HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Hofstra’s season started Monday afternoon with a commanding win over Division III St. Joseph’s. Its first true test came Friday as the Pride welcomed one of last year’s Cinderella teams to Long Island, a Princeton team fresh off a Sweet 16 run this past March who entered the Mack Sports Complex on the heels of an impressive neutral-site win over in-state power Rutgers.
Hofstra matched the Tigers for a majority of the evening, but the Pride fell narrowly short, dropping a 74-67 decision to fall to 1-1 on the season. Despite the setback, Speedy Claxton isn’t letting tonight's performance change much.
“That's a good team coming off a Sweet 16 run,” the Hofstra head coach assessed. “Those guys aren't some bums, they're going to beat a lot of teams, so hats off to them.”
The game certainly had some dramatics to start the night, as both teams traded baskets in the opening minutes. With 12:03 to play in the first half, Princeton held a 9-8 lead and was called for a travel, sending Tigers head coach Mitch Henderson into a frenzy that provided some theatrics for the Hofstra crowd. Henderson was assessed a double technical foul, and was subsequently ejected from the game as a result. Tyler Thomas was sent to the line, where he would go on to make three of four free throws.
The Hofstra crowd on hand seemed confident, as if the Pride would have the upper hand as the night went on but Princeton locked in after Henderson's ejection, not letting the circumstances change its tune. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, the Tigers went into the locker room with a 30-29 lead. Thomas led the Pride with 11 points in the opening stanza, with Jaquan Carlos adding nine of his own.
Hofstra came out flat in the second half, as Thomas was rendered a non-factor while the Pride’s defense lapsed. The breakdown led to Princeton stretching its lead to as many as 12 points, as sophomore Caden Pierce torched the hosts all night, ending with a game-high 26 points and 15 rebounds. Stats didn't tell the whole story for the Tigers, as Xaivian Lee wreaked havoc all night. The sophomore constantly stepped into passing lanes and disrupted inbounds passes with his feisty defense, supplementing 14 points and also contributing an emphatic 4-point play out of halftime to ignite Princeton coming out of the locker room.
Dstone Dubar led Hofstra with 18 points, with most of his production coming in the second half as Princeton adjusted its defense to lock in on Thomas, who recorded just two points after halftime, finishing the night 4-of-16 from the field and only 2-of-8 from behind the arc.
“Tyler struggled shooting the ball tonight,” a blunt Claxton said of Thomas’ struggles. “We need all three guys (Thomas, Dubar and Carlos) all on the same page. That’s not a typical night for Tyler Thomas, but I’m not worried.”
Up next for Hofstra is a trip to George Washington on Tuesday, where the Pride will have a chance to get back on track and work out the kinks against a team it beat at home last season despite James Bishop IV scoring 44 points in the losing effort.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.