Although the atmosphere off the court has changed because of the pandemic, Long Island basketball has remained competitive on it. Below are some of the game’s featuring Hofstra and Stony Brook battling intrastate rivals.
Featured Game of the Week: Hofstra 72, Stony Brook 67 (MBB)- Wednesday, Dec. 9
The Pride looked like they would take an easy victory after leading over the 60-39 with 14 minutes to go. But, a Mo Diallo layup sparked an unanswered 14-point run for the Seawolves that cut the deficit to singe digits. Even after Issac Kante snapped the Hofstra team’s drought, Stony Brook defense shut down its opponents again and scored eight unanswered– making it a one possession game with over a minute to go.
Vukasin Masic stepped up for Hofstra by knocking down a jumpshot and extending the lead to 68-63 with 30 seconds remaining.
Wednesday night’s contest was a quick scoring affair from the start as both teams combined for 15 points in just over two minutes. Hofstra got the upper hand in shooting throughout the night and scored on 44 percent of its field goals attempted. Kante kickstarted a 12 point run for the Pride, putting the team ahead 19-8 and giving them a lead they would retain.
Tareq Coburn led the game with 19 points on 7-11 shooting, including five 3-pointers. Kante followed his teammate by scoring 15 points and grabbing eight rebounds, including one off a Frankie Policelli 3-pointer attempt to ice the game for Hofstra. Policelli led Stony Brook with 16 points and went 5-5- from the free throw line.
Four players from both teams finished the game with 10 or more points scored– Coburn, Kante, Policelli, Caleb Burgess, Jaylen Ray, Tykei Greene, Mo Gueye and Jayden Sayles.
Saturday, Dec. 5: Iona 82, Hofstra 74 (MBB)
Although Coburn was having a career-day for Hofstra, Isaiah Ross was having one of his own for the Iona Gaels. Both guards traded scores throughout the night, but Ross eventually wound up with the upper hand for himself and his team.
Ross commanded his team’s scoring with 33 points on 58 percent shooting. He gave the Gaels the 62-50 lead after scoring 11 unanswered points, nine coming off three 3-pointers made. Although Kante later cut the Pride’s deficit to 66-63, Ross stayed hot and continued finding the basket for the win.
Hofstra remained in the game by drawing fouls that countered the team’s 35 percent first half shooting. Coburn led the charge knocking down 13 free throws on 17 attempts. He finished with a career-high 28 points scored Kante added seven as the team finished 26-39 from the charity stripe. Ray tallied 15 points for the Pride.
Sunday Dec. 6: Fairfield 75, Hofstra 55 (WBB)
The Hofstra defense was unable to slow down Fairfield from the game’s opening minutes. Sam Lewis’ 3-pointer handed the Stags an 11-2 lead just five minutes into the first quarter that set the contest’s tempo.
The Stags were dominant from behind the arc throughout the match. The team scored all 24 of its second quarter points off eight 3-pointers and led 42-26 at halftime. The Hofstra defense surrendered 17 field goals from beyond the arc in the loss. Lou Lopez-Senechal led the game with 23 points and connected on six three point field goals.
Jaala Henry recorded her first double-double at Hofstra scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
St. John’s 89, Stony Brook 66 (MBB)
The Seawolves had kept up with the Red Storm through the contest’s first 17 minutes, trailing 36-35. However, things quickly got out of hand as the team saw their window of opportunity close. The Stony Brook defense surrendered several second chance opportunities to St John’s through turnovers and offensive rebounds. The Red Storm capitalized with buckets and would never look back, taking a 49-35 lead before halftime.
The Stony Brook offense struggled keeping possession and turned the ball over 29 times. Defensively, the team struggled defending inside and allowed St. John’s to finish with a shooting percentage of 57 percent. Greg Williams Jr. led the way for the Red Storm with 21 points on 8-11 shooting.
Tuesday, Dec. 8: Stony Brook 65, Manhattan 52 (WBB)
Emily LaPonte notched her sixth consecutive point off an layup and gave the MAAC preseason favorite Manhattan Jaspers the 10-8 lead midway through the first quarter. It was the last time she would score in the half.
Stony Brook utilized a 12-2 run to firmly swing the momentum in its favor and control the game. The defense held Manhattan to 26 percent shooting while averaging 44 percent offensively.
Laponte led the game with 16 points, but her second quarter scoring absence helped Stony Brook carry a 35-23 lead into the locker room at the half. Anastasia Warren led the Seawolves with 14 points on 50 percent shooting while India Pagan scored 12 points from inside.
Upcoming Schedule for This Week
Monday, Dec. 14: Hofstra at Stony Brook/ WBB- 4 P.M
Tuesday, Dec. 15: Stony Brook vs Point Park/ MBB- 1 P.M.
Hofstra at Monmouth/ WBB- 7 P.M.
Friday, Dec. 18: Hofstra at Fordham/ WBB- 7 P.M.
Saturday, Dec. 19: Hofstra at St. Bonaventure/ MBB- 2 P.M.
Stony Brook at Binghamton/ MBB- 2 P.M. (America East Opener)
Stony Brook vs Binghamton/ WBB- 2 P.M (America East Opener)
Sunday, Dec. 20: Stony Brook at Binghamton/ MBB- 2 P.M.
Stony Brook vs Binghamton/ WBB- 2 P.M
