The Hofstra Pride rang in the new year with a successful opening weekend of Colonial Athletic Association action versus the William & Mary Tribe. The reigning CAA champion Men’s Basketball program swept its two games in Williamsburg, V.A. Although the women’s team split its series at the Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex, Sunday afternoon’s 75-68 victory marked the Pride’s first regular season conference victory in 23 games.
Junior forward/center Issac Kante commanded the floor for Hofstra with two double-double performances. The Preseason All-CAA First Team member finished with finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds on Sunday as well as 15 points and 14 rebounds Saturday afternoon. Kante finished the weekend ranked seventh nationally averaging over 11 boards per game.
Hofstra 82, William & Mary 73- Sunday, Jan. 3 (MBB)
Hofstra struggled putting away William & Mary despite leading for much of the game. Although Jalen Ray‘s jump shot make put the team ahead 60-52 with 7:12 remaining, the Tribe reeled three straight scores from inside and cut its deficit to one.
Ray provided Hofstra with the spark it badly needed on both sides of the ball– blocking a Luke Loewe layup and dishing his rebound to Caleb Burgess for the score. The play led to an eight-point run for the Pride, giving them a 67-59 lead with 2:43 to go. Ray ultimately iced out the Tribe’s comeback attempts by knocking down three free throws in the game’s final minute.
Much of the afternoon’s scoring came from opportunities on the charity stripe. Hofstra knocked down 28 of its 37 chances while William & Mary sank 77 percent of its free throw attempts.
Tareq Coburn led the team by knocking down all nine of his free throw attempts. Ray led Hofstra with 21 points while Burgess finished 15 with points and eight assists. Kante highlighted the Pride’s interior play by grabbing 12 defensive rebounds and scoring 13 points.
Hofstra 61, William & Mary 56- Saturday, Jan. 2
Kante set the tempo for the Pride’s offense by scoring their first six points opening the game. His second basket started an unanswered 11-point run that capped off with a Burgess jump shot, giving Hofstra the 15-5 lead six minutes into the game. Kante also handed Hofstra the 31-17 first quarter lead, its largest of the afternoon.
Shooting inside was the Hofstra offense’s primary way of scoring, earning nearly two-thirds of its points from the paint. The team converted 43 percent of their shot attempts and only two 3-pointers in the first half.
Conversely, Hofstra smothered its opponents in the paint and recorded a season-high seven blocks. William & Mary countered that by relying on 3-point shooting for the second half comeback try. Luke Loewe brought the Tribe within single digits by sinking a shot from beyond the arc nearly six minutes into the second, making it a 42-35 game. Loewe and Blair Quinn sank three’s on consecutive possessions for the Tribe, making it a 46-42 game in Hofstra’s favor with under nine minutes remaining.
However, The Tribe’s fouling would be its own undoing for a comeback attempt. Jalen Ray drew a foul on the ensuing possession that led to a six-point run and extended the Pride’s lead back to double-digits, two minutes later.
The game would ultimately come down to 3-pointers and free throws in the game’s final minute, after Miguel Ayesa cut the Hofstra lead to 57-54 with 55 seconds remaining. Kante grabbed the biggest rebound of the game that led to a free throw make with 30 seconds left, following a Burgess miss. After another 3-point conversion by Loewe, Kante once again knocked down free throws and iced the game for Hofstra.
Hofstra shot 37 percent from the field and sank 11 of its 19 free throw attempts.
Hofstra 75, William & Mary 68- Sunday, Jan. 3 (WBB)
Bailey Eichner put William & Mary up 68-63 heading into the game’s final three minutes. It ended up being the last bucket Hofstra allowed.
The Pride silenced their opponents to the tune of a 12-0 run, completing the comeback for the team’s first CAA regular season victory since the 68-49 win over Charleston on March 1, 2019.
Jaylen Hines was instrumental in leading the comeback by cutting the deficit to one with back-to-back scores. Her steal led to Jaala Henry sinking two free throw shots on the ensuing possession, taking the 68-67 lead from the Tribe. Henry then capitalized off an Emma Krause turnover by dishing a pass Rosi Nicholson for a basket in the paint.
Hofstra improved its sub-40 percent shooting from the first half by knocking down more than half of its second half attempts. Hines led the way with 27 points and drained the final two free throws that iced the game.
The Pride also excelled at converting free-throw opportunities and made 12 of its 16 fourth quarter tries. The Tribe were unable to match their first half free throw rate of 11 makes on 13 tries, going 3-7 in the second half.
William & Mary 63, Hofstra 56- Saturday, Jan. 2
The pendulum could have swung in either direction with the score 21-all, 4:15 into the second quarter. Unfortunately for the Pride, that is when they got cold. The team gave up six straight buckets before Henry made a layup with 2:29 left in the half. It was the last time the team would score for nearly four minutes.
William and Mary went on a 17-2 run during that time and retained the lead for good. The Tribe’s defense locked down the Pride in the second half, holding Hofstra to 26 percent shooting in the second half after shooting 63 percent in the first.
Hofstra’s defense struggled containing Nyla Pollard and Sydney Wagner throughout the contest. The duo kept the team up by double-digits through the third quarter and Pollard’s buzzer-beater gave William & Mary the 51-40 lead after three. Pollard led the game with 21 points, five assists and two steals while Wagner followed with 19 points.
Nicholson kickstarted an 8-2 Hofstra run that cut its deficit to 53-48 midway through the fourth. But Pollard and Wagner once again found their way to the basket, shutting down a Hofstra scoring run.
Hofstra will face the Northeastern Huskies in a home-and-home series on Thursday, Jan. 7 and Saturday, Jan. 9. The men’s team will play at 7 p.m. and 12 p.m. while the women will compete at 12p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
