Justin Wright-Foreman’s 26 points not enough as Hofstra falls to Charleston

Justin Wright-Foreman’s 26-point effort wasn’t enough Saturday as Hofstra ran up an 18-point lead before falling, 76-70, at Charleston.

The Pride (12-8, 5-3 Colonial Athletic Association) led by 18 with 5:11 left in the first half and took a 40-31 lead into halftime. Charleston’s Joe Chealey scored 26 of his 33 points in the second half.

Chealey made a pair of free throws with 5:04 remaining to give Charleston (14-6, 5-3) its first lead of the game, 61-60. Eli Pemberton made a free throw on the ensuing Hofstra possession to tie the game, but Chealey answered with a three-pointer to give Charleston the lead for good.

“Tough loss but I’m really proud of this team,” Pride coach Joe Mihalich said. “To come here, this is the best team in the league . . . Our guys played their hearts out . . . In the end, we just didn’t do the things we had to do. Especially guard the ball.”

Wright-Foreman, who got his 16th 20-point game of the season and is averaging a team-high 25.1 points, was 9-for-18 from the field. The junior guard also had four assists and no turnovers. Teammate Rokas Gustys had 10 points, shooting 5-for-6, and also had eight rebounds.

Defense continues to be an issue for the Pride, which came into Saturday tied for 290th out of the 351 Division I teams in points allowed per game (78.3). Though Charleston was only 3-for-17 from three-point range Saturday, it shot 63.9 percent from inside the arc.

Grant Riller added 25 points and shot 11-for-14 for the Cougars.

With Chealey making 14 of 15 from the foul line in the second half, Charleston was 19-for-22, including 7-for-8 in the final 1:46 while Hofstra missed four of its last five shots.

Chealey had 10 points, including the last eight, in a 15-2 run that tied the game at 54 midway through the second half. His three with 4 1⁄2 minutes left broke a tie and the Cougars never trailed.