By Mike Rudin – SPORTS EDITOR
The Hofstra Pride men’s basketball team battled the Drexel Dragons and the Pride came out on top, 69-61, at the Mack Sports Complex on Thursday night. But Hofstra had more to celebrate.
Juan’ya Green made history with his a 25 point performance to eclipse over 2,000 career points in his collegiate career. He’s the third active Division I men’s basketball player to reach the milestone.
“It’s a great honor and I’m thankful and grateful for scoring 2,000 points,” Green said after the game. “But I was just trying not to think about it as much and just make plays for my team. If I kept thinking about it, I’d try to score the ball all the time.”
Across the entire team, Ameen Tanksley (10) and Brian Bernardi (12) scored in double digits while Denton Koon led the Pride in rebounds with 13. Rokas Gustys put up his seventh double-double on the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
“It’s a great credit to our guys [in tonight’s performance] and when we had to make plays down the stretch we made plays,” Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich said after the win. “When you have someone like number one [Green] on your team, [we] figure out a way.”
Hofstra’s offense then amped up their tempo early, which led to a 6-0 start in the first three minutes. Gustys and Koon split the offensive production during the team’s first six points.
Drexel felt the pressure so they started to rush with the ball, going coast to coast more frequently. It didn’t throw Hofstra’s game off but Drexel managed to cut the lead in half with a three-pointer after they started 0-for-8.
Hofstra kept driving in and maintained a steady lead while Drexel still struggled to find a consistent shot.
The Dragons went without scoring for over 3 and a half minutes. The Pride took advantage, going up 13-5 in over nine minutes of play.
Drexel momentarily found their stride with back-to-back jumpers in a 20-second span to get within four. The Dragons’ quick passing created some separation and the ball found some open players which led to the baskets.
But 24 seconds later, Gustys limited the damage with a layup which then both teams hit a rut.
Hofstra and Drexel deadlocked for over two minutes until the Dragons scored first. They went back-to-back inside the arc to slash the Pride’s lead to two points with over seven minute until halftime.
Hofstra’s scoring drought continued and went on for over five minutes altogether. The Pride failed to convert multiple times which mainly contributed to their dry spell. Hofstra committed 10 turnovers up to that point which led to nine extra points for Drexel.
But then a dose of “brotherly love” put some life back into the Pride. Green and Tanksley compiled a 6-0 streak to maintain Hofstra’s lead with less than five minutes left in the first half.
Yet the Dragons fought back again with another spurt of points to outscore the Pride 7-2.
Drexel worked from inside and out the arc plus a personal foul call on Denton Koon led to back-to-back free throws to top off their streak.
With under three and a half minutes left in the half, Hofstra utilized their shots from the arc as well as the charity stripe.
The Pride went on a 10-2 run solely off of threes and free throws (shooting 2-for-2 on both sides) to grant Hofstra a 10-point lead.
Both teams exchanged points in the final seconds but the Pride held a 34-24 lead going into the second half.
The Dragons had two players get in early foul trouble, Tavon Allen and Rodney Williams had three personal fouls apiece in the first half.
Hofstra outperformed the Dragons 30-18 in rebounds and 18-12 points in the paint. The Pride also shot for over 41 percent while the Dragons shot barely over 26 percent in the first 20 minutes.
Once the second half started, Drexel went on a five-point swing in the blink of an eye, thanks to a three and dunk in the first two minutes.
Afterwards, Green kept the Dragons at bay, as both sides went back-and-forth sinking baskets. But Hofstra’s offense momentarily disappeared for over three minutes.
The Pride’s scoring drought let the Dragons come back and tie the game for the first time within the matchup. Bernardi gave Hofstra back the lead with a layup and one.
The majority middle of the second consisted back-and-forth play which Hofstra either tied or led by four points at most.
With under seven minutes left, Drexel took a momentary lead but the Pride took it right back.
After Drexel tied it again at 56-56 with a little over five minutes left, Juan’ya Green stole the show.
He went off for eight straight points and made history at the end of his streak to reach over the necessary 22 points on the night to reach the milestone in his collegiate career.
He sealed the game for Hofstra with his 8-0 streak and the Pride maintained their eight-point lead to the very end. Green came out with 2,003 points in total after the win.
The Pride improves to 12-5 on the season and 4-1 in CAA action.
Hofstra will return back to the Mack on Jan. 16 to host the James Madison Dukes at 4 p.m.
