Hofstra caps off 16-point comeback, takes CAA lead with win over Northeastern

Jalen Ray scored 22 points as Hofstra completed comeback from 20-4 deficit to beat Northeastern and take over first place in CAA. (Photo by Vincent Simone/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Vincent Simone (@VTSimone)

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Justin Wright-Foreman made his return to Hofstra Saturday afternoon, and in the early minutes of the Pride’s tilt against rival Northeastern, it appeared the home team’s only hope at victory would be to somehow sneak its bygone star onto the court in a clever disguise. As the 53rd overall pick in last year’s NBA Draft looked on, his former running mates limped out of the starting gate to the tune of a 16-point deficit in just over seven minutes of game time.

In the end, Hofstra did not need to concoct some scheme to smuggle a star on the court. The Pride did it itself, digging its way out of that early hole en route to a 75-71 victory and sole possession of first place in the Colonial Athletic Association.

“A lot of people in that building probably thought a lot of times that first half it just wasn’t our day,” Hofstra coach Joe Mihalich said of his team’s early struggles. “We were listless. It didn’t seem good, but that’s the resolve of this team.”

Desure Buie and Jalen Ray paced the Pride with 22 points apiece, though each did a bulk of his work in the second half. Buie capped a slow opening stanza with his first field goal of the game at the first half horn as he pulled the Pride within 10 at the break. 

“If there’s a better backcourt in the country, I still wouldn’t trade them,” Mihalich raved of Buie and Ray. “They just took over the second half.”

Buie became Hofstra’s engine through the final 20 minutes, connecting on five of seven shots including three of four from behind the arc for a total of 19 points. Ray capped his night 11-of-14 from the charity stripe, but it was the junior’s 3-pointer with 9:01 on the clock which provided Hofstra its first lead of the evening.

Stafford Trueheart, one of the Pride’s unheralded role players, delivered perhaps the two plays most integral to his team’s comeback. With 4:19 left in the first half, Trueheart blocked a jumper from Northeastern’s Shaquille Walters, raced down the court, and put through a massive dunk while getting fouled. The sequence kickstarted an 8-0 run which pulled the Pride within six late in the first half. Midway through the second half, Trueheart again came through with a crowd-pleasing effort as he came up with a steal and dunk in transition as part of a 22-4 Hofstra run which saw the home team seize control.

“I knew how the game was going, we needed a spark,” Trueheart said. “Once I saw that lane, I knew I had to dunk it and get the crowd back into it. Once we got them into it, we knew it would help the team.”

“Our bench won the game for us today,” Mihalich added. “Stafford was incredible.”

Just as important to the victory as the offensive turnaround, Hofstra’s defense locked down through the final twenty minutes. After allowing Northeastern to connect at a 52% clip for 40 points in the first half, Hofstra held its opponent to just 20 second-half points until the final 1:08.

“I don’t know what happened; maybe the light went on, “Mihalich said. “Sometimes when you’re not scoring, it’s hard to still be good defensively. I think the fact we were struggling offensively, we let it affect our defense.”

Eli Pemberton added 12 points for the Pride, including 10 consecutive for his team through the doldrums of the first half.

Hofstra’s victory combined with Charleston’s unexpected loss to the suddenly surging Elon Saturday puts the Pride atop the conference standings by a half game. The Pride will play host to Charleston Thursday with first place on the line. The massive matchup will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.