By Anders Jorstad – STAFF WRITER
Two games into conference play, Hofstra finally delivered the type of sound victory fans have been waiting for against a solid Tigers club. While the Pride fired on all cylinders, defense was the name of the game in a 90-58 shellacking of Towson at the SECU Arena as the Tigers shot just 35 percent on Saturday night.
“I’d be lying if I said ‘I knew this would happen,’” Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich said after the win. “But … we got something from everybody tonight. I thought our toughness won the game. Great respect for Towson, they’re the toughest team in the league.”
Hofstra opened up the game with a clear defensive plan, starting with a 2-3 zone on defense, immediately forcing a turnover on the first possession of the contest. The Pride shifted between a 2-3 zone and a 1-3-1 zone intermittently, rarely utilizing the man-to-man defense commonly seen in Joe Mihalich’s teams.
While the zone defenses only resulted in 10 Tigers turnovers, they also forced Towson to shoot 14 three-pointers, only two of which connected. The zone proved to be a good strategy against a team that only shoots 32 percent on long-range attempts on the season (ninth in the Colonial).
Leading 24-21 with seven minutes to go in the first half, Hofstra truly began to hit its stride. The Pride went out to a 21-8 run fueled by the tandem of Rokas Gustys and Desure Buie as the duo combined for 12 points during that period to finish out the first half.
Gustys ended the frame with seven points and nine boards while Buie led all players with four assists in addition to his eight points.
The Pride went into the locker room with a 45-29 advantage. Hofstra displayed a stingy first half defense, forcing turnovers and bad shots as well as limiting fouls.
Towson came out of halftime with some strong offensive possessions in an attempt to improve on a lackluster 32 percent field goal rate in the first half.
The Tigers found open jumpers in the zone and drew fouls in the paint, scoring nine points in just two minutes and cutting Hofstra’s advantage to 50-38. Unfortunately for Towson, Hofstra continued to hit open three-pointers and were successful in getting to the line by drawing fouls against a physical Tigers defense.
Leading 62-46 seven minutes into the second, the Pride jumped out to a 20-3 run in which Towson continued to turn the ball over and miss open mid-range looks in the lane. The Pride hit cruise control for the last six minutes and emptied the bench, soaring to a 90-58 victory.
Multiple players shone on the night for the Pride, including graduate student Denton Koon who seemed to do it all on the court. Koon ended with 15 points and nine rebounds, but the forward also often served as a steady leader with the ball and provided rock-solid defense while only committing one foul.
CAA preseason Player of the Year Juan’ya Green had a terrific all-around performance with 16 points, seven assists, and five rebounds even if it wasn’t the kind of flashy performance he’s capable of. Green stepped out of the spotlight a little in a game where everyone contributed as four Pride players tallied double-digits in scoring. Brian Bernardi led the Pride tallying 21 points and Ameen Tanksley totaled 14 on the scoreboard.
This contest was a perfect demonstration of what Hofstra is capable of when every player is hitting their stride. The Pride displayed a similar performance earlier in the season in a win over Florida State University, but not in the kind of fashion seen tonight. The Pride moves to 10-4 on the season and 2-0 in the CAA with the victory while the Tigers fall to 10-5 and 1-1 in the conference.
Hofstra will look to carry its play into a tough road meeting with the College of Charleston on Thursday at 7 p.m.
