The Hofstra University men’s basketball team stayed true to their word on Thursday, Feb. 22, as they posted an emphatic 69-57 victory over the Drexel University Dragons at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. The Pride avenged a 79-77 loss to the Dragons on Saturday, Feb. 22, and adhered to their motto of “standing on business” to move to 10-5 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play.
“We wanted to come in and stand on business,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton. “That’s a monster win for us, especially in a must-win game on our home court,”
After the last time out against Drexel when they allowed their highest scoring total of February, the Pride doubled down on their defensive efforts in the return game and held the Dragons to a 35% mark from the field. Hofstra placed a heavy emphasis on disrupting the Dragons’ passing lanes, notching 19 points off 13 Drexel turnovers.
“Extremely proud of the way we played on the defensive end,” Claxton said. “We wanted to have at least 25 deflections and we ended up having 40. That’s what won us the game.”
Hofstra also made a point of stifling preseason CAA Player of the Year Amari Williams, as the frontcourt combination of Jacco Fritz and Silas Sunday limited the conference’s premier center to 15 points and five rebounds. While Fritz has continued to pour in steady contributions as the starter, Sunday completely stole the show, tallying three blocks to punctuate a ferocious defensive performance.
“Silas is just getting better with each game, he came off the bench and gave us some really great minutes,” Claxton said. “Along with [Fritz], our five men did a great job against arguably the best big in the conference.”
Sunday’s breakout performance was a culmination of months of hard work for the young 7-footer, who has gone from playing minimal minutes off the bench to headlining the Hofstra defense in their biggest games of the season.
“I’m focused on staying the course, trying to get better every day and improving on something every day,” Sunday said. “I look forward to [facing Williams]. I always want to play the best because I can learn from the best.”
Tyler Thomas continued his outstanding month with an all-around performance for the ages. Along with a routine scoring total of 28 points, Thomas also racked up three assists and a season-high five steals in the win.
“Ty is the player of the year in my mind. He’s been tremendous since the start of conference play,” Claxton said.
After Thomas dropped 34 points in Hofstra’s heartbreaking loss to the Dragons, Claxton called his team out and challenged his secondary scorers to step up and ease the burden on their star senior. That challenge was clearly received well by Darlinstone “DStone” Dubar and Jaquan Carlos, who combined for 21 points and 17 rebounds to supplement another scoring outburst from Thomas.
Thursday’s victory marked the ninth in 11 games for the Pride, who now sit third in the CAA and are in firm control of their seeding destiny. Hofstra will conclude their home slate on Saturday, Feb. 24, when the Elon University Phoenix visits the Mack for senior day.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Matteo Bracco
