McLendon's clutch free throws lift Hofstra

Was a magical Hofstra season teetering on the brink? It sure looked like it Saturday when Northeastern came to the Mack Sports Complex on a four-game winning streak and powered to a 14-point lead with 9:26 left.

The Pride was fighting a three-game losing streak and facing two Colonial Athletic Association road games this week, and leader Charles Jenkins was seconds away from picking up his fourth foul and going to the bench. Desperate times for sure.

But if there's one thing first-year coach Mo Cassara has discovered about his team, it's a tough-minded attitude at the end of games. Somehow Hofstra found the resolve to play rugged defense down the stretch and pulled out a 78-75 victory when freshman Shemiye McLendon hit four straight free throws, two to take the lead at 1:56 and two more with 6.4 seconds left. That forced the Huskies to look for a three-pointer they never got off.

Hofstra scored the game's final 10 points, holding Northeastern without a field goal in the final 4:28 and without a point in the final 3:52.

"I told our team in the locker room that the thing I'm most proud of is we never give up,'' Cassara said. "Our defense the last five minutes was unbelievable. Yves Jules off the bench gave an unbelievable effort , and Greg Washington did some unbelievable things. Ultimately, we were able to throw the ball ahead and get some easy baskets.''

As for McLendon's clinching free throws, it was something the Pride (15-9, 9-4 CAA) has seen before. McLendon made two to force overtime in a comeback win over James Madison, and he made two with a one-point lead in the final seconds against William & Mary.

"One thing about Shemiye is he doesn't change his demeanor whether it's snowing or sunny or we're up or down,'' Cassara said. "He's been able to step up and make some big shots for us.''

For the first 30 minutes, the Huskies (8-16, 4-9) had their way inside. Allen led five double-figures scorers with 21 points, followed by Joel Smith (14), Kauri Black (13 points, seven rebounds), Ryan Pierson (12 points) and Jonathan Lee (10 points, eight assists).

But Hofstra's Mike Moore (11 rebounds) became more aggressive on offense in the second half, scoring 12 of his 16 points. Jenkins scored nine of his 21 in the final 5:31, Brad Kelleher had 12 points and six assists, and Washington added eight points, six rebounds and four assists.

Lee's three-pointer gave Northeastern a 66-52 lead with just under 91/2 minutes to play, and Jenkins went to the bench with his fourth foul with 8:44 remaining. After he returned at 6:25, he hit a layup and a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 71-68.

Northeastern pushed it back to 75-68 on two foul shots by Allen with 3:52 to play, but the Huskies missed their final five shots and committed two turnovers during the Pride's game-ending 10-0 run.

A layup by Moore and two layups by Jenkins brought Hofstra within 75-74, but Jenkins - who went 2-for-7 from the free-throw line - couldn't turn the second into a tying three-point play with 2:12 remaining.

After McLendon's two free throws gave Hofstra a 76-75 lead, Allen missed a three-pointer with the 6-10 Washington bothering his shot. Jenkins missed a tough shot with 21 seconds left but then came from behind to get a piece of Smith's baseline jumper before Washington swatted it off Smith's body and out of bounds.

The Huskies quickly fouled McLendon (nine points), who knocked down two more free throws.

"All I'm thinking is: 'It's going in, it's going in,' '' McLendon said. "We've been in this situation before, and we knew we had to close this game out strong, and that's what we did.''