Hofstra holds on to top Drexel, clinch share of CAA title
Hofstra Pride guard Justin Wright-Foreman shoots a foul shot against the James Madison University Dukes on Saturday. Credit: Lee S. Weissman/Lee S. Weissman
Hofstra clinched a share of the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title, and the top seed in the conference tournament, on Thursday night, but it wasn’t easy as the Pride held on for an 80-77 victory over host Drexel.
The game came down to the wire as Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman was whistled for his fifth foul on Camren Wynter’s shot attempt with two seconds to play and the Pride nursing a 4-point lead.
Wynter, a Hempstead native and Holy Trinity grad, connected on his first free throw, but the next two missed the mark, the final one careening off the side of the rim. Hofstra fumbled the rebound out of bounds, giving Drexel (13-17, 7-10) a last chance.
On the ensuing inbound, Alihan Demir, who led the Dragons with 24 points, had a clear shot at the top of the arc, but he came up short as time expired.
It was a dramatic ending to a game that Hofstra (24-6, 14-3) struggled to control. The teams exchanged leads 12 times and shot near-identical percentages from the floor. The difference for Hofstra was Wright-Foreman who, despite the late-game foul trouble, finished with a game-high 32 points on 12-of-23 shooting. He also scored seven of Hofstra’s final 13 points in the last four minutes of regulation.
Desure Buie and Eli Pemberton both chipped in 15 points for the Pride.
Hofstra, who hold a one-game lead over Northeastern in the conference standings, now turn to the regular-season finale, taking on Delaware on the road at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
