By Nick Mazzarella - Staff Writer Hofstra made a living at the free-throw line on Wednesday night and edged Towson, 87-82, to split the season series.
Looking to avenge its most lopsided home loss of the season to Towson (12-16, 5-10 CAA) on Jan 31., Hofstra (18-10, 9-6 CAA) attempted 42 free throws – 31 in the second half – and made 37 of them (88.1 percent) en route to its second straight road win.
“It’s such a big, big win,” said head coach Joe Mihalich. “To even have a chance to win, we had to be tough. I thought we matched their toughness.”
Juan’ya Green had 21 points, seven assists, and four rebounds. The junior guard turned it up a notch after the break, scoring 15 of those points (10-11 FT) and dishing out five of those assists in the second half.
“He played like a star tonight,” said Mihalich. “He made this team win.”
Ameen Tanksley matched Green’s 21 points and shot 14-15 from the charity stripe.
Towson’s Four McGlynn tied a career high with 27 points. He dropped 22 on the Pride last month at the Mack Sports Complex.
Eddie Keith II scored the first eight points of the game, giving the Tigers an 8-0 lead. Hofstra answered with a 6-0 run of their own, which included an and-one from Tanksley and a three by Green.
Towson held a 12-10 advantage, and that lead grew to 14 – its largest lead of the night – thanks to a 17-5 run. The Tigers maintained that 14-point lead until triples by Green and Brian Bernardi cut the Pride’s deficit to single digits, 33-25, with 5:16 until halftime.
With fewer than two minutes left in the half, Dion Nesmith took matters into his own hands. The graduate guard knocked down threes on back-to-back trips to make it a one-possession game. Hofstra trailed by just three at halftime, 40-37.
“I thought Dion was terrific,” Mihalich said. “We were god-awful in the first half, and I thought he did a great job himself to get us back in it with some shot making.”
After Byron Hawkins’ and-one to start the second half extended Towson’s lead to six, Hofstra went on a 9-0 run during which Green’s and-one gave the Pride their first lead of the game. That lead grew to six, 59-53, with 11:27 to play.
But the Tigers didn’t go away, tying the game at 64, taking a four-point lead with 7:35 remaining. The Pride, though, erased that deficit with two pairs of free throws.
A jumper by McGlynn broke a 68-68 tie, but that was the last time that Towson would have the lead. Hofstra went ahead with 5:20 left, 72-70, and never looked back. The Pride hit only one field goal (and attempted just five) in the last 9:14, but 21 made free throws over the final 7:23 proved to be enough to leave Maryland with a win.
Nesmith (16 points) and Moussa Kone (11 points and nine rebounds) were the Pride’s other double-digit scorers. Kone had a quiet first half, but totaled nine points and six boards in the second.
For the Tigers, John Davis had 17 points (7-9 FG) and six rebounds. Keith II (13 points) also scored in double figures.
Hofstra returns home to play William & Mary (16-10, 10-5 CAA) this Sunday at 4:30 p.m. (Military Appreciation Day at the Mack). The Tribe beat the Pride handily, 100-79, in the teams’ Jan. 28 meeting.