Four Hofstra players scored in double-figures and the Pride pulled away from Bucknell with a 12-0 run in the second half in an 88-69 victory Saturday afternoon at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
Hofstra improved to 5-4 on the season and won its fourth consecutive game. Bucknell slipped to 2-7 with its second straight loss.
Aaron Estrada led Hofstra with a career-high 24 points and added six assists. Zach Cooks had 19 points and six assists, while Omar Silverio poured in 16 points and tied a career-best with six rebounds. Jalen Ray had 12 points, all in the second half, and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Abayomi Iyiola had eight points and six rebounds.
The first half was a series of runs. The Pride opened the first half by scoring the first eight points of the game before Bucknell responded with a 10-0 run of its own. After and Estrada basket tied the game at 10, the Bison went on an 8-0 spurt to take an 18-10 lead with 11:46 to play in the half. Hofstra scored the next five points before Bucknell used a 9-2 run to go up by 10, 27-17, with 8:11 to play.
The Pride then recorded the next 11 points to take a 28-27 lead with 4:49 on the clock on an Iyiola layup. The Bison scored five unanswered before the Pride ran off 11 in a row to lead 39-32 with 1:00 remaining following Silverio’s second three-pointer of the run. The Bison would add a free throw with 31 second left as the Pride held a 39-33 lead at the half.
The Pride opened the second half with a 9-3 run to take a 12-point lead, 48-36, with 17:42 to play. Estrada had four points in the run. The Bison would cut the Hofstra lead to nine, 50-41, on Andrew Funk’s layup with 16:24 on the clock but the Pride scored five straight points on a Ray three-pointer and a dunk from Darlinstone Dubar (7 points) to go back up by 14, 55-41, with 14:38 to go. An 8-3 run by Bucknell brought the Bison back to within eight, 65-57, with 9:38 to play. However, Hofstra scored 12 consecutive points to go up by 20, 77-57, with 7:11 to play. Ray had two three-pointers in the run. The Bison would not get closer than 14 the rest of the way.
Funk led all scorers with 28 points. Josh Adoh added 15 points and Jake van der Heijden chipped in with 10 points. Alex Timmerman and Andre Screen paced the Bison with six rebounds.
Hofstra is back in action Wednesday, December 8 at Stony Brook. Game time is 7 p.m. The Pride returns home Sunday, December 12 at 2 p.m. against John Jay. Tickets are available for purchase at HofstraTickets.com, by calling (516) HOF-TIXX, or by visiting the Hofstra Athletic Ticket Office in the lobby of the Mack Sports Complex during normal business hours.
Notes:
-Hofstra completed a perfect 4-0 home stand with the win.
-Ray moved into 14th-place on the Hofstra all-time scoring list with 1,430 points, passing Rick Apodaca (1999-03), who scored 1,422 points.
-Hofstra is 11-20 all-time against Bucknell.
-The Pride shot 51 percent from the floor (35-68).
-Hofstra committed just five turnovers in the game and scored 19 points off 14 Bucknell turnovers.
-Ray played in his 130th career game to take over sole possession of second place on the career games played list at Hofstra.
For more information on the Hofstra University Athletics Department fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here:
You must log in to post a comment.