Record-setting performance shows why Hofstra could be lethal weapon in March

Eli Pemberton's 35 points led Hofstra to third CAA regular season championship in five years. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Nineteen years have passed since Hofstra last heard its name announced by Greg Gumbel as a participant in the NCAA Tournament.

The drought has been well-documented, with numerous near-misses littering Hempstead Turnpike as the Pride left the America East Conference for the Colonial Athletic Association, each one more heartbreaking than that which preceded it. But on days like Saturday, much like the November night in which 88-78 became a forever moment when UCLA was defeated at Pauley Pavilion, you get a sense that this time, this team, is just different.

Maybe it was the emotion in sending Desure Buie, Eli Pemberton and Connor Klementowicz — the latter a three-and-a-half-year walk-on before finally earning a scholarship last month, yet no less important than his two all-conference guard teammates — out winners on senior day in Hofstra’s regular season finale, a 97-81 pummeling of James Madison that atoned for last year’s senior day disappointment, when Matt Lewis and the Dukes rained on Justin Wright-Foreman’s parade with a crushing double-overtime upset.

“We had two things in mind,” Pemberton said. “Payback and championship.”

The first was twofold, as Hofstra took the Mack Sports Complex floor not only seeking revenge for James Madison’s win last year, but also less than 48 hours removed from an 11-point loss to Towson that head coach Joe Mihalich likened to the proverbial younger brother being bullied by his elder sibling, as the Pride was outrebounded and physically decimated by the Tigers’ old-school, smashmouth style in the paint. The second was not the ultimate goal, but one that furthered just how far the renaissance on Long Island has come since Mihalich arrived in 2013 four months after four players were dismissed from the program in Mo Cassara’s star-crossed final campaign at the helm, with Hofstra having clinched its third regular-season CAA crown in five years, second straight, and first outright clinch on its home floor since joining the conference in the summer of 2001, in the wake of the last taste of March Madness to hit Nassau County.

Maybe it was the scorching offensive display that broke numerous records. Hofstra’s 61 first-half points were the most the Pride has amassed against a Division I opponent in any half under Mihalich. The 20 3-point field goals made shattered the previous school record of 17, and came one shy of matching a conference best. Pemberton’s 35 points were a career-high, eclipsing his previous personal high-water mark of 28.

“We’re more than a team,” an emotional Mihalich stated. “It’s not just about the basketball, it’s not just about the winning. It’s where we’re at. These guys have been there, I think that helps. There’s a lot of good things, but also that feeling we had in the hallway down in Charleston after we lost that championship game (last year against Northeastern).”

Desure Buie has spearheaded Hofstra’s resurgence with superstar senior season. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Maybe it was the latest refuse-to-lose display from a veteran group that has always bounced back from whatever adversity has knocked on its door with a resounding effort the next time it suited up. Following a 27-point annihilation at the hands of William & Mary, Hofstra returned two days later with a commanding victory by the same margin against Elon, anchored by 44 points from Buie in the game that turned the stalwart point guard into a legitimate superstar. After back-to-back losses to Charleston and Delaware in late January, the Pride defeated Drexel to kick-start an eight-game win streak that saw a comeback against Northeastern and systematic takedowns of Charleston and Delaware in the process. Then, there was Saturday, in which Hofstra took its frustration from the Towson setback out on the nets, connecting on over 60 percent of its attempts in the first half and finishing at a 54 percent clip.

“These guys hate to lose,” Mihalich matter-of-factly reiterated. “They hate to lose and everybody loves to win, but only true winners hate to lose. It’s not only that, but also owning those losses. Everybody looked in the mirror — we all did, myself included — and said, ‘I’m the reason we lost, and I’m going to be the reason we’re going to win the next game.’ That’s the culture we have, that’s the attitude we have, and that’s the way this team is. This is why we do what we do.”

Or maybe it was the look of a veteran team that has stood at the precipice before — or in the case of fifth-year senior Buie, twice before — and knows what it takes to get over the hump after experiencing life on the short end of the stick and going through the less glamorous parts of town before reaching the promised land.

“I think we learned,” said Buie. “Now it’s just three games in three days. It’s going to take a lot of focus when times get rough. We’ve been there. We know what it’s like to get there, but every single game is a battle, no matter who we play.”

“We’ve got to go in expecting everybody’s A-game, especially being the No. 1 seed,” Pemberton added. “We like having that target on our back, and that’s going to make us play even harder. It feels good, but it’ll feel better in 10 days when we get one more.”

Maybe this time, this team will not be denied.