The Hofstra men’s basketball team came away with the win on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex on Monday, Jan. 17. The Pride defeated the Dragons of Drexel University by a score of 71-68.
With this win, the Pride is now 11-7 overall, with a 3-2 record in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. Drexel is now 7-7 overall with this loss, with a CAA record of 2-2. Hofstra is now 48-47 all-time against the Dragons and has won 10 out of the last 11 meetings between the two.
“Great team win, credit to Drexel, they came here ready to play,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton. “I think for a stretch there, they were the more physical team, but we picked it up.”
Hofstra was led by Aaron Estrada, who was one of three Pride performers to score double digits in the game. Estrada, who is averaging 16.4 points per game, scored 26 in this game. That gives him 56 points total in the last two games.
“This is a good time for all college players to just work on their game,” Estrada said. “I feel like without me having to be worried about school right now, I’m able to work on my game a lot more, and just working on my game builds a lot of confidence.”
“[Estrada]’s a hell of a player,” Claxton said. “He’s a three-level scorer, and when you have a three-level scorer, it’s kind of dangerous because you can’t really stop him in a full screen situation because he can hit the three, he can hit the pull, and he’s shifting around the basket where his finishes are strong.
Drexel started the game with a 5-0 run and held the lead until a three by Jalen Ray put the Pride up 11-10. Drexel went up 20-13 after an 8-0 run with 9:59 left in the first half. The Pride battled and tied the game at 26 with 5:31 remaining on a rebound and put-back by Jarrod Simmons. There were 23 lead changes and five times where the game was tied.
With 48 seconds left in the second half, Estrada hit a baseline jumper to give Hofstra a 67-66 lead, a lead that held until the end of the game. Darlinstone Dubar hit two free throws with 16 seconds left to make it a three-point margin. Drexel managed to get a bucket to get within one, but Estrada made two more free throws to seal the game.
Ray and Dubar had 18 and 15 points, respectively. Ray went 8-14 from the field, with two three-pointers. He is now one three-pointer shy of tying Justyn Wright-Foreman for second place on Hofstra’s all-time three-point list. Dubar went 5-8 from the floor and 4-4 from the free throw line. Abayomi Iyiola led the Pride with nine rebounds.
Hofstra returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 22 in Boston. It will take on the Huskies of Northeastern University at Matthews Arena, with the game beginning at 12 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
