Pecora Reaches Milestone, Pride Finally Win in Fairfax
FAIRFAX, Va. – Tom Pecora remembers the early days of his head coaching career, and they weren’t pretty. The days are certainly better for him now, as he picked up his 100th career victory with Hofstra’s 68-60 win at George Mason on Saturday.
In his first season at the helm, his Hofstra team went 8-21 after consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. That year, he inherited a team that lost seven seniors from the year before, and it showed. Now, with a team that is contending, the Pride has broken a couple of road hexes they previously had, as Pecora summed up.
“We won at Trask (Coliseum, at UNC Wilmington) this year for the first time ever, and we won here. That’s a good feeling,” Pecora reflected.
Saturday’s game was much-anticipated before the season, as the teams were picked atop the CAA by coaches, sports information directors and media. Instead of being the anticipated first place showdown, it involved a Hofstra team hoping to inch closer to the top spot and a George Mason team that has been up and down and entered the day having lost three of four.
With the win, Hofstra is now tied with Old Dominion for second place in the CAA, one game behind VCU after the Monarchs beat the Rams earlier in the day in Norfolk. The win is also Hofstra’s first at the Patriot Center in five tries.
The Pride held the lead for much of the first half, but could never break it open as the lead went as high as six. In the second half, they lost and regained the lead, but even when the Patriots took the lead around the midpoint of the second half, it never felt like they were ready to take over the game.
Hofstra scored eight unanswered points to take a 61-48 lead with 1:35 left, seemingly sealing the game. At that point, the Patriots stormed back with 12 points in 55 seconds, but the Pride made free throws in the final minute to seal the game once and for all.
Hofstra won despite not getting much on the stat sheet from their frontcourt, an ongoing concern. Chris Gadley fouled out in 17 minutes, while Mike Davis-Sabb had four rebounds in 16 minutes. Rescuing the unit was sophomore Arminas Urbutis, who had nine points and 11 rebounds in 23 minutes.
“To go get 11 rebounds in 23 minutes, that’s an incredible job,” said Pecora.
Neither team put on an offensive clinic as both shot below 40 percent from the field. George Mason’s struggles there were noteworthy in that this has plagued them of late. They shot just 34 percent from the field, including 4-16 from long range.
“It’s a carbon copy of every game against a team that is in front of us,” said Patriots head coach Jim Larranaga. “We play good enough defense to keep ourselves in the game, but we don’t shoot the ball well enough, we don’t share the ball well enough to win the ballgame.”
Other Notable Games
Florida 64, Kentucky 61: It was a close call, but the Gators held on in front of the largest crowd in Rupp Arena’s history.
West Virginia 70, UCLA 65: This is the signature non-conference win West Virginia needed to strengthen its case for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. At this rate, the Mountaineers look to be in good shape based on what they’ve done to this point.
North Carolina 104, Wake Forest 67: The Tar Heels steamroll the struggling Demon Deacons to move into a tie atop the ACC with an 8-2 mark.
Virginia Tech 84, Virginia 57: The Hokies needed this to get back on track after a couple of very unimpressive showings in losses to North Carolina State and Boston College.
Georgetown 76, Marquette 58: It was a battle of size against speed, and size won out as the Hoyas won going away. That vaults them into second place ahead of the Golden Eagles.
Tennessee 84, Vanderbilt 57: The Volunteers remain undefeated at home, cooling off the hot Commodores.
Indiana 66, Illinois 61: The Illini could have used this one, as they fall to 6-6 in Big Ten play.
Southern Illinois 72, Creighton 68: The Salukis take over sole possession of first place in the Missouri Valley and extend their winning streak to seven games.
Missouri State 62, Northern Iowa 58: The fifth straight win for the Bears now includes three away from home. They’re two games out of first in the Missouri Valley, while the Panthers are now 7-8 and have lost six of seven.
Old Dominion 79, VCU 63: The Monarchs make it interesting atop the CAA, pulling within a game of the Rams. Arnaud Dahi (22 points) led the way, continuing his hot play of late.
Wright State 77, Butler 65: The Raiders take a half-game lead in the Horizon League with a big home win, getting 30 points from DaShaun Wood.
Arizona 77, Oregon 74: Chase Budinger’s big game (30 points, 10 rebounds) helps the Wildcats win their third straight. The road team won both games between these two teams this season.
Villanova 78, Seton Hall 69: A good road win for the Wildcats, and another loss that moves Seton Hall closer to not making the Big East Tournament.
Mississippi 75, Alabama 69: Another loss for Alabama and another good win for Ole Miss creates a tie atop the SEC West.
Mississippi State 91, Auburn 83: The Tigers have now lost three straight after being right in the thick of the SEC West race.
LSU 71, Arkansas 67: The Tigers play spoiler and deal a blow to any at-large hopes the Razorbacks might have.
San Diego State 80, Colorado State 66: The Aztecs have won four straight and have UNLV in front of them in more ways than one – their next game (home) and in the standings.
Rutgers 73, Cincinnati 69: The Scarlet Knights win the battle of Big East bottom-feeders.
Austin Peay 52, Samford 50: A big road win for the Governors, who go two games up on the Bulldogs in the Ohio Valley and sweep the season series.
Oakland 64, Valparaiso 61: The Golden Grizzlies stay right on the heels of Oral Roberts at the top of the Mid-Continent.
