Tareq Coburn scored a career-high 28 points for the Hofstra Men’s Basketball team, but it was not enough as Iona pulled away in the second half for an 82-74 victory Saturday evening at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. The Gaels’ Isaiah Ross had a career-high 33 points to lead all scorers.
Hofstra fell to 1-2 on the season with the loss while the Gaels improved to 1-1. In addition to Coburn, the Pride got 17 points and 8 rebounds from Isaac Kante, and 15 points from Jalen Ray.
Hofstra held a 6-2 lead in the early stages of the first half before Iona went on a 5-0 run to take a 7-6 lead at the first media timeout with 15:16 on the clock. The Gaels would extend the run after the stoppage, scoring four more unanswered points to take an 11-6 lead before Ray ended the Hofstra drought with a three-pointer to make it 11-9 with 13:23 on the clock. The Gaels would score seven more points to take an 18-9 lead with 11:16 to play before Coburn snapped the Pride’s scoreless streak with a long three from the left wing to get the Pride within six, 18-12, with 11:05 to play. Hofstra would get as close as three, 27-24, with 5:10 to play following a three-pointer from Ray and a lay-up from Coburn, but the Gaels reeled off five straight points of their own to go back up by eight, 32-24. Trailing, 34-26 with 3:24 to go, the Pride would close the half with an 8-0 run to go into halftime tied at 34.
The teams traded the lead three times to start the second half and the game was tied at 43 with 15:34 to play following a three-point play from Kante. However, the Gaels would then go on a 19-7 run to take a 62-50 lead with 9:57 to play. Ross had 10 points in the run for Iona. An 8-2 run by the Pride, capped by a three-pointer from Coburn, made it a six-point game, 64-58, with 7:43 to play and forced an Iona timeout. The Pride would get as close as three, 66-63, with 6:37 to go on a pair of Kante free throws, but the Gaels went on a 9-3 run to go up by nine, 75-66, with 3:18 to go after a second chance put back from Nelly Junior Joseph. The Pride would not get closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Ross was 10-17 from the floor and had six three-pointers for the Gaels. Joseph added 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks while Dylan van Eyck had 14 points. Berrick JeanLouis rounded out four Gaels in double-figures with 10 points and added four steals.
Hofstra will return to action Wednesday, December 9, when it hosts Stony Brook at 7 p.m. in the Long Island Rivalry. 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:
-This was the 41st meeting between the two schools and the first since the 2011-12 season. Iona leads the series, 21-20.
-In addition to his career-high point total, Coburn had a career-best 13 free throws (17 att.)
-Ray’s three three-point field goals moved him past Jason Hernandez into ninth place on the Hofstra career three-point list with 163
–Caleb Burgess had a career-high seven assists for Hofstra
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)