The Hofstra University men’s basketball team snapped their six-game skid with a 78-65 win on the road against the University of Delaware on Saturday, Feb. 22. On the backs of Cruz Davis and Khalil Farmer, the Pride won their first game since Jan. 30, to improve to 5-11 in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) and 13-16 overall.
“I’m proud of my guys. They battled,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton. “We had to face some adversity these last couple weeks, and to these kids’ credit, they didn’t quit – they didn’t give up on the season. They kept getting after it and believing, believing, believing; they deserve this win.”
Davis, who scored a career-high 28 points in the game, took over yet another game in the second half. Since the team’s last win, Davis has averaged 18.5 points per game over the seven-game span.
Delaware cut the point deficit to four with just over 11 minutes to go in the second half. Davis scored 12 points in those final 11 minutes to help prevail Hofstra over the Fightin’ Blue Hens.
“[Davis] was locked in from start to finish,” Claxton said. “I believe he played 40 minutes on Thursday, played another 40 minutes today, and he got into the gym yesterday to work on his game and got some extra shots. He carried us – we go as he goes.”
Farmer had a career-high 19 points. He’s been known for his stellar defense all season, but he delivered in this one when the team needed him most. Farmer added seven rebounds, three assists and one block to his credit.
“[Farmer] was great,” Claxton said. “He’s kind of close to home, Philadelphia, so I’m not surprised by that, but I’m happy for him. We inserted him into the starting lineup yesterday, and to his credit, he performed.”
Eric Parnell added 10 points off the bench and played a career-high 24 minutes; the most minutes of any player other than Farmer, Davis, and German Plotnikov, who played the entire 40 minutes.
“[Parnell] was great off the bench. He didn’t even know if he was going to play or not,” Claxton said. “He hasn’t played much all year, and you know that old saying, ‘stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,’ and he was ready. I’m proud of him.”
TJ Gadsden was out in this game for the Pride and Claxton had an important message for his team.
“Next man-up mentality, next man-up mentality,” Claxton said. “To these kids’ credit, they came out and got a great road win.”
Hofstra is back in action on Thursday, Feb. 27, against Stony Brook University for the second and final time this season. The Long Island rivalry matchup is set to tip off at 7 p.m.
