Healthy Hofstra makes Towson look sick

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Hofstra Pride head coach Craig “Speedy” Claxton started his team’s postgame press conference on Saturday with a wide smile and simple, six-word reminder.

“It is great to be healthy,” he said.

Throughout a recent spate of injuries that caused a negative trickle-down effect with defining roles throughout the Pride’s roster and which were, in part, the cause of a five-game losing streak that followed four straight wins to start conference play, Claxton continually promised Hofstra would play much better when all of his players were available.

Pride fans saw a glimpse of that in a 17-point home win over struggling Northeastern on Thursday night, but Claxton’s bigger vision, the one that might have Hofstra seriously competing for a Coastal Athletic Association tournament championship next month, was on full display during a 71-49 Winter Homecoming throttling of the Towson Tigers at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.

Hofstra (16-9, 7-5 CAA), which won its third consecutive game, steamrolled Towson (13-12, 5-7 CAA) with a 33-9 surge over the final 10:27 of the opening half, to lead, 46-20.

“I’ve never seen this team play better basketball than that on both sides of the basketball,” Claxton said. “By far, that’s the best we played all season long in one half.”

As the game’s only 20-point scorer (with exactly 20 points in 27 bench minutes), it was fitting that reserve senior guard Biggie Patterson started the first-half spurt with a 3-pointer. Those three points were the first of 14 that Patterson scored during the game-deciding run. Included in that, was a four-point play. Also in the run, freshman guard Preston Edmead (13 points, five rebounds) led a fast break and found Patterson for one of his career-best nine assists.

Patterson’s performance was the second 20-point game of his career. This time, the Iona transfer went 6-for-10 from the floor, 3-for-4 from behind the arc and 5-for-6 at the free throw line. Patterson was far more efficient than his career-best 21 points on 22 shots in Hofstra’s most recent loss (a two-point home defeat to Charleston on Jan. 29).

“As soon as [Patterson] checked in, he was just locked in and focused on both sides of the basketball, and when he’s playing like that, he changes our team,” Claxton said.

Before Patterson (one of the Pride’s key rotational pieces who had missed some time in recent weeks, and who has split time both as a starter and a reserve this season) was asked about providing what Hofstra needed off the bench, Claxton jokingly interjected with a laugh, “He might not like that question.”

Patterson affirmed that he’s fine with not starting.

“Whatever Coach needs, starting, coming off the bench, just being ready to go, whatever is needed… being the most energized guy on the floor, whether it’s yelling, whether it’s talking the most on defense, even talking junk to the other team, I’m going to do it, just to get my team going,” he said.

Claxton added, “To have a full team, [Patterson and Edmead] were tremendous. Biggie came off the bench and gave us a real spark, not just on the offensive end, but on the defensive end. [It was] all-around, a great effort by the guys.”

Maintaining his CAA scoring lead by just two total points for the season, junior guard Cruz Davis added 16 points for the Pride, which scored the first five points after halftime to lead by a game-high 51-20, as the Tigers never got closer than 27 until the final minute.

Things got so bad for Towson, the home student section, the Lion’s Den (behind the basket near the Tigers’ bench), mockingly chanted, ‘We want Ryan!’ – asking for seldom-used junior guard Ryan Skerry (31 total minutes this season), the son of head coach Pat Skerry – with more than 15 minutes left. Skerry received some further disdain with sardonic ‘Let’s go Ryan!’ chants when he entered the game with 1:03 remaining.

Including those fans, a near sellout crowd of 3,525 for the homecoming event helped Hofstra, particularly defensively.

“We feed off the crowd’s energy, so when we have a packed house like that, it’s gonna get these guys ready to play,” Claxton noted.

While the teams were similarly underwhelming in 20 minutes of second-half garbage time, with Towson shooting 8-for-22 and Hofstra 8-23, the first-half difference couldn’t have been starker, when the Tigers were as frigid as the 11-degree February weather outside the arena, and shot just 8-for-32 to the Pride’s 17-for-34.

Another drastic differentiation is Hofstra’s 13-1 record when allowing under 70 points and 3-8 mark otherwise this season.

Combined with a 78-67 win at Towson on Jan. 8, the Pride swept the season series from the Tigers.

Crucial to that was keeping Towson’s top two scorers, junior guard Tyler Tejada (16.4 points per game) and redshirt junior guard Dylan Williamson (14.5 points per game) in check, especially the latter.

As the Tiger’s only double-digit scorer, Tejada (17 points on 5-for-12 shooting) was more efficient than in the teams’ previous meeting, when he scored 22 points on dismal 6-for-20 shooting.

Williamson was shut down in both games, managing a scant three points while missing all eight of his field goal attempts after scoring just four points on 2-for-19 shooting the first time against the Pride this season.

Edmead and sophomore forward Josh DeCady (who got the start over Patterson) were mainly responsible for locking down Tejada and Williamson both times.

“We knew coming into the game that those are their guys, and DeCady and Preston, they did a number on them yet again,” Claxton said. “That’s the key to their team. If we can limit their scoring, we’re going to have a good chance to beat them.”

With its recent resurgence, Hofstra has ample reason to feel good about itself again. Certainly, the Pride played very well in dispatching the Tigers, but the ease with which Hofstra did so may have as much to say about the vast disappointment that Towson has been this season.

While the Pride (picked eighth in the CAA preseason poll) is tied for third-place two-thirds into CAA play, the defending regular season champion and preseason favorite Tigers are tied for 10th-place and have lost three of four following a four-game winning streak that seemed to have them on track.

Still, having such an easy win with a first half that showed Hofstra at its best is perfect timing for the toughest CAA road trip the Pride could possibly take, with Hofstra travelling to first-place Charleston on Thursday night, followed by a visit to second-place UNC Wilmington next Saturday.

“It definitely gives us confidence,” Claxton said. “I truly believe that we can play with anybody in this league on any given night. When we’re right and healthy, I’m rolling with the Pride.”