Hofstra defeats stubborn Stony Brook for 10th straight victory
Jaquan Carlos of the Hofstra Pride attempts a shot in the first half against Tyler Stephenson-Moore of the Stony Brook Seawolves at Island Federal Credit Arena on Saturday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Hofstra’s grand plan to close the season without a stumble and enter the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament next month as the No. 1 seed remains intact.
But on Saturday night against rival Stony Brook, the Pride almost saw it all come apart.
Hofstra got all it could handle from the Seawolves but stayed solid in the final four minutes and escaped Island Federal Arena with a 68-65 victory before a sellout crowd of 4,009.
The Pride (22-8, 15-2 CAA) have won 10 straight games and can clinch the conference’s regular-season title next weekend when they host Northeastern.
“Great win for us in the battle for Long Island — the Island is still blue,” Hofstra coach Speedy Claxton said, referring to the school’s colors. “It was gutsy for my guys. We didn’t have our best performance but we found a way to win.”
“We embraced the challenge [when] we faced some adversity tonight,” said Tyler Thomas, who had 23 points and shot 8-for-11 to pace the Pride.
Hofstra scoring leader Aaron Estrada was mired in his worst shooting night of the season — he finished 1-for-12 — and Seawolves scoring leader Tyler Stephenson-Moore was having an especially good game after being feted before tip-off in a Senior Night ceremony. Stony Brook led by six at halftime and it was a close game throughout the second half.
The final four minutes, however, was a different story. Thomas’ two free throws gave the Pride a 59-58 lead with 4:06 left and represented the final lead change.
Darlinstone Dubar held Stephenson-Moore without a point — “He came to us in the huddle and said ‘let me guard him,’ so I said ‘go ahead,’ and he shut him down,” Claxton said — and Estrada scored five of Hofstra’s final nine points. He got to the free-throw line three times as the Pride got points on their final five possessions.
And while Hofstra scored on every late possession, the Seawolves (10-19, 6-10) struggled. In the final four minutes, they were 2-for-7 from the floor with a turnover, and the conference’s top free-throw shooting team went 1-for-4 from the line.
“We had a chance . . . with four minutes to go,” Stony Brook coach Geno Ford said. “In that game you’re going to have to win with offense because you’re only going to stop them a few times . . . and look at our offensive possessions. We missed some free throws. We missed some midrange shots.”
Ford added that playing overtime to beat William & Mary on Thursday showed up in the Seawolves’ legs at the end of the game.
Warren Williams scored 12 points, Dubar had 11 and Estrada added 10 for the Pride. Stephenson-Moore finished with 27 points and Keenan Fitzmorris had 12 for Stony Brook.
There haven’t been a whole lot of high-water marks for Stony Brook in this first season in the CAA after departing the weaker America East. Ford recruited some quality players from the transfer portal, but that didn’t exactly work out.
The blueprint for the Seawolves was to have Sacred Heart transfer Aaron Clarke, an all-Northeast Conference selection last season, join Cornell transfer Dean Noll in the backcourt. However, a back injury limited Clarke to three games and Noll suffered a season-ending knee injury before the first game. That largely sabotaged the chance that SBU would have an impact season.
Nevertheless, Stony Brook is closing the regular season in a way in which it could shape the CAA Tournament draw. The Seawolves couldn’t get past the first-place Pride, but they still have road games against third-place UNC Wilmington and second-place Charleston.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
