Hofstra Struggles Again On The Road

Hofstra walked into Draddy Gymnasium on Wednesday evening and were down 13 points without blinking an eye. Unlike their tremendous run at home over the weekend the Pride weren’t able to come all the way back.

“We’re 0-3 on the road,” said Hofstra head coach Mo Cassara. “We’ve got to find a way to get tougher and win on the road.”

Consistency seems to be an issue with the Pride early in the season. The team is still integrating all its new faces. The familiar environment of the Mack Center seems to help, but at Draddy that composure evaporated. Hofstra turned the ball over 16 times and had just 10 assists. The mistakes were well distributed too, as no player had more than three.

The Pride also didn’t help themselves at the line. Hofstra shot 15-29 from the line and those 14 misses proved the difference in a 13-point loss.

“We were very good at home this weekend where we’re comfortable,” Cassara said. “We’re not tough enough physically or mentally to win on the road yet.”

Shaquille Stokes struggled a bit against Manhattan’s pressure defense. He shot 2-10 from the field, scored four points, and had four assists and three turnovers. It was a far cry from the weekend when he 15 points, five assists and three turnovers per game in the three wins.

One stabilizing force was Taran Buie, but even his 22 points wasn’t enough.

“It just seemed like we didn’t have that same fire that we had behind us when we were at home,” Buie said. “They played harder than us. I thought we came out and played real hard in front of our fans at home and it seemed like they did that to us tonight.”

While this loss wasn’t as devastating as the two 29-point road losses the Pride suffered to start the season, it certainly wasn’t a strong effort either. Hofstra has time to learn how to win on the road. The Pride still play three non-conference road games (plus a game at the Barclays Center against Tulane) before CAA play kicks off.

The close wins over the weekend against South Dakota State and Marshall proved Cassara’s team has the talent to compete with almost anyone in the country.

Now they have to prove it to someone besides the home fans.