The Hofstra University men’s basketball team saw their five-game win streak come to a screeching halt on Saturday, Dec. 9, as the Pride dropped a narrow 71-68 road decision to the Saint Louis University Billikens. Hofstra led throughout the contest and held a 68-67 advantage entering the final minute and a half, but they were held scoreless through the rest of the game.
“A tough outing; we had a lot of mental mistakes,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton. “When you’re on the road trying to beat a tough A-10 team, you can’t have those mistakes. That was a game we could have and should have won.”
Those mistakes were plentiful and costly, as the Pride conceded a season-high 18 points off turnovers, with a pair of crucial giveaways in the final minute, ultimately sealing their fate.
Despite leading all scorers with 29 points, Tyler Thomas was made largely inefficient for the second straight game, shooting 10-25 from the field and 3-12 from beyond the arc. In terms of Thomas’ supporting cast, Darlinstone Dubar scored in double figures for the ninth straight game, scoring 13 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort.
“[Thomas] and [Dubar] are our guys; we’re gonna go as they go,” Claxton said. “Strong performances by both of those guys; I just think if we played a little better in the first half, it would have been a different outcome.”
Turnovers weren’t the only key mistakes that plagued Hofstra, as Jacco Fritz once again found himself in serious foul trouble, playing just 13 minutes before eventually fouling out. In the 6-foot-10-inch center’s absence, the Pride gave up 16 second chance points. Hofstra is now 1-3 this season when Fritz fouls out and 5-0 when he doesn’t.
“We’re a different team when Jacco was on the court, he was a plus 15 today,” Claxton said. “Whenever he gets into foul trouble, it changes the dynamic of our team. We need him on the court.”
Defensively, the Pride managed to string together several strong possessions throughout the game but had no answer for Saint Louis’ 3-point heroics in the waning seconds of the shot clock. The Billikens finished the contest with 13 3-pointers, converting at a 44.8% clip.
Following the loss, Hofstra now looks ahead to their most daunting task of the season as they travel to face the 22nd-ranked Duke University Blue Devils. Tip-off from the iconic Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 12.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Taka Yanagimoto
