Hard-luck Pride drops to 0-7 in CAA
Hofstra University's Moussa Kone appears momentarily dazed after taking a charge from Drexel University's Derrick Thomas in the second half. (Jan. 18, 2012) Credit: James Escher
It might be cold consolation, but if you judge Hofstra simply on effort and competitiveness, you'd never believe the Pride is 0-7 in the Colonial Athletic Association. But that's the reality Hofstra is facing after losing another down-to-the-wire conference game to Drexel, 56-50, Wednesday night at the Mack Sports Complex.
The Pride (6-13, 0-7 CAA) overcame a ton of adversity, some of it self-inflicted, such as silly fouls far from the basket that helped the Dragons (13-5, 5-2) get to the line to hit 17 of 28 foul shots, an early 0-for-12 shooting drought and David Imes' accidental tip-in of a missed Drexel foul shot to give the Dragons a 39-34 lead midway through the second half.
Imes' misfortune was the kind of thing that makes a team feel snakebit, but the Pride fought back admirably to take a brief 40-39 lead and keep it close to the final seconds. Imes himself swatted away three Drexel shots and then converted a hard-nosed three-point play with 1:15 left to cut the Dragons' lead to 49-47.
"I can't even explain what happened,'' Imes said incredulously of his own goal. "I knew after that I would have to make it up some way.''
After a Drexel basket, Hofstra's Mike Moore, who had a team-high 13 points, drilled a right-wing three-pointer with 35 seconds left to cut the deficit to 51-50. Drexel's Frantz Massenat (10 points, 10 rebounds, six assists) made only the first of two free throws at the other end for a two-point lead, and then Moore drove all the way to the rim, drawing a whistle from the referee.
But instead of going to the foul line, the call went against Moore for charging, even though his defender was in the cylinder beneath the basket.
That play ended the Pride's hopes when the Dragons' Damion Lee hit both foul shots for a 54-50 advantage.
Speaking of the critical call that went against him, Moore said, "I definitely want to see the tape. I thought [the defender] was under me. It seems every play goes against us.''
Drexel, the preseason CAA favorite, has won 11 of its past 12 games. It got 13 points from guard Chris Fouch off the bench, and Daryl McCoy's 11 rebounds helped the Dragons to a 41-35 advantage on the boards. Nat Lester was the only other double-figures scorer for Hofstra with 10 points.
Five of the Pride's CAA losses have been by six or fewer points and have come down to the last minute to be decided.
"We've been in every game,'' Moore said. "I told the guys I played for a losing team at Fordham, and I don't feel like we're a losing team. Mentally, we haven't broken yet. We're fighting on."
