Hofstra follows Arkansas upset with win over Monmouth in OOC finale

Jalen Ray led Hofstra with 19 points as Pride downed Monmouth in last game before CAA play begins. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Jason Dimaio (@JasonDimaio1)

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — On the heels of a signature win against Arkansas last Saturday, Hofstra looked to end its non-conference schedule with a win in a slate head coach Speedy Claxton openly admitted was arduous, but would serve the program well when Colonial Athletic Association play began.

Mission accomplished.

Behind 19 points from Jalen Ray and 15 each from Darlinstone Dubar and Omar Silverio, the Pride pulled out a gritty 77-71 win over Monmouth, building an 18-point lead before withstanding a late rally to preserve a Quad 1 victory over a Hawks team projected to be among the best in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Hofstra, now 8-5, heads into its CAA opener at William & Mary on Wednesday among the hottest teams in the conference, rattling off seven wins in its last eight games, the last two over 24th-ranked Arkansas and a Monmouth team ranked 41st in the NET adding more juice to an already stellar resume thus far.

“I’m excited and proud that these guys came out and battled,” Claxton said, expressing concern for a potential letdown off the emotional high of the Arkansas win. “We’ve got good shooters, and they did some things defensively where they were trapping us. Once we got out of the trap, we were able to find our shooters. We’re a tough team to prepare for with the way we spread the court out, and we’ve got some guys that can really shoot the basketball.”

Hofstra overwhelmed the Hawks with a 3-point barrage in the first half, unleashing a 21-5 run in the early stages of the period to get out to a 24-14 advantage as Ray led the way with 11 points on 3-of-3 shooting from behind the arc in that stretch. Overall, the Pride was 6-for-12 from deep at that juncture. The trend continued into the break, as Hofstra went into halftime with a 46-34 lead.

“The way he plays here, they might have to (name the court after him),” Claxton joked as Ray’s torrid shooting set the tone for the evening. “He always seems to play big in Monmouth’s gym.”

With 16 minutes to go in the game, Omar Silverio seemed to fire a dagger into the heart of the Hawks, drilling a three to give Hofstra an 18-point lead. However, Monmouth’s run began, catching the Pride off kilter as it both pressed offensively with shots not falling and started to foul more, putting Monmouth in the bonus early. The Hofstra cushion was trimmed to 10 at the 8-minute media timeout of the second half, and just two minutes later, Monmouth cut the lead to three to send the OceanFirst Bank Center Arena crowd to its feet and Hofstra to its heels. All in all, a 15-2 run by the Hawks turned what appeared destined for a decisive victory into a grinder.

After Walker Miller, who led Monmouth and all scorers with 26 points, drained a pair of free throws to make the score 71-68 with 2:53 on the clock, Hofstra gained breathing room on a Kvonn Cramer layup and two free throws from Dubar to go back up by seven before Miller buried a three to pull the Hawks back within four. It was as close as the hosts would get, though, as the decision by King Rice to let the next defensive possession play out allowed the Pride to run down the clock before Monmouth was forced to foul.

Although he didn’t fill the stat sheet, it should not go unnoticed that Jaquan Carlos has done an exceptional job seeing an increase in his minutes due to Zach Cooks’ hip injury. The freshman was able to build off his performance at Arkansas and contribute six points in 20 minutes, along with two assists to help lead a formidable offensive attack.

“He’s a freshman, he’s coming around and we have the utmost confidence in him,” Claxton said of Carlos. “We think he’s going to be a really, really good player, and with more minutes, the more comfortable he’s going to get out there. We’re increasing his minutes slowly, and he can handle it. He’s good, man. He’s going to be a really good player for us.”

Hofstra could not have gone into the Christmas break on a stronger note as it now gears up for CAA play after its daunting schedule, and after being only minutes away from adding to it with wins at Houston and Maryland, the transition into the league schedule could not be more opportune.

“This break is coming at the right time for us,” Claxton candidly admitted. “We do need to get some guys healthy. We’ve won seven of eight and we’re trending in the right direction, but now that we have a little break, it’s going to be a point to get off to a good start.”