By Sean Williams - Staff Writer Originally published on 1/18/15
The Pride tried to bounce back from a loss on the road against Northeastern as they returned to the Mack Sports Complex to take on the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks, but fell short in a 79-74 defeat.
Despite stellar performances from Ameen Tanksley and Moussa Kone, the Pride surprisingly struggled to hit three-pointers, and the high number of foul calls slowed down the pace of the game at Hofstra’s home arena as UNC-Wilmington came back from a late deficit to win.
“The fact that you’ve already played them certainly has an effect on the game, your strategy, somebody wins, somebody loses. There’s always a little bit of a revenge, payback thing, and that’s sports. We’d be the same way,” head coach Joe Mihalich said.
Hofstra led 69-64 with three minutes left in the second half, but poor offensive play and the Seahawks hot free-throw shooting down the stretch reversed the momentum in the visiting team’s favor.
The Pride trailed 13-12 early, with unusually cold shooting from beyond the arc. Hofstra, generally one of the best three-point shooting teams in the nation, was 6-21 overall from long distance.
However, the Pride stayed competitive and in the lead, pulling to a 24-19 lead with 7:49 left in the first half, largely due to the nine fouls called on the Seahawks. Kone, a senior forward who has been injured for the majority of the year, was off to a hot start with seven early points.
Malik Nichols also had a strong first half, driving to the basket and drawing fouls. He finished the game with 11 points and 5 rebounds, with 14 of his 17 minutes coming in the first half.
The Pride remained ahead for the rest of the first, leading 34-27 in the first half with 3:35 remaining. The tense, physical game had the coaches of both teams upset with the officiating, as the referees already blew the whistle on twenty fouls between the two squads.
Juan’ya Green, junior playmaker for the Pride, finished the first half with flair, getting fouled on a three-point attempt and making all three shots at the charity stripe to give the Pride a 38-35 lead. However, usually the linchpin of Hofstra’s formidable offense, Green struggled, with 2-11 shooting.
Kone drew a critical technical foul in the second half, but continued to play aggressively, leading the Pride’s post presence. He would finish with 14 points and 7 rebounds on 5-5 shooting. Despite his play, the Pride was outscored in the paint 40-18.
With 7:37 left in the second half, forty total fouls had been called and several players on both teams were in foul trouble.
Hofstra was clinging to a one-point lead with 1:30 left when UNCW took the lead for good.
“The last five minutes of the game, they made plays and we didn’t,” Joe Mihalich said in a postgame interview.
The Pride will stay at home to take on the Drexel Dragons on Wednesday at 7 p.m.