Elon, NC - Senior Eli Pemberton had 26 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, while fellow senior Desure Buie posted 18 points and 11 assists to lead the Hofstra men's basketball team to a commanding 86-63 victory over Elon on Thursday evening at the Schar Center. The double-double was the first of the season and the third of the career for Buie. 

The win was the Pride's eighth road victory of the season, tying Hofstra with San Diego State, Stephen F. Austin, Vermont, and William & Mary for the most in the nation. 

Hofstra improves to 16-7 overall and 7-3 in Colonial Athletic Association play with the win. Elon falls to 6-17 and 2-8 in league action. 

Back-to-back three-pointers from Pemberton and Buie would erase a narrow one-point deficit for the Pride early on and give Hofstra a 9-4 advantage with 16:54 left in the opening stanza. Next up would be junior Jalen Ray and Buie teaming up with back-to-back trifectas to push the advantage to nine, 15-6. Hofstra would continue to hold a considerable lead throughout the first half and pushed the lead to 13 after a three-point play from sophomore Isaac Kante with 4:38 on the clock that made it 33-20. The Pride took its largest lead of the half on a three-pointer from sophomore Omar Silverio with 2:55 showing as Hofstra opened up a 38-24 lead. The Phoenix was able to close the gap down the stretch as they scored the final seven points of the half to make it a seven-point game at the break. 

Elon opened the second half scoring with a Zac Irvin three-pointer to close the gap to four and make it a 10-0 run spanning the halves. Hofstra immediately responded, though, and scored nine straight points to make it 49-36 with 15:30 left in regulation following a three-pointer from Pemberton. After Elon closed to within eight, 52-44, on a Kris Wooten three-pointer, Hofstra scored eight consecutive points to open up a 60-44 advantage after another three-pointer from Pemberton. The Pride would never seriously be challenged the rest of the way as they went on to capture the commanding road victory. 

Kante added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Pride, which also got 14 points from Ray. Buie added four steals and four rebounds to his total. Marcus Sheffield II had 21 points to lead Elon. while Hunter Woods added 16. 

Hofstra continues the road trip on Saturday when it heads to William & Mary for a 4 p.m. contest. 

NOTES
- Hofstra is now 10-3 all-time against Elon in a series that began during the 2009-10 campaign. Hofstra has won five straight in the series, including both meetings a season ago and the season sweep this year. 
- Hofstra hit a season-high 15 three-pointers in the game. The previous high of 13 came against Elon back on January 4. 
- Buie moved into 31st all-time at Hofstra in scoring with 1,115 career points. He passed Richie Swartz, who had 1,107 points from 1959-62.