A layup at the last-second by the North Carolina A&T State University Aggies means the Hofstra men’s basketball team stumbles into 2023 with a heartbreaking loss, 81-79, on Saturday, Dec. 31 in their first home conference match of the season.
“We got what we deserved,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton. “We had a great win against Delaware, and we thought we were [going to] come into this game and lay it down but that wasn’t the case; we just didn’t put them away.”
15 seconds left, the game is tied at 79. Hofstra redshirt senior Aaron Estrada missed a field shot and Aggies guard Kam Woods went for one of his own but missed. With the clock winding down like it’s the New Year’s Eve ball drop, Tyrese Elliott grabbed the rebound with a second remaining, released the ball from before the buzzer rang and made the field shot.
Even with the loss at hand, Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas, Darlinstone Dubar and Estrada all posted in double figures with 19, 18 and 16 points in the game respectively.
NC A&T guard Demetric Horton and forward Duncan Powell led the team to victory with 21 and 18 points in turn, shooting a combined 15-22 from the field.
Hofstra started the game with a missed two-pointer Tyler Thomas, which created a rebound opportunity for Dubar to put the Pride on the scoreboard. Horton answered with a mid-range shot of his own to tie the game at two in the following minutes. Both teams pushed back and forth to try to kick start a run for their repsective offenses.
A Horton three-pointer tied the game at nine, but smooth layups by Hofstra’s Nelson Boachie-Yiadom and Dubar created a 16-11scoring gap for the Pride with 13:58 remaining.
Hofstra’s Warren Williams’ jumper stretched that gap to 18-13. The Hofstra defense let up as proven with a Powell three from downtown and a swift mid-range by Woods tied the game once again at 18. The Pride’s offense flexed a 7-0 run for a 25-18 lead off a breakaway monstrous dunk by Williams.
Coming down the wire with 56 seconds left in the half, the Pride was up 40-33. Woods landed yet another jumpshot in the paint to tighten the score within five with 32 seconds remaining. A turnover by Hofstra’s Jaquan Carlos led to a three-attempt by Woods but missed. This sent the game into halftime with the Pride Leading 40-35.
An Aggies turnover meant that the second half opened with a massive dunk from Dubar to extend the lead to 42-35. To try and stop Pride’s offense, North Carolina used a press defense. This change did not work at first with a beyond-the-arc shot by Thomas and a mid-range floater to boost the Pride to a 10-point lead.
Hofstra remained at sea level for most of the half until a two-pointer by Elliott put the Aggies within reach of winning at 67-61 with 6:25 remaining. Hofstra’s defense started to slip, letting the Aggies cut the lead to three with another deep three by Elliott for a score of 73-70 with 3:17 left to play.
Hofstra still had the advantage with a Dubar three to give the Pride some breathing room. A lack of transitional defense on the floor proved to be Hofstra’s Achilles heel. Elliott capitalized on the host team’s weakness and tied the game at 79.
His last-second offense rebound was the final nail in the Pride’s coffin of the day.
With 2022 in the rearview mirror, the team looks ahead to the New Year, with their next opportunity on the hardwood against the Hampton University Pirates on Thursday, Jan. 5 in Hampton, Virginia at the Convocation Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Neil Miller
