Speedy Claxton gathers his Hofstra team together during a timeout. At 12-12, Pride has felt effects of younger roster in closing games this season as it struggles to replace its top three veteran scorers from last season. (Photo by Matteo Bracco/Hofstra Athletics)
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Thursday night’s 77-68 loss to Northeastern was just the latest letdown in a frustrating season for Speedy Claxton’s Hofstra Pride.
The defeat dropped Hofstra to 12-12 on the season and 4-7 in CAA play, a far cry from the first three years of the Claxton era, during which the Pride compiled a stellar 66-34 record and won 20 or more games each season.
Sophomore guard Jean Aranguren led the Pride with a career-high 35 points Thursday, the most points scored by a Pride player this season. Fellow sophomore Cruz Davis followed up with 18 points and seven assists, but Hofstra’s supporting cast offered little else. Starting forward Michael Graham finished third on the team with just six points, but did add 10 rebounds.
The lack of a reliable supporting cast around Aranguren and Davis has been a constant theme this season, but the inexperience of the leading guards themselves has been a contributing factor to Hofstra’s lack of success.
“We’re putting players in situations that they’ve never been in before in their career,” Claxton said after Thursday’s loss. “Cruz Davis, he really hasn’t played much in college. Jean Aranguren was a freshman last year and saw limited minutes. Those are kind of our go-to guys, so it’s a tough situation to put them in. They’re learning to be go-to guys, and that’s going to come with some inconsistency.”
Jean Aranguren set career high Thursday with 35 points, but Hofstra sophomore is still learning to take next step as team leader. (Photo by Matteo Bracco/Hofstra Athletics)
Davis, a MAAC all-rookie team selection under Rick Pitino at Iona in 2022-23, appeared in just four games last season after following Pitino to St. John’s. As co-pilot to Aranguren this season, Davis averages 14.2 points, 4.2 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game. Aranguren also came to the Pride via Iona, but played his freshman season under Tobin Anderson last year. He transferred out of New Rochelle after averaging 8.1 points per game and has boosted that production to 15.0 per contest while averaging 5.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists a night for Hofstra this season.
Though Davis and Aranguren have each been stellar in their premiere year with the Pride, the duo has been forced into leading roles ahead of schedule due to the loss of Hofstra’s three leading scorers from a season ago. Tyler Thomas (22.5 ppg) exhausted his college eligibility, but Darlinstone Dubar (17.8 ppg) and Jaquan Carlos (10.4 ppg) each transferred out for their senior seasons after spending the previous three years with the Pride. Dubar now averages 3.7 points per game off the bench for Tennessee while Carlos is putting up 6.2 per night at Syracuse.
The Pride will continue to rely on Davis and Aranguren to lead the way down the stretch with hopes the supplemental cast can finally step up. That stretch run continues this Saturday with a much-anticipated home matchup against Long Island rival Stony Brook.
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