The Hofstra University men’s basketball team lost their third straight game after falling short to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T) 79-78 on Thursday, Jan. 22. The loss dropped the Pride to 4-3 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play, while the Aggies improved to 1-6 on the season.
The Pride lit up the scoreboard in the first half, putting up 53 points and connecting on 10 3-pointers to take a 13-point lead into halftime. The trio of Cruz Davis, Jaeden Roberts and Preston Edmead combined for 51 points, with Davis scoring 20, Roberts 17 and Edmead 14.
The Aggies outscored the Pride 39-25 in the second half. Turning the page, the Aggies went on a 13-0 run with 14 minutes left to play. Trent Middleton Jr. added on by scoring 16 of his 20 points after the break.
Freshman guard Lewis Walker, N.C. A&T’s leading scorer this season and fifth highest scorer in the CAA in points per game at 17.7, recorded 24 points in the contest.
The Aggies turned offense into defense, tallying three blocks and holding the Pride to 24% from the field and 18.8% from behind the arc. In the final two and a half minutes, Hofstra struggled to score, attempting just two shots and failing to record a field goal.
On the glass, the Pride were outrebounded 27-12, which was highlighted by Zamoku Weluche-Ume grabbing 10 rebounds for the Aggies. He is currently sixth in the CAA in rebounds at 6.9 per game.
The Pride saw themselves down two points as the clock reached 23 seconds. Davis earned a trip to the line to tie the game at 78 apiece.
With time winding down, Middleton Jr. drove to the basket and drew a foul out of Silas Sunday, sending Sunday to the bench for his fifth foul and Middleton to the free-throw line to seal the game for the Aggies.
Sunday was one of three players to foul out in the final minutes. Joshua Decady and Victory Onuetu picked up five fouls each, leaving Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton with only five players.
With Davis reaching the 30-point mark for the fourth time this season, Edmead contributing 20 points and Roberts scoring a career-high 20 points, this marked the first time since Dec. 12, 2021, that the Pride had three players score 20 or more points in the same game.
The Pride was back in action on Saturday, Jan. 24, against the College of William and Mary for the first time this season. Tipoff was set for noon.
