Hofstra falls to James Madison in senior day stunner

Justin Wright-Foreman led Hofstra with 33 points Saturday, but Pride was unable to hold off James Madison on senior day in Hempstead. (Photo by Vincent Simone/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Vincent Simone (@VTSimone)

HEMPSTEAD, NY -- Put away the ticker tape. Hold the parade.

James Madison outscored Hofstra 15-10 in overtime to upset the Pride, 104-99, on senior day at the Mack Sports Complex, denying the Pride a chance to clinch a share of its second Colonial Athletic Association regular season title and the number-one seed in the upcoming conference tournament.

The Dukes’ Matt Lewis poured in a career-high 40 points, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. It was the first 40-point game by a JMU player since Denzel Bowles matched the mark on February 15, 2011 at Towson, and the most points scored by a Dukes player in current head coach Louis Rowe’s three-year tenure. As a team, James Madison shot 52.2 percent from the field and 10-for-20 from behind the arc while making 22 of 24 attempts from the charity stripe. Lewis himself finished a perfect 12-for-12 from the line.

After allowing just one conference opponent to shoot better than 47 percent in its first eleven league games, Hofstra (23-6, 13-3 CAA) has allowed opponents to collectively shoot 51 percent from the field over its last five outings, going 3-2 in those games after beginning the conference slate 12-1.

“We didn’t bring it today,” head coach Joe Mihalich lamented. “We didn’t guard at all. You have to take it personal defensively, and we didn’t. The last three games we didn’t guard. We were really good guarding [earlier in the year], and we’ve got to find it.”

Despite all the pomp and circumstance surrounding Hofstra star Justin Wright-Foreman’s final regular season home game -- including a giveaway of white Hofstra shirts emblazoned with the number 3 -- the Dukes controlled the first half, holding Hofstra to just 1-of-8 from behind the arc and taking a 40-32 lead into the break. The Pride kicked into gear after intermission, turning an eight-point deficit into an eight-point advantage little more than four minutes into the second stanza. Tareq Coburn kicked off the frame with a pair of triples, followed by a pair from Wright-Foreman. The duo alone outscored the Dukes 20-4 to turn the tide. Hofstra led by as many as nine in the second half before James Madison rattled off a 9-0 run to grab an 80-79 lead with 2:46 remaining.

Coburn put the Pride up three with a corner triple with 40 seconds left to play and Desure Buie held serve from the free throw line until the final four seconds, when the Dukes went the length of the court for Lewis’ tying triple.

“We didn’t execute,” Mihalich said of the final possession of regulation and the choice not to foul while up three. “You can always second guess it, but we didn’t execute it the right way.”

The Pride put home the first five points of overtime, but were dealt two haymakers halfway through the frame. Trailing by five, the Dukes pulled even in one possession when Stuckey Mosley buried a triple while Hofstra’s Eli Pemberton was whistled for a foul away from the ball, giving the Dukes two additional free throws. On James Madison’s ensuing possession, Lewis buried another of his six triples while selling the foul to give the Dukes a four-point lead, their largest since the opening minute of the second half. Trailing by three inside the final ten seconds, Wright-Foreman did not get the benefit of the call on a three-point attempt, and the Dukes recovered his miss to seal the victory.

Five Dukes finished in double figures, with Mosley (20), Dwight Wilson (14), Darius Banks (12), and Deshon Parker (10) joining Lewis. Wright-Foreman led the Pride with 33 points, his tenth 30-point game of the season and fourth in his last five outings. Pemberton (15), Coburn (14), and Jacquil Taylor (10) joined Wright-Foreman in double figures while Buie dished out a career-best 12 assists.

Hofstra finishes the regular season with a road swing at Drexel and Delaware next weekend. The Pride currently lead rival Northeastern by one game in the conference standings.