Calls don't go Hofstra's way in loss
Hofstra guard Stevie Mejia drives the ball guarded by Northeastern forward Kauri Black. (Jan. 11, 2012) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Sometimes a season hangs by a slender thread, and if that thread is holding the referee's whistle around his neck, it can change everything. To be sure, Hofstra didn't come up with enough defensive stops down the stretch against Northeastern to gets its first Colonial Athletic Association win.
But two calls that went against the Pride in the final minute of a 64-62 loss at the Mack Sports Complex Wednesday night loomed big in the end. With the score tied at 60, Hofstra's Mike Moore went up to get the rebound of a Huskies miss and knocked it out of bounds but was called for going over the back, sending Quincy Ford to the line to make two foul shots.
Nat Lester's driving layup then tied it with 41.3 seconds left, but Northeastern star Jonathan Lee pulled up for a jumper at the right elbow to give the Huskies a 64-62 lead with 9.7 seconds left. After inbounding, Lester charged up the right side and drew contact from Northeastern's Reggie Spencer, causing Lester to step out of bounds. The whistles remained silent, making it a turnover. Game over.
The loss was the fourth straight for Hofstra (6-11, 0-5 CAA). "We've lost three league games by five points," Pride coach Mo Cassara said. "We haven't been able to get a win in a close league game."
Cassara was off the bench and practically to halfcourt yelling at the officials about the foul on Moore. "I certainly was upset with the call," Cassara said. "It was still their ball. It could have been out of bounds."
In the final seconds, a similar call went the other way when Lester drew contact as he fought upcourt against the Huskies' press.
"He definitely banged me," Lester said of the defender. "I thought it was a foul, but he didn't call it, so, it wasn't a foul."
It was a tough loss to swallow for the Pride, which got 19 points from Lester, 11 from David Imes and 10 points and nine rebounds from Stephen Nwaukoni. Hofstra shot 60 percent in the second half, making layups on 12 of its 15 baskets.
The problem was at the other end, where the Huskies (7-8, 3-2) were scoring almost as easily. Lee scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half. Hofstra point guard Dwan McMillan worked hard to stay with Lee, but the game-winning shot was a virtually unstoppable pull-up jumper.
