Hofstra gives latest reminder of its own largely untold story as one of metro area’s best

Hofstra’s 8-game win streak has given rise to strong defense to supplement potent offense, a facet Speedy Claxton has heralded as Pride assumes championship form. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Far too often in college basketball, the best stories are those largely untold.

Here in the New York area, several programs have created headlines. St. John’s and the continuing saga of not being able to get out of its own way is a perennial soap opera in Queens. Rutgers and Seton Hall flirting with the NCAA Tournament, with the Scarlet Knights a near-lock for the field of 68 at the moment, has generated a share of publicity in the Garden State. Rick Pitino is a walking billboard at Iona, bringing national spotlights back to New Rochelle. Even Fordham enjoying its most successful season in three decades has generated a fair share of ink, or at the very least, chatter among those in the know.

But as mentioned previously, the best story is the one not getting enough attention. And the best story to unfold in what could be a banner season in metropolitan college hoops is being written in Nassau County, where Hofstra has — again — quietly taken hold of the Colonial Athletic Association and refuses to let go.

The Pride’s win streak now stands at eight after Monday's 66-52, wire-to-wire win over Drexel showcased just how strong Hofstra can be. And while gaudy statistics and marquee stars are normally abound on some of the area’s best, what makes Speedy Claxton’s group all the more formidable is a commitment to maintaining the same energy for 40 minutes, establishing a tone at the start and not letting up. Hofstra does not win by style points, nor does it believe in accumulating them, only that which is good enough to win.

“We know what’s at stake,” Claxton said after the Pride secured its seventh start-to-finish victory of the season Monday on a night it clinched a second consecutive 20-win campaign. “Our guys are locked in, we’re currently in first place and we’re trying to protect that. We’re trying to protect our house and trying to win a championship.”

“We’re getting off to great starts. And once we get off to a great start, there’s no looking back. We try to preach that to our kids every time, no looking back. Once you get off to a good start, we keep going from there.”

Normally, it would be the combination of Aaron Estrada and Tyler Thomas setting the table for Hofstra before transitioning into a higher gear as the game goes on. Monday night saw a different page in the script with Thomas struggling out of the gate, as Dstone Dubar was the catalyst en route to 16 points on a perfect 7-for-7 display from the floor for a second straight double-digit scoring output that appears to have quelled a slump the Iowa State transfer had spent the past several weeks mired in.

“I just gotta be consistent,” Dubar reminded himself and those asking about a confidence boost as of late. “That’s my goal, just keep going and not worry about the past, just look forward.”

“When he plays like that, no one can beat us,” Claxton shot back. “No one. He’s the key to our team. When he’s scoring early for us, it’s going to be a long night for the other team.”

In a CAA where Charleston commanded a vast majority of eyeballs during its surge to No. 18 in the polls before Hofstra defeated the Cougars on January 28, the Pride’s ascent has only gained momentum the further up it has risen. Currently in the midst of a five-game, 11-day stretch that will see overlapping three-game, six-day endurance tests, Hofstra was prepared for the gauntlet by a key phase of the CAA slate in which it faced off against each of its biggest threats — Towson twice, UNCW and Charleston — over a six-game span and only lost one, the January 16 trip to Towson that serves as the most recent setback for Long Island’s best.

“They’ve performed well,” Claxton reflected. “We knew it was going to be a tough stretch, an important stretch for us. We knew that that was either going to make or break our season, so to come out of that stretch 5-1, it made our season as you could see.”

The pivotal third of Hofstra’s conference schedule has given way to a battle-tested team that now, as a byproduct of its surge, now leads the CAA in scoring defense after holding its opposition under 60 points for a fourth consecutive game following yields of 81 and 72 to Charleston and Towson, respectively. Claxton and the Pride have become known for offense through the litany of guards the program has turned out going back to when its current head coach was one himself, but it is the effort on the other side of the basketball that has elicited a stronger, longer lasting impression.

“I don’t really like it,” Claxton gushed. “I LOVE it. I love the way we’re playing. We’re playing at a championship level. Offense wins games, defense wins championships. We’re trying to win a championship, so we’re gonna guard you.”