Hofstra falls to William & Mary on shot in final 10 seconds
Hofstra Pride guard Aaron Estrada during a game against the Molloy Lions at Hofstra on Nov. 24. Credit: Lee S. Weissman/Lee S. Weissman
Jalen Ray hit a three-pointer with 31 seconds left to give Hofstra a three-point lead, but William & Mary scored the game’s final four points, including a basket with 10 seconds left by Julian Lewis to lift it over the Pride, 63-62, on Wednesday evening at Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Junior Aaron Estrada led Hofstra with 21 points, and Ray added 20. Redshirt senior Abayomi Iyiola had 11 rebounds to lead Hofstra.
Hofstra saw its three-game win streak come to an end as it falls to 8-6 and 0-1 in Colonial Athletic Association play. William & Mary ends its six-game skid and improved to 2-12 and 1-0.
Hofstra trailed by four at the break as the Pride was unable to get on track offensively in the opening 20 minutes, shooting just 28.6% from the field. Ray led Hofstra with 11 points in the first half as he drained a trio of three-pointers.
Hofstra got its first two field goals of the game from Abayomi and graduate student Zach Cooks to tie the score at four with 16:56 left. The Pride took its first lead of the game as Ray drained a three-pointer and Estrada followed with a bucket to make it 11-10 with 13:22 left before halftime. An Estrada basket later in the half gave the Pride its largest lead of the opening stanza at 25-21, but William & Mary outscored Hofstra 9-1 in the final few minutes of the first half to take a four-point lead at the break.
Six straight points by Estrada to open the second half would put the Pride back in front at 32-30 with 18:21 left in regulation. The score would stay close for the entirety of the contest with Hofstra pushing the lead back to four, 50-46, with just over 10 minutes left as senior Omar Silverio and Estrada scored.
William & Mary used an 8-0 run to turn a four-point deficit into a 54-50 lead with 7:28 left. The lead would be at five with under four minutes left until Ray and Silverio helped the Pride knot the score at 59 with 2:13 left. Ray came up big as he drained a three-pointer to give Hofstra a 62-59 advantage with 31 seconds left. It was not to be for the Pride, though, as Ben Wight hit a layup and Lewis scored the winner to win it for he home team.
