By Kyle Kandetzki - Assistant Sports Editor The Pride have been working their way up the CAA ladder all season, but they were not quite able to reach the top Wednesday night.
The Hofstra Pride men’s basketball team traveled to Boston to take on the Northeastern Huskies on Wednesday, a team that was picked to win the conference in the preseason. A high scoring affair ended with Northeastern coming out on top 91-83, and Hofstra entering into a three-way tie for the best record in the CAA, at 4-1.
“What is frustrating is if we pulled this off, we would’ve won four out of five road games in the league,” said head coach Joe Mihalich. “A lot of people would see 4-1 and say ‘wow’, but I guess it is good that we are frustrated [at falling short].”
The first half featured constant back-and-forth play from both offenses, and a fast pace that typically isn’t seen from Northeastern, who scored just 52 points in a win in their previous game. Within five minutes of play, both teams combined for 25 points, and six swaps of the lead.
The biggest lead at any given point in the opening period was just a five-point advantage by Northeastern seven minutes into the half, and that lead would be erased less than two minutes later. The parity and competitiveness exhibited between two of the CAA’s top teams early meant fans at the Matthews Arena were sure to be in for a good battle.
Both teams established their strengths early and throughout; Hofstra shot from deep and mid-range, while Northeastern fed the ball inside and overpowered the Pride forwards. Hofstra junior Ameen Tanksley knocked down eight points in just two minutes time, while Huskies forward Scott Eatherton, who was coming off a 100% shooting game vs. Towson, broke down the defense under the hoop to score 12 in the first half.
Where Hofstra struggled was trying to get the ball inside. Northeastern was unfazed by players like Juan’ya Green and Brian Bernardi trying to use speed to get to the hoop, blocking Hofstra eight times in the half.
“This was two good teams going toe-to-toe, probably was a fun game to watch,” said Mihalich. “Their offense was just a lot tougher than our defense.”
Northeastern’s efficiency was their key throughout, as they took eleven less shots than Hofstra in the first period, but missed only eight of them, equaling a ridiculous 67% mark from the field. Momentum swung the Huskies way as Eatherton took an inbound pass to the hoop at the half buzzer, tying the game at 43-43.
“They didn’t do anything to surprise us [on that play],” said Mihalich, clearly frustrated on that specific sequence. “We used a timeout, we told our guys what they would do, and they still score.”
Foul trouble condemned Hofstra throughout the game, possibly causing them to play a weaker defense. Tanksley only played eight minutes in the opening period due to two quick fouls, while other Pride players would rack up more whistles as the final period wore on.
“The fouls [Ameen] got were ones he shouldn’t have got, but he took himself out of the game,” said Mihalich. “They were fouls he could’ve known better than to give.”
Offense took longer to stack up in the second half, as the first score would come on a T.J. Williams three nearly two minutes in. On a team lead by big men in Eatherton and Quincy Ford, guard Williams was extremely impressive, scoring 16 on 7-of-11 shooting.
Hofstra established a more noticeable paint presence early in the second half, anchored by senior Moussa Kone, who had one of his best performances of his injury-plagued season. Kone, though, would also have to sit more than he would’ve liked after hitting three fouls during the period.
The Pride offense was also being run, as usual, by impressive passing by Juan’ya Green, who racked up 11 assists. But as the second half wore on, Green’s leadership could not stop the Huskies attack, paired with inefficient shooting.
Hofstra reclaimed the lead for the final time with nine minutes remaining, 69-68 on a Rokas Gustys bucket. An array of Northeastern players then combined to pull away from Hofstra on a 13-2 run that lasted until 4:30 remained on the clock. Over the run, the Huskies exhibited the skills they used throughout the game: guard David Walker nailed a three, followed by more free throws hit by guard Caleb Donnelly, and a turnover leading to a paint score by CAA first-team selection Eatherton.
Following the run where the Hofstra offense simply failed to respond, the Huskies led 79-69. Hofstra would battle back to make the lead as small as five points with three minutes left, but the Huskies offense didn’t miss a beat, hitting their free throws and eventually putting away the no-longer undefeated Pride, 91-83.
Fouls were the most notable issue for Hofstra, causing Mihalich to rotate players more than he would have liked to. Tanskley fouled out in the closing moments, while six players had three or more fouls when the game ended. This meant Northeastern took an unprecedented 38 free throws, and though they missed 12 of them, were still able to add 26 easy points from the stripe.
Hofstra was able to hang tough with Northeastern’s offense for much of the night, but all it took was a short period of inefficiency to kill Hofstra’s chances of a 5-0 CAA record. The Pride shot 35% in the final period, while Hofstra’s leading duo of Tanksley and Green combined to shoot 5-for-19.
“I thought we had some good looks,” said Mihalich. “They made their shots, and we didn’t make ours.”
The Pride defense tried several different defensives strategies to try to stop the combination of sharp outside shooting and tough play down low, to no avail. Northeastern shot a ridiculous 64% and scored a season high in points. The forwards were the stars of the show, as Eatherton, Ford, and Zach Stahl had 44 of the team’s points, while guard Walker was the premier outside shooter, hitting 4-of-6 in a 22 point performance.
Green finished with his fifth double-double of 2014-15 with 21 points and 11 assists, while Tanksley finished with 15 points and 11 boards, though on an underwhelming 4-for-13 mark from field. Kone played a season-high 24 minutes despite foul trouble, and was the team’s most efficient shooter, scoring 12 on a 50% mark.
The loss drops Hofstra to 4-1 in conference play, and into a three-way tie for first place with Northeastern and William & Mary. It also marked the end of a six-game winning streak. The Pride will get to return home this coming week for a three-game homestand, the first time they have played consecutive home games since mid-November.
It all starts Saturday at the Mack against UNC-Wilmington, who Hofstra defeated 68-56 in their first matchup a few weeks ago. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.