After an 11-day layoff following a one-point loss to the College of William & Mary, the Hofstra men’s basketball team defeated James Madison University (JMU) 87-80 at the Atlantic Union Bank Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia on Sunday, Jan. 9. With the win, Hofstra improves to 9-6, and 1-1 within Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play.
Hofstra played without their leading scorer, guard Zach Cooks, who was out with an injury. At first, it looked like his absence could potentially be the difference as the Pride found themselves in a 7-0 hole in the opening minutes before calling a timeout. Yet they didn’t stay silent for long, though, and evened up the score at nine apiece9. From then on, there was plenty of back-and-forth play, until JMU started to break away and had a 35-27 lead with 5:07 to play. Once again, Hofstra continued to battle, and the score was 44-43 in favor of JMU the Dukes going into halftime.
“On the defensive end we weren’t great tonight, but we made some huge plays offensively which led us to win this ballgame,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton.
In the first half, Hofstra shot 57 percent% from the field, while JMU shot 55 percent%. Aaron Estrada and Darlinstone Dubar each had 10 points, with Estrada adding five assists. Abayomi Iyiola led the team with five rebounds, but and had provided the team an even greater boost impact in the second half. Meanwhile, Vado Morse led JMU with 17 points.
Jalen Ray made two three-pointers to kick off the second half, and the Pride found themselves up 51-46 in the opening minutes. However, they struggled to break away, and once again, there were several lead changes going forward. Overall, there were 23 lead changes over the entire game. The back-and-forth play went on until JMU converted an and-one to lead Hofstra 80-79 with 3:45 to play, which were the Dukes’ final points of the night.
Omar Silverio hit two free throws to make it an 81-80 game with 2:59 left. Then, Dubar came up with a huge steal which turned into another two points after Iyiola grabbed a missed layup and converted the second-chance bucket on his own layup with 2:33 on the clock. Following a defensive stop, Estrada turned the ball over, but Dubar came up with a huge block with 1:43 left. Ray then came up with a steal with 1:01 remaining, and Estrada hit two free throws on the ensuing possession with 38 seconds left to give Hofstra an 85-80 lead. JMU had one last chance to get back in the game, but Morse missed a free throw on a one-and-one opportunity. Iyiola then hit two free throws with 30 seconds left to seal the deal, as Hofstra hung on, 87-80.
“It just really was a great team effort,” said Claxton said.
Hofstra outscored JMU 44-36 in the second half. Despite only shooting 36 percent% from the field in the half, their excellent defense helped propel them to the win.
Iyiola finished with a double-double of, 15 points and 15 rebounds, which included 10 rebounds in the second half alone. Ray had 15 points and four rebounds, Dubar had 19 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Estrada had 20 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Morse led all JMU scorers with 24 points.
“During the William & Mary game we didn’t make these plays down the stretch and it cost us the ballgame, so it was definitely good to see that we’re capable of making those plays and ultimately it won us the ballgame today,” said Claxton said.
Hofstra will continue on the road, taking on Towson University next on Tuesday, Jan. 11.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
