Hofstra’s late rally fell just short after the College of Charleston blocked Justin Wright-Foreman’s game-winning shot attempt with four seconds left to play Thursday night at the Mack Sports Complex, losing 76-72.
Hofstra’s significant comeback came as a result from some key stops on the defensive side of the ball along with well-timed shots going through the net for players like Brian Bernardi, Justin Wright-Foreman, Rokas Gustys and Deron Powers.
Wright-Foreman led the Pride with 26 points, with 15 of those coming off of three-pointers, marking his 18th consecutive game in double figures. Bernardi, who was right behind him in the category, finished with 21 that came all from beyond the arc.
Hofstra’s two big-time shot-makers were the spark the Pride needed offensively as they closed a staggering 15-point Cougar lead to just one with 16 seconds remaining.
In an effort to close the game out within the final seconds, Wright-Foreman pulled up for three right at the top of the arc.
A lunging Nick Harris from Charleston was able to stretch out and deflect the shot attempt, ultimately leading to the loss of possession by the Pride, plus a pair of free throws for the Cougars to seal the game.
The game-saving block by the Charleston defender did not go unnoticed by Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich, who following the game, gave his take on what happened on Hofstra’s final possession.
“We got the ball to the right guy, and Rokas [Gustys] set a great screen. We had an advantage, got the right guy with the ball, and got the right shot up. I haven’t seen the tape, but I think the tape will show that he got fouled.”
After this comment, Mihalich, who had Wright-Foreman sitting right next to him directed the question to the player saying that he would know since he was the one that shot the ball. Wright-Foreman answered quickly, “I got fouled. He clearly hit me on my wrist,” he said.
In spite of having to endure this questionable and disappointing ending, the Pride showed resilience in their 15-point comeback.
The momentum they gained with the game winding down provided a huge lift for them in a game in which the two players tied for third in scoring (12.6 points per game each) for Hofstra only scored one and two points, respectively. Freshman guard Eli Pemberton was held to one point while point guard Deron Powers scored a mere two.
In fact, when you take away Bernardi’s, Wright-Foreman’s and Gustys’ scoring contribution, the rest of the team scored a combined nine points.
Despite Powers’ low scoring night, the transfer point guard still dished out 11 assists, which cannot go unnoticed on a night where guys like Bernardi and Wright-Foreman were drilling catch-and-shoot threes distributed by the point guard.
Varying from the second half where the Cougars’ held the lead the entirety of the half, the first half was a tight-knit ball game for the squads.
With seven ties to go along with 10 lead changes, there was no obvious advantage by either team, other than Charleston’s ability to convert in the paint through most of Hofstra’s defensive schemes, outscoring the Pride 40-24 down low for the game.
The six-point lead that the Cougars’ entered halftime with followed by their quick start in the second half enabled them to stretch it to 15, making it too big of a gap for the Pride to overcome.
The nail-biting defeat to the Charleston Cougars came in the second to last game of the season for the Pride. Through this tough loss, Coach Mihalich believes this close game was at least a sign for the Pride.
“It shows that we can win. Eliminate a couple bonehead plays here and there, and do a better job guarding the basketball and were going be in the right side of close games” Mihalich said.
The Pride (13-15, 5-10) will look to end their CAA season on a good note against the top team in the conference Saturday night. The game, against UNCW, will be played at David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex on Feb. 18 at 4 p.m.
