Omar Silverio could do no wrong Saturday afternoon.
The senior guard on the Hofstra men’s basketball team made his first six shots coming off the bench — including a four-point play — as Silverio scored 28 points in Hofstra’s 98-84 victory over Detriot Mercy in non-conference play at Hofstra’s Mack Sports Complex Saturday.
Silverio scored 28 points on 9-for-13 shooting, including 8-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. His eight three-pointers tied a school record and he had 22 points, including hitting all six three-point attempts, in the first half.
“It just felt like another game, another day in the office,” Silverio said. “I trust myself and … the coaches put me in a good position and they always tell me to keep it simple.”
Coach Speedy Claxton loves the instant offense Silverio brings off the bench.
“A really good game from Omar and that’s what we expect of him,” Claxton said. “Coming off the bench, we want him to be our sixth man and add some scoring and he’s been doing that all year and hopefully he will continue to do that.”
Silverio, who ranks fifth on the team with 11.1 points per game, is shooting 57 percent from deep over the last five games.
The guard’s lights-out first-half performance helped the Pride open a 57-33 lead at halftime. Hofstra (3-4) never trailed after scoring the game’s first seven points and opened a 21-point advantage after a Jalen Ray basket gave the Pride a 40-19 lead with 6:49 remaining in the first half.
Hofstra scored a season-high 98 points in the victory, shooting 62.5 percent from the field, including 52 percent from beyond the arc. The Pride shot 72.4 percent, including 64.3 percent from deep, in the first half.
Silverio credited the team’s offensive success to the coaching staff allowing them to play free.
“They let us hoop, make the smart plays,” Silverio said. “No one needs to be the hero and everybody can score on the team, basically. We sacrifice ourselves, we sacrifice for the team and basically just share the ball and everybody eats.”
Zach Cooks added 20 points, five assists and five steals, Aaron Estrada had 16 points and nine assists and Ray had 15 points in the win.
But Detriot Mercy (0-5) fought back in the second half, cutting Hofstra’s lead to nine points with 11:29 remaining in the second half. Silverio was there for the Pride at that moment — like he was much of the game — hitting a key three-pointer to give Hofstra a 75-63 lead with 11:05 remaining in the second half and sparking a 9-0 run for the Pride.
“That was a huge shot,” Claxton said. “They were making their run and that kind of put them at bay. … He had a great game tonight. We’re thankful.”
Claxton said he felt the team “let up in the second half,” but he’s proud of how Hofstra responded to pull away late and win its second-straight game.
“We’re getting close to playing the correct way and Hofstra basketball the whole game,” Claxton said. “That is our goal and at some point, we’re going to get there.”
