In a game in which Hofstra needed its crop of guards to step up and give the Pride their first two-game win streak of the season, the back court did just that.
Sophomore Justin Wright-Foreman dropped a career-high 18 points to go along with four rebounds and one assist in his 26 minutes of playing time en route to the 89-56 thumping over Medaille College on Friday afternoon in Hempstead.
For Wright-Foreman, 13 of his 18 points came in the second half – a half in which Hofstra outscored the Mavericks by 19. The Pride also had another solid game down low from arguably the nation’s best rebounder (number one statistically with 15.5 per game) Rokas Gustys, as he tacked on another 14 boards and eight points to his season totals. Hofstra, with Gustys leading the charge, outrebounded Medaille 48-32, posting an even 24 rebounds in each half.
Senior guard Brian Bernardi got into the scoring action heavily in the first half, scoring at will from downtown on his way to a 17-point outing, as well as contributing three assists.
With the win, Hofstra has their first two-game win streak of the year, and are now back over .500 for the first time since they won the season opener over Coppin State.
Junior Ty Greer almost had himself a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds and freshman Eli Pemberton, the team’s leading scorer on the season, had just eight points, but added on six assists and four rebounds to his name, completing an all-around game for the versatile Connecticut native.
As for Medaille, the loss dropped them to just 1-3 on the season, and were held to just 32 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent from long-range by the Pride’s stifling defense.
Hofstra on the year has surrendered just under 80 points on average to opponents, but today marked the second straight game of the Pride holding the opposition to under 60 points, a sign of improvement for a defense under Coach Mihalich.
Hofstra also was able to see some of their bench come into the game towards the end to get their minutes.
Junior forward Andre Walker saw his first action of the season and in just four minutes, he recorded three blocks and Connor Klementowicz scored his first collegiate points on the final basket of the game, a corner three to put the last nail in the coffin.
Hofstra now improves to 4-3 on the year and are just three games away from taking on the powerhouse No. 1 team in the nation in Kentucky, so Coach Mihalich and his team will certainly look to end up in Brooklyn on December 11 in the midst of a four-game win streak.
Next for Hofstra is an away game at Columbia on Tuesday Nov. 29 at 7 p.m.
