By Jeffrey Werner - STAFF WRITER Hofstra Pride men’s basketball head coach Joe Mihalich achieved his 300th career win as the Pride edged out the Explorers of La Salle University 84-80. Brian Bernardi led the way in scoring for Hofstra with 22 points while Denton Koon contributed a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds Mihalich’s 300th win makes him one of 250 coaches in NCAA Division I men’s basketball to reach that milestone.
Hofstra took over the first half, scoring 44 points and taking a 13-point lead going into halftime. La Salle, however, wasn’t about to let Hofstra roll over them. The Explorers, led by Jordan Price’s 37 points, went on some scoring runs to come within one point of the Pride’s lead with just over a minute and a half to go in the game. A couple clutch free throws by Juan’ya Green and Bernardi sealed the victory for Hofstra.
Both teams entered the game with opposing game plans. For Hofstra, Mihalich emphasized spreading the floor and getting as many players involved as possible. Six players finished the game with ten or more points. La Salle, on the other hand, decided the best game plan was to get the ball to Price and let him carry the workload. Although Price gave the Hofstra defense a lot of trouble, the lack of contributions from his teammates was the Achille’s heel for La Salle. Coach Mihalich was quick to give credit to Green.
“Juan’ya [passes the ball] better than anyone. We all play off of him. He is the reason we have six guys in double figures. If there’s a better passer in the country, I want to see him. Juan’ya Green is a point guard. He runs the team. He leads it. He has a basketball IQ that is off the charts and makes everyone better.”
Mihalich’s coaching career began at La Salle, where he had graduated in 1978 and was an assistant coach between 1981 and 1989 before accepting the head coach position at Niagra University. While at Niagra, Mihalich accumulated 265 victories in 16 seasons and led Niagra to five postseason appearances after the 2003-04 season.
Mihalich then decided to accept the head-coaching position for the 2013-14 season at Hofstra, a program that came off a seven-win season and was in the midst of a rebuilding process. In two seasons, Mihalich took the Pride to their first 20-win season since the 2010-11 season and two CAA tournament appearances.