By Nick Mazzarella - Staff Writer Hofstra erased an 11-point halftime deficit and outscored UNC-Wilmington by 23 in the second half en route to a 68-56 road win to take the Colonial Athletic Association conference opener for both teams.
Hofstra (10-4, 1-0 CAA) shot 21.2 percent (7-33) and hit only one three in the first half, but solid defense and 18 made free throws keyed a second half in which the Pride outscored the Seahawks (5-7, 0-1 CAA) by a score of 43-20.
“That was a gut-check win for us,” said head coach Joe Mihalich. “We were God-awful in the first half, and that’s because of them. They outplayed us, they out everything’d us.”
Mihalich added, “We had one of two choices at halftime: keep our composure, believe in ourselves, and feel like we can still win this game, or panic. I’m proud of our guys because we did the former rather than the latter.”
Ameen Tanksley and Juan’ya Green led Hofstra with 15 points each. The duo struggled with a combined shot of 5-25 from the field, but did most of their damage at the free throw line by shooting a combined 18-26.
“[UNC-Wilmington] did a good job with their defense of keeping us from getting a lot of the looks that we like to get, so our only alternative was to drive it, and we were fortunate enough to get an advantage there,” said Mihalich.
Hofstra took a 2-0 lead to start the game, but the Seahawks responded with a 9-0 run. The Pride’s first field goal did not come until a layup by Brian Bernardi at the 14:57 mark. UNC-Wilmington’s Craig Ponder had eight points to the Pride’s seven at the under-12 minute media timeout.
UNC-Wilmington extended their lead to 12 midway through the first half, but an 11-1 run by the Pride cut the Seahawks’ lead to 21-19. UNC-Wilmington, though, would answer with a 10-0 run of its own to push the lead back to 12.
Once Hofstra trailed 36-25 to start the second half, a field goal by Malik Nichols and a three by Bernardi quickly made it a two-possession game, 36-30, leading to a UNC-Wilmington timeout. Hofstra capitalized around the rim, scoring all 10 of its points in the paint over a 3:56 span, but the Pride still trailed, 42-40, with 13:46 left.
A three by Tanksley gave Hofstra a 43-42 lead with just under 13 minutes to play – its first lead since 2-0. The Seahawks regained the lead and extended it to 51-45 with 8:14 left, but the Pride closed the game on a 23-5 run – including 16 made free throws over a 7:18 span – that ultimately secured win No. 10 of the season and the first among a CAA rival.
“Conference road wins are like gold…Just to get one on the road is big,” said Mihalich. “I don’t care if it’s one game or 18 games – right now, we’re in first place.”
The threes weren’t falling for Hofstra, the fourth-best three-point shooting team in the nation heading into this game. The Pride hit only four of their 22 attempts from behind the arc, but Mihalich wasn’t too concerned.
“We get those same 22 shots next game, I think we make more of them,” he said. “We got guys who can shoot the ball.”
The Pride shot poorly all afternoon (18-59, 30.5 percent), but they made their living at the charity stripe. Hofstra got to the free throw line 43 times (28-43, 65.1 percent), while UNC-Wilmington attempted just 15 free throws (10-15, 67.7 percent).
Dion Nesmith had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Pride, as well as Moussa Kone added eight points and six rebounds. Ponder led the Seahawks with 13 points, while C.J. Gettys (11 points, nine rebounds) and Addison Spruill (11 points, seven rebounds) also scored in double figures.
After sitting out the last seven games with an injury, Rokas Gustys returned for the start of conference play. He had 10 rebounds – six of which were offensive – in 22 minutes, marking the fourth time he’s recorded double-digit rebounds in his seven-game career.
Hofstra’s first home game in CAA play is this Monday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m. against University of Delaware. It will be the second of a four-games-in-eight-days stretch for the Pride.