The Hofstra men’s basketball team had a strong offensive showing against the Monmouth University Hawks Tuesday, Dec. 15 at the OceanFirst Bank Center, as they went on to win 96-88. The win pushed the Pride over the .500 mark this season as they now hold a 3-2 record.

Hofstra’s 96 points would not have come without key performances from senior guards Jalen Ray and Tareq Coburn who scored 29 and 28 points, respectively. Ray’s point total marked a new career record while Coburn tied his personal record.

“Jalen has a lot more on his plate now with having to play point guard for us,” said acting head coach Mike Farrelly. “We know that he is an All-Conference guard. He plays like one of the best in our conference and he is one of the reasons why we are going to be able to compete for a championship this year.”

It was a close game at halftime as the two teams traded the lead many times in the first half. The Pride would go into the locker room up by two over the Hawks, leading 49-47. The Pride’s offense really sparked in the second half with a 27-15 run that increased their chance of victory in the late going.

The Hawks would not go away easily. Senior guard George Papas had a dominating performance, connecting on nine three-pointers and tying a 30-year old three-point record for the school. In total, Papas scored 32 points with three assists shooting over 58 percent from the field.

“That dude has zero fear,” said Farrelly. “He’s an awesome shooter who has unlimited range. When we came into this game, our goal was to limit the amount of catch-and-shoot three’s that Papas would get. We did a poor job in stopping him tonight.”

While the game was Hofstra’s fifth of the season, it was only Monmouth’s first. This game between the Pride and the Hawks was originally supposed to be played on Nov. 25, but it was rescheduled due to a COVID-19 outbreak within Monmouth’s team. Although the Pride had

an advantage in experience thus far this season, it was difficult for Farrelly and the Pride’s coaching staff to put together a game plan to go against a team who hasn’t played all season.

“It was definitely hard to prepare against a team who hasn’t played yet this year,” Farrelly laughed. “We had to use all our information that we had from them last year, Coach Speedy Claxton and our staff did a great job with our scout team to get us ready. We told the guys that they would play fast. When the plays we had worked on that Monmouth used last year broke down, it was all about being able to guard and getting the stops defensively.”

The Pride will look to take their winning momentum to the Reilly Center on Saturday, Dec. 19 when they face the St. Bonaventure University Bonnies at 2 p.m.

Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics