Senior Justin Wright-Foreman put the cherry on top of a fantastic collegiate career, but the Pride came up just short, falling 84-78 to the North Carolina State University Wolfpack on Tuesday, March 19, at James T. Valvano Arena at William Neal Reynolds Coliseum in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

Wright-Foreman tallied 29 points in one of his best performances yet. When it seemed impossible, Wright-Foreman made it possible, making shot after shot to keep the Pride in the game.

Junior Eli Pemberton struggled on the big stage, notching only two points. He dealt with foul trouble all game, providing head coach Joe Mihalich with difficulties on both ends of the floor.

Also playing in his final game was graduate student Jacquil Taylor who was a dominant presence on both sides of the ball, scoring 14 points and grabbing eight boards. 

“All these kids, what they have done for the entire university is just an incredible thing,” Mihalich said. “[Wright-Foreman] led the way, but he had great teammates.”

The game got off to a vintage Hofstra start, thanks in part to Taylor: fast-paced and high-tempo. Taylor lost the tip-off but hustled back on defense to send away the Wolfpack’s first shot.

Down on the offensive end, Taylor outran the five men in red and white, securing the Pride’s first points of the contest on a casual layup.

For the next ten minutes, it was a back-and-forth, even matchup. Both teams started 1-5 from the field, leading to ten total possessions in the first two minutes.

However, the Pride started facing some adversity. Pemberton quickly took two charging fouls, putting Hofstra in trouble early. The Wolfpack’s high-pressure defense forced the Pride to take a few bad shots, and NC State began to build a slight cushion on their lead.

But just like the Pride has done all season, they did not back down. Tareq Coburn fired up a three-pointer from the corner while getting fouled, securing a four-point play to put his team up 19-17, the sixth lead change of the game.

Officiating was interestingly a factor early. Markell Johnson was issued a technical foul for slapping the backboard after a dunk, giving Desure Buie a free-throw. On the next possession, Wright-Foreman had a dunk of his own and held onto the backboard for a brief second but did not receive a technical foul to the dismay of the NC State sold-out crowd.

The shootout continued throughout the first half. Jalen Ray put home a huge three-pointer off a Coburn dish, and Wright-Foreman followed it up with an impressive, and-one finish to improve the lead to five points.

Toward the end of a first half defined by offense, Taylor stepped up defensively, coming up with two blocks in a row. Wright-Foreman made the Wolfpack pay, putting home two free throws, improving his first half point total to 17.

On the final possession of the half, Torin Dorn drove past Coburn, finishing with his right hand to cut the deficit to three points. 

“We were up five and didn’t read a pass,” Mihalich said. “We could have gone up eight but gave up the momentum.”

The Pride took a 42-39 lead into halftime against a team that was expecting an NCAA tournament bid. The Wolfpack’s play this year was good enough to earn a No. 33 ranking in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), which is used to evaluate which schools make the 68-team field.

This led to an interesting storyline coming into the matchup. Wolfpack AD Debbie Yow made headlines on Monday, March 19, when she said the Wolfpack should have made the NCAA Tournament.

Perhaps this put some added pressure on the backs of the Wolfpack, or maybe it just took 20 minutes of play for the team to become acclimated to the Pride in the NIT.

The Wolfpack came out firing after halftime, scoring five consecutive points to take a 44-42 lead. A few possessions later, C.J. Bryce grabbed an offensive rebound and put home the and-one basket. It was Pemberton’s fourth foul of the evening, so he was sent to the bench.

Great defense from the Wolfpack led to offensive chances, and the team began to run away with the game as the second half moved onward. NC State quickly went on a 9-0 run before Wright-Foreman attempted to change the narrative with a clutch drive from the corner that ended in two points.

After a Johnson three-pointer, NC State increased their lead to nine points, the largest lead of the game. It seemed like the game was over, but Wright-Foreman would have none of that.

In the waning minutes of Wright-Foreman’s career, he split two defenders in a highlight reel play. The next possession he hit a clutch, deep three-pointer. Just like that, it was a two-point game with 2:24 on the clock.

On the other end, Johnson drove to the basket, attacked the zone and finished to improve the Wolfpack’s cushion. After a timeout, the Pride had another chance to pounce. 

Wright-Foreman, the catalyst all night, drove to the basket, but after a miss, Taylor was there to finish the play. In a game that once seemed over, the Pride was rolling.

However, Johnson was once again the hero. He matched the Pride’s comeback effort, finishing with yet another drive, this time getting fouled along the way to put the nail on the coffin.

While it ended with a loss, this game was the cherry on top of a beautiful, masterful, poetic career from Wright-Foreman. His ability to single-handedly will the Pride to greatness came up just short, but he put on one last show.

The kid from Queens will go down as perhaps the greatest basketball player in Hofstra history, ending his career as the school’s second all-time leading scorer. For years, he enlightened everyone who watched him play, including his coach. 

“[Wright-Foreman] is incredible,” Mihalich said. “He is an incredible player and an incredible story. The bigger the game, the better he is. Fearless.”