Hofstra can take pride in depth as it routs Delaware

The final score proved to be one big head fake. Any Hofstra followers who had not watched the game and later learned that their team scored 90 points would have guessed that Justin Wright-Foreman had at least 30 of them. Probably more.

Coach Joe Mihalich would have been right with them. “If you had told me that Justin had 15 points and we still got 90, I’d have to ask you to explain it to me,” he said after the Pride’s 90-63 rout of Delaware on Thursday night at Mack Sports Complex.

Forty minutes on the court explained it all: Hofstra has a lot more than just Wright-Foreman, who entered the week as the second-leading scorer in the nation with a 25.6 average.

For starters, the Pride got a career night from guard Desure Buie, who put up career highs of 20 points and eight assists. He took charge of the game with eye-catching plays like the head fake, spin and jumper that put Hofstra up by 21 as the Pride extended an eight-point halftime lead.

Hofstra also got a standout game from Eli Pemberton, who scored 21 points and did a masterful job on defense against standout Ryan Daly, who shot 1-for-8 from the floor in the first half and finished with 13 points. “Before the game, Coach told me, ‘Take it personally,’ ’’ Pemberton said.

There also were 14 rebounds by Rokas Gustys and a solid 10-point outing by Jalen Ray. The bottom line was that the Pride (12-7, 5-2 in the CAA) continued to show the team might have enough of everything to contend for the conference title.

It’s not as if Delaware had been slumping. The Blue Hens (11-9, 4-3) had won three in a row. And the last time these two teams met, Delaware overcame an eight-point deficit and knocked Hofstra out of the CAA Tournament, ending a disappointing 2016-17 season.

Back then, Hofstra did not have Buie because he missed most of last season with a knee injury. “That was the best tool for me, sitting down and watching, because I got to see what’s going on, what I don’t see on the court. And I learned a lot from it,” Buie said.

An even better tool was a one-on-one meeting with Mihalich on Tuesday that occurred, the junior said, “because I had a little rough day.” The coach had exhorted him to use his spirit and leadership. “So I came into tonight with that mentality, to bring energy and be the best I can,” Buie said after scoring 10 points in the first seven minutes.

Pemberton pointed out that Wright-Foreman, heavily guarded, actually had a good game, shooting 50 percent from the floor. Said Mihalich, “It’s great to see we don’t need Justin to score 30 points for us to win.”

To which Pemberton added, “It definitely helps, though.”