It’s a game marked on the calendars for both teams. A game that draws the largest crowd every year. On Tuesday night, the Hofstra Pride men’s basketball team will host Stony Brook at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
Coming off a 96-73 loss Sunday against the University of Kentucky on Sunday, the Pride (6-5) has little time to recuperate and prepare for the Seawolves (3-6).
Hofstra has the edge in the all-time series (19-5), but Stony Brook picked up the victory last year 71-68. The Seawolves were led by Jameel Warney, who compiled 22 points, nine rebounds and five blocks. In his senior campaign, he averaged 19.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per contest.
However, the Pride will have to worry about Warney no longer, as he was signed by the Texas Legends in the NBA Development League.
The Seawolves also lost two other key pieces to their program, including big-time scorer Carson Puriefoy – who posted 14.9 points per game, shooting just under 40 percent from three-point range.
Rayshaun McGrew is the other loss, a vital down-low player who exploded on the scene as a senior, averaging double-digit points and six boards for Stony Brook.
The Seawolves are struggling overall this year under the helm of new coach Jeff Boals, who was formerly at Ohio State.
However, one thing that could deter Hofstra is the Pride’s ability to share the basketball. Four players on Stony Brook’s roster post at least 10 points per game, so it will be tough for the Pride defensively to zone in on just one of them and lock down.
Leading the charge for the Seawolves this year is Lucas Woodhouse – a 6-foot-3-inch senior guard – who is having a career-high season with over 12 points and five assists per game.
This will be Stony Brook’s third game of the season against a CAA team. The Seawolves were blown out by Towson 88-63 earlier in the season, but later defeated Northeastern University by a 77-75 final.
Woodhouse tallied a combined 26 points and nine assists in those games, shooting 7-14 from the field.
Against Northeastern, Roland Nyama and Tyrell Sturdivant totaled 27 points and eight rebounds.
For Hofstra, the key to a win is to see how they will bounce back from an exhausting loss just two days prior to the Battle of Long Island.
Against Kentucky, Brian Bernardi, Ty Greer and Eli Pemberton – who average 37 points per game combined – shot 3-20 as a from the field, which added up to 14 points.
For the Pride to win against Stony Brook, it will need to be a complete group effort, starting with the offense.