The Hofstra Pride defeated the Seawolves men’s basketball team by a score of 73-57 at the Indoor Sports Complex. Stony Brook had gotten out to an early 5-point lead, but Hofstra came back strong to win.
Attendance was again strong at 2,701, though nowhere near the nearly 4,300 people last week’s game against Villanova drew. SBU took the lead with the first shot of the game, a free throw by Emanuel Neto. The Seawolves would go on a 7-2 run, capped by an Eddie Castellanos jump shot, but Hofstra would tie it at 7 with 14:45 to play in the half. Stony Brook would reclaim the lead on a Mitchell Beauford jump shot, but just over 7 minutes in, a Zygis Sestokas 3-pointer would give Hofstra a lead they never gave up. They would continue their charge, and take a 31-21 lead into halftime.
During halftime, Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Nathan was inducted into the Stony Brook athletics Hall of Fame. The SBU alum also had his number, 22, retired during the ceremony. He was speechless during the ceremony, saying only how great it was to be back on campus.
Hofstra dominated the game offensively, with four players scoring 13 points or more, whereas Stony Brook had only one player scoring more than 9. Hofstra shot 80% from the free throw line to SBU’s 75%, and 48% to 35% on field goals. They also had 9 more rebounds than SBU on defense. The only places Stony Brook was stronger were on second chances and fast breaks.
In the second half, Hofstra would keep up the strong showing, with Stony Brook only getting as close as 8 with 16:58 left, on a free throw by sophomore Andrew Goba. Hofstra would pull away in the late stages on 6 free throws between Sestikas and Carlos Rivera in the last minute of the game to close it out.
By the end of the game, both teams were in heavy foul trouble, with three players on each side with four fouls. Stony Brook totaled 26 fouls to Hofstra’s 22. Both also committed many turnovers, with Hofstra coming in at 18 and SBU with 17.
The game featured the return of Ricky Lucas, who had the last two games with a sprained ankle. He led the team in scoring with 18 points, twice what Mitchell Beauford, the next leading scorer, produced.
Hofstra Head Coach Tom Pecora wasn’t all smiles about the win, however, saying, “We’re not winning pretty ? we’re winning ugly.” He added that “40 minutes is not what 40 minutes once was,” referring to frequent stoppages for things like TV timeouts.
Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell was glad to have Lucas back, but expressed disappointment otherwise, saying “12 turnovers by the backcourt can’t happen,” and that the team needs another big scorer to support Lucas. He was happy to have some time to prepare for this game, unlike the Villanova game.
The Seawolves record slipped to 3-5 with the loss, while Hofstra improved to 5-3. Stony Brook’s next game is on the road, against the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Monday. Tipoff is at 7PM.
