HEMPSTEAD, N.Y — The standard sports cliché when key people are missing is “next man up.” Often, that refers to players. On occasion, it could be a coach. Rarely does it mean trying to gut out a big win without a head coach, a starter, and a key rotational player, but that’s exactly what the Hofstra Pride faced on Saturday afternoon.
No matter though.
Despite missing fourth-year head coach Craig “Speedy” Claxton and starting junior guard Jaquan Sanders (both out for personal reasons), as well as senior guard German Plotnikov (who had a lower leg injury), Hofstra built an 11-point second-half lead and held on for a 66-63 Colonial Athletic Association win over the North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex…