to pull the game in their favor. After Pauly Paulicap gave Manhattan an 18-16 lead with just over nine minutes to go in the first half, Hofstra embarked on an 11-0 run to grab a lead that wouldn’t be relinquished.
The Jaspers began the second half on a 12-4 run to take the score from 37-25 to 41-37 in favor of Hofstra. The Pride responded by holding Manhattan scoreless for the next six and a half minutes, scoring 11 points of their own in that time, to push the lead back to double digits.
After the win, the Pride can begin to focus on their upcoming conference play.
“Your non-conference schedule sharpens your teeth for league play,” Mihalich said, “We are now ready for league play.”
The Pride currently sits in second place in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) standings behind the University of Delaware (10-3).
“It’s the best league in the country nobody knows about,” Mihalich said, “There’s never a day off.”
Last season, Hofstra finished with a 15-3 record in conference play and the team will look to take the next step and win the conference tournament for the first time.
“It’s a heck of a league,” Mihalich said, “We love playing in it and we can’t wait to get started.”
They take the holiday week off before starting CAA play at James Madison University on Saturday, Dec. 28.
Image Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
