Omar Silverio returns from injury, lifts Hofstra to victory over UNC-Wilmington

Acting Hofstra men’s basketball coach Mike Farrelly may not have remembered he had Omar Silverio back early in the game but by the end of it you can be sure that won’t happen again.

Silverio, a junior playing in his first game since Dec. 19 because of an upper body injury, came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points in Hofstra’s 82-73 road win over UNC-Wilmington Saturday afternoon in Trasker Coliseum.

"I was trying to get him in at the first media timeout and I actually forgot," Farrelly said. "But we knew he would be the first perimeter sub in."

Hofstra was playing without reigning Colonial Athletic Association player of the week Tareq Coburn because of injury and Silverio’s offensive impact helped the Pride extend its winning streak to four games.

"We knew he would be good against their pressure, he can make shots and he gives us another really good ball handler in there as well," Farrelly said. "Did I know he was going to play 27 minutes? No, I probably wouldn’t have said that but you never know. He was playing great and you stay with him in the flow of the game and hopefully he can keep that going."

Hofstra (10-6, 6-3) held a seven-point lead late in the first half but by early in the second the Seahawks had taken a 53-49 advantage. That’s when Silverio did most of his damage.

Silverio scored 10 points in 4:27 as part of a 14-4 Hofstra run to turn the deficit into a 63-57 lead.

"That’s what he’s capable of," Farrelly said. "He’s not going to have this type of game every game but he can really help us because he can score, he’s a really smart player — although he doesn’t always show that all the time — and he knows our defense really well. We went with him tonight and he was a big reason why we got the win."

UNC-Wilmington (7-7, 1-4) was playing without its top scorer junior Jaylen Sims and got a game high 21 points from senior Mike Okauru.

Junior Isaac Kante had 18 points and seven rebounds, Jalen Ray scored 17 points and freshman Kvonn Cramer had 16 points and nine rebounds for Hofstra.

Coburn also won’t be available for the second game against UNC-Wilmington on Sunday, according to Farrelly.

"We played some different lineups and guys stepped up and that’s the beauty of it," Farrelly said. "Today it was Omar."

By Gene Morris

gene.morris@newsday.comGeneMorris

Gene Morris joined Newsday's sports department in September 2012 and covers high school sports. He earned a journalism degree from Stony Brook University in 2010.