Following a 66-63 win at home against Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) rival UNC-Wilmington (UNCW) on Sunday, Jan. 12, the Hofstra University men’s basketball team is now in a three-way tie for seventh place in the conference. The Pride have a CAA record of 2-2 and look to keep the winning momentum going as they play two road games this week.
Despite head coach Speedy Claxton being unable to lead the Pride home due to a personal event, Hofstra’s offense came alive against the Seahawks. The Pride shot 23-51 from the field and went 12-28 from the arc, an improvement from the 5-23 from the prior game against the College of Charleston.
Jean Aranguren, who is averaging 14.6 points per game, went 7-15 overall and 5-9 from the 3-point line to score a team-high 20 points. Khalil Farmer followed Aranguren with 13 points while Michael Graham came off the bench for his third double-double of the season and second in two consecutive games, scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Cruz Davis had a team-high seven assists while Aranguren had four assists.
The Pride were up 28-23 at halftime, but even after holding up to an 11-point margin over the Seahawks, the game was tied 61-61 after a UNCW 3-pointer. A pair of foul shots from UNCW’s Donovan Newby gave his team their last points of the game. Aranguren and Farmer combined to knock down three shots from the free-throw line to give Hofstra the narrow victory.
Hofstra’s first stop on the road is against third place Towson University on Thursday, Jan. 16. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at TU Arena in Towson, Maryland.
The Pride will then travel to Philadelphia where they will play against Drexel University on Monday, Jan. 20. Hofstra and Drexel are tied in CAA play. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. at the Daskalakis Athletic Center on Drexel’s campus.
Towson faced off against Drexel in their most recent game in which the Tigers defeated the Dragons 93-82 in an overtime road victory on Sunday, Jan. 12. The Tigers’ bench put up an impressive 68 points against the Dragons. Nendah Tarke scored 27 points while Dylan Williamson put up 26 points and seven assists for the Tigers. The highest-scoring starter was Tyler Tejada, who scored 14 points and led the Tigers with nine rebounds.
The score was tied, both at halftime and at the end of regulation, but Towson outscored Drexel 17-6 in overtime. Williamson scored nine points while Tarke scored seven points in the last five minutes of play, each making a 3-pointer in overtime.
Yame Butler led Drexel in scoring with 21 points while Cole Hargrove trailed with 19 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Kobe MaGee scored 18 points while Jason Drake scored 10 points and had a team-high four assists for Drexel.
Hofstra is 29-14 against Towson in a rivalry that goes back to 2002. The Pride have the chance of holding a three-game win streak over the Tigers with a win on Thursday. Prior to their upcoming matchup at Towson, the Pride narrowly defeated the Tigers 59-56 at home on Feb. 2, 2024.
Drexel will play Elon University on Thursday, Jan. 16, before facing the Pride.
Hofstra’s rivalry against Drexel goes back even further, dating back to the 1973-1974 season when the Pride and the Dragons faced each other in the now-defunct East Coast Conference. The Pride are 48-45 against the Dragons, most recently defeating Drexel 69-57 at home on Feb. 22, 2024.
Both games will be broadcast on both CBS Sports Network and WRHU’s Hofstra Alternative Web Channel (HAWC).
