Hofstra blows 13-point second-half lead, falls to North Carolina A&T at buzzer
Hofstra Pride guard Tyler Thomas (23) drives on North Carolina A&T Aggies forward Jeremy Robinson (1) during the North Carolina Aggies at the Hofstra Pride on December 31, 2022. Credit: Lee S. Weissman
The Hofstra men’s basketball team had excelled at Delaware in Thursday’s Colonial Athletic Association opener, and the Pride seemed as if they were going to put Saturday’s CAA home opener at Mack Sports Complex in the win column, too.
They led by 13 points with just under 10 minutes remaining, but then . . . “We took our foot off the gas down the stretch, and it showed,” redshirt senior guard Tyler Thomas said.
CAA newcomer North Carolina A&T floored it, and Tyrese Elliott tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer to give the Aggies an 81-79 win.
“I think we got what we deserved,” Hofstra coach Speedy Claxton said after his team fell to 8-7 overall and 1-1 in conference play. “We had a great emotional win, a great road win. Sometimes you have a letdown, and that’s what happened.”
“It’s our first win in the CAA in men’s basketball,” said North Carolina A&T interim coach Phillip Shumpert, who took over on Aug. 18. “So to beat a team of that caliber like Hofstra, it was very exhilarating for our players, our staff and our school.”
With the score tied at 79, Kam Woods failed to convert a drive, but Elliott soared in for the winning tip-in for the Aggies (6-9, 1-1). The basket originally was disallowed, but a video review determined that he had beaten the buzzer.
Claxton’s description of his team’s transition defense in the final 10 minutes of the game could be summed up in three words: “It was horrible.”
Demetric Horton, who scored 21 points, capped a 22-9 Aggies run by hitting a three-pointer to tie it at 73 with 2:37 remaining.
The Pride took a 79-75 lead on Darlinstone Dubar’s three-pointer with 1:32 left, but Woods hit a jumper in the lane to cut it to two.
After Aaron Estrada turned the ball over, Elliott hit a layup to tie it at 79. Estrada missed a jumper with 17 seconds left, setting up the finish for North Carolina A&T.
Thomas led Hofstra with 19 points, including five three-pointers, and Estrada added 18. Estrada went 0-for-5 from beyond the arc and finished 8-for-17 overall.
“He’s a good player, but I think he let his offense affect his defense,” Claxton said. “He had a couple of miscues defensively because he wasn’t totally dialed in, because he was missing shots on the offensive end. That can’t happen.”
