Buie erupts for 44 as Hofstra rebounds with commanding win over Elon

Desure Buie atoned for Thursday’s loss, scoring 44 points as Hofstra routed Elon Saturday. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Following his Hofstra team’s one-sided loss to William & Mary, Joe Mihalich boldly declared he would not soon forget the Pride’s 27-point setback days after winning each of its first two Colonial Athletic Association contests.

In Hofstra’s first effort since that letdown, Mihalich’s senior point guard made it easier to block Thursday from memory.

Turning the page from a lackluster performance, Desure Buie put on yet another tour de force performance in his latest star turn two days later, exploding out of the blocks for a career-high 44 points as the Pride overcame an early nine-point deficit to dispose of Elon, 102-75, at the Mack Sports Complex.

In many ways, it seemed as though history repeated itself for Hofstra (12-5, 3-1 CAA) on Saturday, as the Pride defeated Elon in a similar fashion last season on the heels of a loss to Northeastern that halted a 16-game win streak that was, at the time, the longest in the nation. But following Thursday’s 88-61 humbling at the hands of William & Mary, statistical coincidence was not on the mind of the leader who played with a chip on his shoulder.

“I just came in here to win,” Buie said just minutes removed from becoming the 38th player in Hofstra history to score 1,000 career points, a milestone he achieved on a layup with 13:09 remaining in regulation. “Being the leader, you’ve got to deal with those things, but you can’t control that. That’s over with, you’ve got to move on. We had a great practice yesterday, and it carried over to today. Thursday was just one of those games where the ball didn’t bounce my way. Today, I made a couple of shots and just tried to stay aggressive.”

“We needed this,” Mihalich assessed, citing Hofstra’s upcoming three-game road trip, which begins Thursday against Northeastern. “Failure was not an option today.”

Buie’s aggression took center stage after the Pride fell into a 13-4 hole to start the game, forcing Mihalich to call a timeout three minutes into the contest. On the ensuing play after the stoppage, the Bronx product buried his first of six three-point field goals to start a 15-4 run that he ended with a jumper from just inside the foul line that allowed Hofstra to retake the lead. Elon (4-12, 0-3 CAA) would answer shortly thereafter, but after the Phoenix tied the score at 22-all, Buie connected from distance once again, this time putting the hosts ahead to stay as he recorded 18 points in the first half, which ended with Hofstra taking a 47-33 lead to the locker room.

Isaac Kante matched a personal best with 19 points, and Omar Silverio poured in 13 points off the bench, but the day clearly belonged to Buie, who shot an efficient 15-of-19 from the floor and turned in the first 40-point game for the program since his former teammate and close friend Justin Wright-Foreman matched a school record last February with 48 markers in a victory over William & Mary.

“It’s not just what he does on the court, it’s more about off the court,” Mihalich proclaimed with regard to Buie. “This guy just continues to amaze me. This is one of the most incredible stories in all of Hofstra basketball. You run out of superlatives. He’s just a special guy.”