The Hofstra University men’s basketball team dominated North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T), 77-57, in the first round of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Championship.
Hofstra fueled their offense with defense, scoring 15 points off turnovers. Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton knew this was something they could accomplish.
“We knew that they were short-handed and wanted to pressure them,” Claxton said. “We wanted to pick them up full court, cause some havoc in the backcourt and get some easy transition buckets.”
The Pride shot 3-pointers at an absurd clip, something they haven’t done since Feb. 22, when they beat the University of Delaware. Hofstra shot 41.7% from behind the arc, which carried their offense in their first win of the tournament.
“We got open shots, and we got some really good shooters that spend a lot of time shooting the basketball,” Claxton said. “They shot the ball with confidence, and it went in.”
German Plotnikov had himself a career performance and played an all-around game, delivering on both ends of the court. He finished with a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double while adding three steals and a block on the defensive end. His point and rebound totals are both a career high.
Cruz Davis poured in 19 points in the win. He had 18 points after the first half and cruised through the game as the go-to guy in the Pride’s offense.
“Just being aggressive,” Davis said on his approach to the game. “Just taking what the defense gave me and not overthinking.”
Eric Parnell continued his stellar play off the bench in this one. Even though he only made one 3-pointer, he was always in the right spots defensively and continues to make plays for his team.
“[Parnell] was solid,” Claxton said. “[Parnell] spreads the court for us. He’s that shooter that we need out there. He’s more than capable of hitting shots at any time. Although he might not have scored a lot of points today, I thought he played an all-around good game.”
Even though the game got started quickly, Hofstra still struggled from the charity stripe, shooting just 58.8% as a team. As the competition gets more difficult, the games become tighter as every possession matters. Misses at the free-throw line might end up costing the Pride their life in this tournament.
Hofstra turned the ball over just five times and forced 14 turnovers on defense, which is something that Claxton has stressed all season.
Claxton said. “Today, they did a tremendous job of that. Whenever we value the basketball and we get more shots on goals, it works in our favor. We definitely want to take care of the basketball. Like I said, that’s always the number one key for every single game.”
Hofstra is back in action on Saturday, March 8, for the second round of the CAA Championship against No. 6-seeded Monmouth University. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m.
