Second-half stand helps Hofstra past Drexel, extends winning streak to nine

Justin Wright-Foreman's 34 points led Hofstra to ninth straight win Sunday, defeating Drexel. (Photo by Vincent Simone/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Vincent Simone (@VTSimone)

HEMPSTEAD, NY -- Hofstra pushed its winning streak to nine and handed head coach Joe Mihalich his 100th victory at the helm of the Pride with an 89-75 thrashing of Drexel. The Pride now enter the new year 2-0 in Colonial Athletic Association play.

After a stellar defensive effort in which it held Delaware to just 26.2 percent shooting in its CAA opener Friday night, Hofstra (12-3, 2-0 CAA) carried that intensity through the weekend. The Pride held Drexel to a paltry 35.7 percent from the field and 1-for-9 from behind the arc in the first half. Coupled with a sizzling offensive outburst, Hofstra took a 20-point lead into intermission. However, what seemed poised to become a repeat performance of their conference opener soon delved into precarious territory, as the Dragons put together a 14-2 run -- including a personal 9-0 spurt for senior Troy Harper -- to whittle the deficit to six with 8:40 remaining.

“We’ve just got to keep playing our game,” senior Justin Wright-Foreman said of that crunch time moment. “Me personally and Desure [Buie] as the leaders of the team, we’ve got to keep everybody together, especially when the lead comes down close. We’ve just got to pull everybody back together, get our heads right and just stay positive.”

Eli Pemberton finally stopped the bleeding with a layup and Wright-Foreman followed with a key triple as the Pride kicked off an 11-0 swing, ballooning the lead back to 18 and lifting Hofstra out of the danger zone.

“You learn something every game,” Mihalich said. “Today the challenge was have a big lead, lose a lot of it, keep your composure and win anyway. It points a lot to our non-conference schedule and the challenges we had there.”

Wright-Foreman continued to bolster his case as one of the best players in the nation with another 30-point effort, his fourth of the season and 15th of his career. Hofstra’s leader capped the night with 34 points, five assists, and five rebounds. Four others joined Wright-Foreman in double figures. Desure Buie notched his second points-assists double-double in three games with 15 points and 10 assists, along with four steals. Pemberton, Jacquil Taylor, and Tareq Coburn each reached double figures with 13, 12, and 11 points, respectively.

Hofstra will resume play next Saturday with a key home contest against Northeastern before hitting the road for the first time in league play later in the week.