The Hofstra men’s basketball team’s astounding win streak was brought to a close on Saturday, Feb. 2, when the Pride was defeated on the road by the Huskies of Northeastern University 75-61.
The game started out extremely close, with neither team able to gain a significant advantage early on. After Northeastern’s first big lead was snuffed out by back-to-back three-pointers from Desure Buie, the Huskies scored the final seven points of the first half to build the lead that they would hold for the rest of the game.
Buie’s play stood out as a huge bright spot despite the loss, as he posted 22 points for a new career high. He shot an outstanding 9-12 from the field – including 2-4 from beyond the arc – and also grabbed four rebounds.
Despite not making a single shot, Tareq Coburn still managed to contribute through his eight rebounds, including two on the offensive end.
Jacquil Taylor led the game in rebounds with 11 as he earned his second double-double of the season. Taylor shot 4-7 for 10 points and finished the game with two blocks. Justin Wright-Foreman was the third Hofstra player to score in the double digits with 15.
The streak, which brought the Pride attention on the national scale, ended at 16 wins, which was the longest winning streak in the country prior to its end on Saturday. It also stands as the second-longest streak in Hofstra’s NCAA Division I history and the third-longest streak ever for the program.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our guys,” said Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich. “It was a magical run, [we had the] longest win streak in the country. So I’m proud of our guys, but maybe we had to get this clunker out of our system. I don’t think that’s who we are, but [I] give the credit to Northeastern because they played so well.”
The Huskies were led by Vasa Pusica, who filled the stat sheet with 24 points on 7-12 shooting, eight rebounds, two steals and an assist. He was one of four Northeastern starters to score in double digits, with Donnell Gresham Jr., Bolden Brace and Jordan Roland scoring 18, 11 and 10, respectively. Gresham led the game in three-pointers made with four, while Brace led the Huskies in rebounding with 10 on his way to a double-double.
“Now, it’s our challenge to lick our wounds, head back to Long Island and see if we can get another streak going,” Mihalich said.
After their first loss in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play this year, the Pride look to return to their winning ways on Thursday, Feb. 7, as they host Elon University.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
