HOFSTRA
Record: 6-3
Last Game: W, 88-82, at Rider 12/9
Last Meeting: Hofstra 96, Stony Brook 58 on 12/13/16. Michael Almonacy team-high 15.
Listen/Watch:TV:
http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3226562/hofstra-vs-stony-brook-m-basketballHofstra radio:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/hofstra/Stony Brook radio:
http://www.whli.com/listen-live.aspxNotables:6-1/185 jr G Justin Wright-Foreman 22.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, .774 FT%, .318 3-pt FG%
6-5/195 so G Eli Pemberton 18.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.0 spg, .505 FG%, .465 3-pt FG%
6-9/260 sr F Rokas Gustys 9.2 ppg, 10.9 rpg, .589 FG%
6-6/240 gs F Joel Angus III 8.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, .569 FG%, .818 FT%
I don't think any of us saw last year's 38-point beatdown coming, not even the team, and I hope some of the sting is still there.
Wright-Foreman dropped 22 on us last year off the bench, and a couple weeks later he was in the starting lineup for good. He ended up third in the conference in scoring – leading Hofstra in points in each of its last 12 games – and was named second-team All-CAA as a freshman. JWF got off to a poor shooting start this fall, but looks to be rounding into shape just in time for the battle of Long Island, topping 20 points in each of the last four games, the last three of which were wins. He poured in 30 in Hofstra's win at Rider.
So we once again wonder whether we can bottle up an elite player. Or two. Pemberton certainly has had his days in the sun too. We did well to force Mike Smith from Columbia into a poor shooting night.
If you recall, last year's debacle very much had to do with our poor shooting and an inability to compete on the glass. We fell behind by 20 at the half, thanks in part to Hofstra's 13-2 advantage in second chance points. Gustys, who's a behemoth, racked up 18 boards on the night and the overall edge was 59-30. Yuck.
Gustys has a new running mate this year in brawny Angus, who's from Brooklyn, played two years of juco at Westchester CC and Monroe, averaged 11 and 6 while starting every game for Southeast Missouri State as a junior, and got injured last year, which allows him to play a graduate year at Hofstra. They also have the kid Hunter Sabety from Oceanside, who's a solid big off the bench.
Hofstra was picked to finish fourth in the CAA behind C of C, Towson and Elon. Between the two of us, they have the highest-quality win, having beaten Dayton on a neutral floor a few weeks ago. They've gotten a little lucky in their last two wins despite the opposition shooting better than 50 percent in each game. How? Hofstra beat Monmouth by one after MU shot 8 for 17 from the line. Rider was even worse, going 11 for 25 in a six-point loss.
Hopefully there's some fire in our guys' guts after last year, and we go and get this one. A big crowd can only help.