After a short break while the team finished up their first academic semester of the 2016-2017 school year, the Hofstra men’s basketball team earned their second straight victory at the Mack Sports Complex, beating Siena 84-64 on Thursday evening. The offensive charge was headlined by senior guard Deron Powers, scoring 21 points as well as dishing out eight assists. Powers and fellow senior guard Brian Bernardi were lights out from three-point land, shooting a combined 6-11, contributing heavily to the Pride’s 52 percent shooting from downtown.
On defense, Hofstra was virtually impeccable, holding the Saints to just 34 percent from the field, and a mere 14 percent from beyond the arc.
Hofstra had another solid performance from their big men, specifically the nation’s leading rebounder, junior Rokas Gustys, who tacked on 10 more points and 15 more rebounds to his stellar 2016-2017 campaign.
Gustys now has 176 rebounds on the year, good for 13.5 a game, and last night’s double-double was his fifth of the year, and his ninth double-digit rebounding performance of the season.
Although through the midst of all the stellar upperclassmen performances, some of the Pride’s biggest and best holiday gifts have been from players such as Eli Pemberton and Justin Wright-Foreman. Both had double-digit scoring outputs for the tenth, and seventh times, respectively.
Pemberton has won three CAA Rookie of the Week awards this season, while J.W.F. has been a spark off the bench, scoring 13 against Siena, after a career-high 22 against Long Island rival Stony Brook in the Pride’s last game.
After a 4-2 Siena lead with two minutes into the game, a Hofstra three pointer by Ty Greer gave the Pride a 5-4 lead, and the team didn’t look back. Hofstra had a nice 23 points from the bench, and a solid 11 rebounds from backup big men Hunter Sabety and Jamall Robinson.
Hofstra now sits in third in the conference standings behind UNC-Wilmington (11-1) and Charleston (9-4).
Hofstra will be hitting the road to start conference action taking on the University of Delaware on New Year’s Eve at 2 p.m.