By Kyle Kandetzki - SPORTS EDITOR
If you were to miss all of Hofstra’s semifinal matchup, and only sat in on the post-game presser, the team’s disposition told the whole story.
Dion Nesmith after his final game in a Pride uniform sat motionless, Juan’ya Green looked near tears, and a typically-composed coach Mihalich spoke in an emotionally dejected tone to the media. This one clearly hurt.
The Hofstra Pride men’s basketball team fell in the CAA semifinals to the top-seeded College of William & Mary Tribe on Sunday. The game, played at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, was a double-overtime thriller that Hofstra simply couldn’t close out, falling 92-91.
“There’s a lot of emotional guys in that locker room,” said head coach Joe Mihalich. “Someone was going to have their heart broken, and unfortunately, it’s us.”
After a huge win against JMU, the Pride didn’t come out on the right foot, as the beginning of the opening period belonged to the Tribe – who grabbed nine of the game’s first 11 points. Moussa Kone was the only player to contribute over the first six minutes of the afternoon for Hofstra, scoring all of the six initial Pride points.
Hofstra’s early struggles continued when they fell behind 15-6, thanks to a three minute scoring drought and some missed free throws – a recurring problem on the day.
The turning point finally came once William & Mary opened up a double-digit, 21-11 lead with 10 minutes to go in the half. Rokas Gustys broke open the early run, scoring twice inside, including a rim rocking dunk. After a 15-1 run over in less than five minutes, Hofstra had seized the lead, 26-22.
The half ended in electrifying fashion with the final five field goals all coming from behind the arc – three from CAA Player of the Year Marcus Thornton, and the other two coming from Green. Thornton’s final three, which put him up to 16 points, had the Tribe up 35-32 at the break.
The second half opened with Nesmith leading the attack, playing with a sense of urgency in his final weekend of conference competition. Dion scored the first three field goals, sharing control of the offense with fellow guard Green. Green then grabbed two steals in less than 20 seconds, and turned them both into baskets, one on a dish to Malik Nichols.
The Pride was in position to run away with leads on several occasions, including a furious 13-0 run where Hofstra not only erased a seven-point deficit, but built a six-point lead, headed once again by Nesmith who silenced the rowdy crowd with a timely three-pointer.
“Who played harder than him?” said Mihalich. “There are a lot of guys playing their heart out, but none more than Dion.”
Though the double-headed monster the Tribe had between Thronton and Omar Prewitt would always respond, this time with Omar hitting a three and a layup within 20 seconds of the next two Hofstra scores to keep the game within three.
Brian Bernardi broke out of a serious shooting slump to nail two three-pointers, while Green followed with his pinpoint free-throws to open up a 68-59 lead with five minutes to go.
But William & Mary never waivered.
Hofstra only scored five points in the closing five minutes, and none in the closing 90 seconds when it truly mattered. The Pride led 73-68 in the final moments, but Thornton scored five unanswered points, finished by two free throws to tie the game at 73-73. Moussa Kone had the last shot on a dish inside for Hofstra, but missed, and a ticket to the quarterfinals would have to be punched in overtime.
The opening moments of the overtime period went disastrously for Hofstra, as the Tribe opened up a three-point lead in less than 30 seconds, and Nesmith fouled out of the game. Before the opening minute was even over, William & Mary was up 78-73.
Bernardi found his three-point stroke at the perfect time, knocking down two of them to take an unprecedented 80-78 lead, while the Tribe hung around by drawing fouls consistently, much to the dismay and confusion of the Pride.
With a tied score of 83-83, Hofstra had a chance to take a lead with 12 seconds to go with Rokas Gustys going to the line, but nerves and a loud Tribe crowd seemed to shake him as he missed both free throws, ultimately sending the incredulous crowd and teams into a second overtime.
Free throws made up much of the early second OT scoring, including Prewitt’s final two points which put him at 33 – a career-high – while also fouling Gustys out of the game just moments after his missed charity stripe shots.
In the closing seconds, it was Green one final time. Juan’ya missed a jumper, down 89-87, but Nichols came up with a huge offensive rebound that saved the Pride. The ball was kicked out to Bernardi, who fed it to Green again to knock down a three-pointer. On Hofstra’s final possession, Kone would be fouled, but he only hit one free throw, so with eight seconds to go the Pride led 91-89.
“We ask these guys to leave everything they have on the floor, and they did that,” said Mihalich.
Following a timeout, it would be none other than Thornton dribbling the ball up court, towards the left corner. Marcus faked a shot, but instead handed the ball off to a wide-open Daniel Dixon, who had only four points on the day.
Dixon pulled up with ease and the shot fell, just at the right time, just as had been the case all afternoon for the Tribe.
Hofstra only had .8 seconds to create a play, but the inbound pass would deflect off the scoreboard. The Tribe inbounded to a celebration with the thousands of fans that made the trip on a final score of 92-91.
The heartbreaking loss means the end of the road for senior forward Moussa Kone, who was the key factor in their win against JMU, and Nesmith, who went out with one of his top performances of the season.
“[My teammates] had my back from day one,” said Nesmith, alluding to his multiple stops in his collegiate career. “I wouldn’t trade these guys for anyone in the world.
Green led the team with 26 points and seven assists while playing every single minute. His defensive play fell short, allowing 37 points to Thornton.
Hofstra had a successful day from the field, shooting 49 percent, but were ultimately unable to finish things off due to free throws, where they shot an unimpressive 13-for-25.
An up-and-down season for Hofstra finished with two of the most inspired performances from the Pride, ending the 2014-15 campaign at 20-13.
The team is ready to use this failure as fuel once they move past the heartbreak.
“We should remember this feeling, this should motivate us,” said Green.
Mihalich wasn’t shy to show how much it hurt now, but still saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
“We have a great group of guys coming back. We aren’t going anywhere.”