Isaac Kante notched his sixth double-double of the season with a dominant 16 point and 16 rebound performance as the Hofstra men’s basketball team notched their 12th win overall and their eighth conference win of the season over the Drexel University Dragons 79-74 on Sunday, Feb. 7 at David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
“I think we approached the game the right way today,” said Hofstra acting head coach Mike Farrelly. “It was really really good.”
The Pride went into halftime with just a two-point lead following a strong finish in the lane by Drexel’s leading scorer T.J. Bickerstaff with just three seconds remaining.
As the second half began, Hofstra had two separate 7-0 runs in the opening 10 minutes to give themselves a 66-50 lead with 10:06 remaining. The 16-point lead was their largest of the day.
The following 5:35 minutes of play belonged only to Drexel as Hofstra failed to record a single point in that time period. During this time Drexel was able to go on an 11-0 run of their own to bring the score to 66-61 with 4:31 to go in the ballgame.
Despite their best efforts, Drexel was never able to get any closer than a five-point margin over the final 4:31 of play.
Sophomore guard Caleb Burgess closed the game for the Pride in the final minute with two timely mid-range jumpers off the dribble as the shot clock was set to expire to put the game out of Drexel’s reach.
“Caleb’s a winner,” Farrelly said. “No surprises, that’s who he is.”
Tareq Coburn continued his strong senior campaign for the Pride, leading all scorers with 17 points and 6-for-8 shooting.
Additionally, Vukasin Masic had a strong performance off the bench with 10 points and two made three-pointers.
“He gives us another ball handler and decision maker. It’s just really hard to guard,” Farrelly said. “The kid is fearless.”
Jalen Ray was able to knock down his 202nd career three-pointer moving him into fifth place all-time in the program’s history.
Freshman forward Kvonn Cramer was also able to make an impact posting 15 points and a block with only one missed field goal, shooting 7-for-8.
For Drexel, their frontcourt duo of James Butler and Bickerstaff combined for 34 points and 17 rebounds on 13-for-20 shooting from the field. Xavier Bell was also able to contribute for the Dragons, adding 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field with four made threes. Drexel guard and Hempstead native Camren Wynter also added 14 points in the contest.
“The resilience from yesterday to today was terrific,” Farrelly said. “Let’s have no more regrets.”
The Pride improves to 12-7 on the season and 8-4 in conference play with the win. Drexel’s loss brings their conference record to 3-5 as their overall record falls to 8-7 on the year.
The Pride is back in action on Saturday, Feb. 13 at James Madison University from the Atlantic Union Bank Center at 2 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
