The Hofstra men’s basketball team defeated Drexel University by a final score of 88-76 on Saturday at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. With the win, the Pride improves to 10-6 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play advancing and advance to third place in the race for first, while the Dragons fall to 5-11.
Early on, the score was not tallying in Hofstra’s favor, as Drexel closed out the first half in the lead, with a score of 34-32. However, this deficit did not slow down the Pride, who came roaring back in the second half to take a 54-39 lead.
The driving force in the second half was sparked by junior Desure Buie, who scored nine of the first 22 points totaled by the offense.
“He runs the offense for us,” said Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich. “You need a strong stir of the drink and that’s what Desure does for us,” said Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich after the game.
Continuing with the late offensive surge, junior Justin Wright-Foreman scored 22 points in the second half, adding to his game-high total of 32. Wright-Foreman also had luck finding open teammates in crucial moments, particularly when he passed to sophomore Stafford Trueheart for an alley-oop opportunity. He added six assists to his total of 13 for the weekend.
“It reflects how hard I worked in the offseason … Coming into this year, I knew I had to get my teammates more involved,” Wright-Foreman said about his success finding his teammates.
“We communicate with each other. When one player speaks, everybody listens,” Buie said.
In addition to the offensive highlights, both Rokas Gustys and Eli Pemberton notched double-doubles, the second of Pemberton’s career.
The team undoubtedly appears to be playing their best as they wind down their CAA play. They have won five of their last seven games and. wWhile Mihalich does agree withacknowledge the team’s heightened performance as of late, he recognizes the work that still lies ahead.
“We could still play better and we’re still making mistakes,” Mihalich said. “ …Yeah, there’s a good feeling about us right now and we want to keep building on that.,” Mihalich said.
Hofstra will continue CAA play on the road against James Madison University on Thursday, Feb. 22.
