The Hofstra University men’s basketball team celebrated Senior Day in style on Saturday, Feb. 24, thrashing the Elon University Phoenix 87-64 to claim their 10th win through their last 12 games. The Pride moved to 11-5 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play with the win and held firmly at third place in the conference standings.
“Great win – we handled business the right way and validated Thursday’s huge win [against Drexel University],” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton. “We wanted to send the seniors off on a good note. Senior night is always emotional for me, so it was important for us to get a win for them.”
Despite the large margin of victory, Hofstra stumbled out of the gates against Elon’s unique 2-3 zone, falling behind 7-2 in the first four minutes. After dissecting the zone at the under-16 media timeout, Claxton’s offense got rolling en route to 47 first-half points on a 51.4% mark from the floor.
“We weren’t too worried about playing against a zone, we have great numbers against it,” Claxton said. “Whenever teams zone us, we’ve ripped it to shreds in games past. We were ready.”
With the shots refusing to fall early on, the Pride made their presence felt on the offensive glass to sustain their scoring. In a sudden change of style for a team that ranks No. 334 nationally in offensive rebounding, Hofstra crashed the glass for 14 offensive rebounds and 19 second-chance points.
“We score it at a high level and to get second chance points is huge,” Claxton said. “If we keep rebounding the basketball like that and giving these guys second and third cracks at it, we’re in a good position to win.”
At the center of Hofstra’s dominance on the glass was Jacco Fritz, who took control of the boards with a dominant showing after backup center Silas Sunday stole the show on Thursday, Feb. 22. Fritz, who was honored at his second senior day after graduating from Canisius College last year, continued to stuff the statistic sheet with 14 points and a game-high six offensive rebounds.
“[Fritz] was huge, whenever we can get that kind of production from our bigs, it takes us to another level,” Claxton said. “When he gives us minutes and production like that, we’re tough to beat.”
The Hofstra faithful also got the chance to say farewell to star senior Tyler Thomas on Saturday, as the fifth-year senior exited to a standing ovation after tallying 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists in his final game at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. With over 2,000 points across a storied five-year collegiate career, Saturday night allowed Thomas to reflect on his unique journey to becoming a Hofstra legend.
“It ended up being a great decision to come here,” Thomas said. “These guys believed in me from the jump on day one, made a plan for me, and I just followed the plan.”
While Thomas’ final exit from the court garnered thunderous applause, the loudest moment of the evening came when true freshman Jayden Henriquez banked in a three from just shy of halfcourt for his first career points. Henriquez, a walk-on from East Meadow, New York, sent the crowd into a frenzy with the moment of a lifetime in front of his father who works at Hofstra University.
“We wanted to win big so Jaden could get into the game,” Claxton said. “I saw his father in the stands before tip-off and I was hoping he could get to see his son play. That was a special moment, I’m sure he was really proud.”
Following a night of celebration, the Pride now turn their attention to the biggest road trip of the season, as they stare down pivotal matchups with the University of North Carolina Wilmington and the College of Charleston. The Cougars and Seahawks currently rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the CAA, respectively, while Hofstra clings to a double bye in third. The second to last game in the CAA regular season takes place in Wilmington, North Carolina on Thursday, Feb. 29, at 7 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Matteo Bracco
