Hofstra's Joe Mihalich earns 400th win with victory over North Carolina Wilmington

As much as Joe Mihalich tried to divert the focus from his 400th career win, a 78-64 throttling of visiting North Carolina Wilmington on Saturday, his players wouldn’t let him off the hook.

“The culture we built over the past few years, guys buy in. It’s a brotherhood from the last guy on the bench to the coaching staff,” Eli Pemberton said after scoring 23 points. “It’s fun to win for a coach like this.”

As Pemberton ran out of the right words to say, junior forward Isaac Kante, fresh off a career-best 23-point game in which he grabbed 14 rebounds, added the final touch.

“He believes in you and tells you that he believes in you and that he loves you. It’s fun,” Kante said. “We love you, too, Coach.”

Mihalich certainly felt the love from his players and the fans after becoming the 52nd active Division I coach to notch 400 wins. Hofstra (20-7, 11-3 Colonial Athletic Association), which has won six straight games, reached the 20-victory mark for the second straight season.

“I’m so lucky and proud,” Mihalich said. “I’m more proud to be with these guys and know this team can win a championship if we play well.”

It was Mihalich who recruited Pemberton to Hofstra, and he now is the ninth-leading scorer in program history.

Tareq Coburn had 12 points and eight rebounds and Desure Buie added nine points and seven assists for the Pride.

Mihalich is in his seventh season as Hofstra’s coach, and the Pride have been a top CAA team under his watch.

Last season’s squad won the CAA regular-season title outright for the first time while notching a program-record 27 wins, and this season’s team has the chance to fare even better. The program’s first NCAA bid since 2001 is a legitimate possibility.

With five of its last six wins by at least 10 points, Hofstra has emerged as the team to beat in the CAA and owns a 1 1⁄2-game lead over William & Mary with four games remaining.

Under Mihalich, Hofstra has twice fallen one victory short of a spot in the NCAA Tournament. “That would mean way more than any personal accomplishments,” he said.

The Pride beat North Carolina Wilmington 63-61 on Jan. 16, but in the rematch, Hofstra led by at least 10 points for the final 30 minutes, 3 seconds. The Pride took a 48-27 halftime lead that ballooned to as many as 28 points in the second half.

Kante overwhelmed the Seahawks in the paint and punctuated his dominance by screaming while throwing down a ferocious dunk in the final minutes.

After the game, the crowd cheered as Mihalich’s achievement was announced.

“I’m the luckiest guy in the world to be coaching guys like this,” he said while flanked by Pemberton and Kante. “I just pinch myself, I’m so lucky to be with them.”