The Hofstra Men's Basketball team picked up one of the signature wins in the history of the program when it defeated Big East rival St. John's 81-64 on the road on Tuesday evening at Alumni Hall.
The victory was only the second all-time for Hofstra in the 23 meetings between the schools. St. John's won the first 19 match-ups before the Pride broke through for an 86-80 win over the Red Storm during the 2000-01 season in a game played next door to Hofstra's campus at Nassau Coliseum. This time, though, Hofstra traveled to the Red Storm's home gym and dominated from start to finish, leading by 19 points at halftime (43-24) and by as many as 27 points in the second half (53-26), before settling for the 81-64 victory.
It was Hofstra's fourth-ever win against a Big East team in 20 tries, including the two wins over St. John's and two wins over Rutgers in 1999-2000 and 2000-01, both of which came at the ECAC Holiday Festival. It also ended a stretch in which Hofstra has played four straight road games against Big East and ACC teams, including Georgia Tech (75-56 loss on Nov. 20), Providence (69-56 loss on Nov. 22) and Maryland (87-72 loss on Nov. 29).
In addition to the St. John's wins, Hofstra's two America East Championship wins over Delaware in 2000 and 2001, as well as its two ECAC Holiday Festival championships in 1998 and 1999 (featuring wins over Georgia Tech, Penn, Rutgers and Fordham) rank among the top wins for the program. The best team that the Pride has ever beaten, though, may in fact be Kent State, which it defeated 67-64 on November 23, 2001. It was the second career game in Head Coach Tom Pecora's tenure, and was held at the University Hoops Classic in Pittsburgh. That Kent State team went on to reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Indiana.
In Tuesday's St. John's win, all five starters scored in double figures for Hofstra, led by junior forward Kenny Adeleke (Brooklyn, NY/Robeson) and freshman guard Carlos Rivera (Miami, FL/Miami Christian) with 20 points apiece. Adeleke added 13 rebounds for his 25th career double-double (and first this season) and also tallied three blocked shots. Rivera, meanwhile, shot 7-of-8 from the floor and 5-of-6 from three-point territory to set the highest point total of his young career. Rivera has started the first five games this season for the Pride, making him the first freshman to become a full-time starter right away since Craig 'Speedy" Claxton, now of the Golden State Warriors, in 1996-97.
Senior forward Danny Walker (Brooklyn, NY/Robeson) added 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half on five three-pointers to help the Pride thwart any St. John's comeback hopes. Walker, who missed all of last season with a severe ankle sprain, was the only player on this year's Pride team who also played in the previous Hofstra win over St. John's, when he had seven points off the bench.
Sophomore point guard Gibran Washington (Jacksonville, FL/Mandarin - pictured) had 10 points and 12 assists, the highest assist total for a Pride player since Claxton also had 12 in a game against Northeastern in January of 2000. He also had only two turnovers in 36 minutes of playing time.
Junior center Wendell Gibson (Far Rockaway, NY/Archbishop Molloy) added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor, continuing his torrid offensive pace. Gibson, who leads the Pride with 13.4 points per game, is shooting 63.4 percent on the year and 83.3 percent at the foul line, including 14 made free throws in a row.
The Pride will next be in action when it travels to Columbia on Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest, which will be televised live on Fox Sports New York.
Notes from Hofstra-St. John's
o Hofstra shot 54.4 percent from the floor (31-57), marking the 22nd time in a row that it has won when shooting over 50 percent, including both wins this season. The last time Hofstra shot 50 percent or better and lost was also at St. John's (Alumni Hall) in December of 1999, when the Red Storm won 98-86.
o The win was also Hofstra's 21st in a row when scoring 80 or more points, dating back to an 85-81 loss at Delaware on January 9, 2000.
o Hofstra outrebounded St. John's 34-30, the fifth straight game it has held the rebounding edge and the 27th in the 34 games since the start of last year. In 66 games under head coach Tom Pecora, the Pride has only been outrebounded 15 times.
o Hofstra made 11 three-pointers, including five apiece from Danny Walker and Carlos Rivera. It is the first time in school history that two teammates have made five three-pointers in the same game.
o Hofstra's 11 three-pointers marked the seventh time in the last 16 games that Hofstra has hit 10 or more three-pointers, including twice this season (both of its wins). Prior to the current stretch, the Pride never once had 10 or more three-pointers in the first 50 games of the Tom Pecora era.
o Hofstra had 22 assists and only 11 turnovers. The 22 assists was the highest total for the Pride since it had 22 in a win at Towson on February 1, 2001. The last time it had more than 22 was when it had 23 in a home win over Hartford on January 16, 2000.
o The 11 turnovers matched Hofstra's lowest total in a regular season game in the last two seasons. It also had 11 in a season-opening win over Marist this year.
o Gibran Washington's 12 assists tripled his previous career-high of four, set last season at Towson and matched this season against Marist.
o The last time a Hofstra player had more than 12 assists was when Speedy Claxton tallied 13 in a game against New Hampshire on February 20, 1998. The school record of 16 was set by Robbie Weingard against Bloomfield in 1983-84.
o Kenny Adeleke has averaged 13.0 rebounds in Hofstra's two wins this season and 5.3 rebounds in its three losses.
o Kenny Adeleke's three-pointer in the first half was the second of his career. The first came with three seconds left in a 69-67 loss at Virginia Commonwealth as a freshman.
o Carlos Rivera's 20-point effort was the first 20-point game for a Hofstra freshman since former guard Joel Suarez had 22 in his collegiate debut on November 17, 2001 against Northern Illinois.
