Hofstra dominated the second half to rally from a nine-point halftime deficit and posted a 73-58 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson Monday night at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. The Pride outscored the Knights, 42-18, over the final 20 minutes to notch their first win of the season. The win was also the first in the career of Hofstra’s Acting Head Coach Mike Farrelly.
Hofstra (1-1) saw four players score in double-figures, led by Tareq Coburn’s 21 points. Isaac Kante had 16 points, while Kvonn Cramer had a career-high 12 points to go with a game and career-high 10 rebounds. Omar Silverio closed out the quartet of double-digit scorers with 10 points. Kante added nine rebounds while Jalen Ray posted a career-high nine assists to go along with six points and four rebounds.
The Pride jumped out to a 4-0 lead behind baskets from Kante and Ray in the opening 90 seconds before the Knights got on the board with a three-pointer from Jahlil Jenkins. Hofstra would respond with a 7-0 run to take an 11-3 lead with 16:59 on the clock on a jump hook from Caleb Burgess. The Pride would extend their advantage to 10 points, 18-8, on a three-pointer from Silverio with 13:53 to go in the half. The Knights would battle back and used a 16-7 run to get within a point, 25-24, with 7:50 to play on a Jenkins fast break layup. Fairleigh Dickinson would take the lead for the first time in the game, 29-27, on Joe Munden Jr.’s three-pointer with 5:22 on the clock and would push it to 31-27 40 seconds later on a dunk from Pier-Olivier Racine. The Knights would outscore the Pride, 9-4, the rest of the half and took a 40-31 lead into halftime.
Hofstra came out inspired to start the second half and used a 12-1 run to take a 43-41 lead with 15:49 on the clock following a three-pointer from Coburn. The Pride would outscore the Knights, 24-8 over the first 10 minutes and led 55-48 at the midway point. The lead would grow to 14, 63-49, on a turnaround jumper by Silverio with 5:11 to play. That prompted an FDU timeout, but Hofstra kept it up after the break as Cramer and Kante scored on back-to-back possessions to push the advantage to 18, 67-49. Hofstra’s largest lead of the game was 19 (70-51) with 3:01 to play.
Fairleigh Dickinson fell to 0-3 on the season with the loss. Jenkins had a team-high 17 points with Brandon Rush chipping in with 16. Munden Jr. had seven points and led the Knights with six rebounds.
Hofstra will return to action Saturday, December 5, when it hosts Iona at 4 p.m. The game is closed to the public and there are no tickets available. The game can be viewed live on Flo Hoops with the audio only broadcast available on Pride Productions and WRHU (88.7 FM).
Notes:
-Hofstra is 18-5 all-time versus Fairleigh Dickinson
-Hofstra is 8-2 in its last 10 home openers
-Coburn scored 15 points in the second half while Cramer had 10
-Hofstra is 35-9 in its last 44 home games
-Hofstra is 71-7 over the last 6-plus seasons when holding their opponents under 70 points.
For more information on the Hofstra University Athletics Department fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here:
Hofstra University Athletics – Official Athletics Website (gohofstra.com)