Wright-Foreman beats buzzer as Hofstra overcomes Northeastern to win 10th straight

Justin Wright-Foreman's game-winning three-pointer at buzzer defeated Northeastern and for senior, whose 42 points were career-high, it added to both Hofstra's growing resume and his own. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

HEMPSTEAD, NY -- A mark of a potentially great team is its ability to not only win, but also find innovative ways of doing so.

Hofstra appears to have checked off that box yet again, adding a new wrinkle to its hot streak -- which now stands at ten after Saturday's come-from-behind victory against fellow Colonial Athletic Association favorite Northeastern -- as the legend of Justin Wright-Foreman added a new chapter to its ever-growing legacy.

Wright-Foreman added the latest feather to his cap early Saturday evening, his 34-foot heave splashing through the net as the final buzzer sounded, the last of his 42 points giving Hofstra a 75-72 win over Northeastern and planting another pivotal seed for the Pride as, perhaps, a team of destiny as the program's NCAA Tournament drought approaches an age at which it can legally buy a lottery ticket.

"That's a way to ring in the new year, huh?" Wright-Foreman proclaimed upon entering the postgame press conference, still in awe of his latest batch of heroics. "Honestly, I just didn't want to miss it. I just tried to get a good shot. I kind of looked at the clock before, because I was going to heave it, but I saw how much time was on the clock and I just wanted to get as close to the basket as possible."

Trailing 70-61 with 4:23 remaining in regulation, Hofstra (13-3, 3-0 CAA) looked as though it had used up its energy after a 10-point lead fell by the wayside in a flurry of Northeastern three-point shots and Wright-Foreman appearing to have tired legs down the stretch. But looks, as the old adage states, can be deceiving.

Wright-Foreman, who had 12 of the Pride's final 14 points, ignited the rally with his third of four triples immediately after the timeout, bringing the deficit to six. Four free throws soon followed, then two more from Jacquil Taylor -- the only points not scored by Wright-Foreman in the definitive final sequence came from the graduate transfer whose interior defense continues to rise to understated levels of brilliance -- tied the score at 70 apiece. Wright-Foreman went back to the foul line for another pair of shots, which he made, before Anthony Green tied the score again with two free throws of his own, setting the stage for a final minute in which both the Pride and Huskies (7-8, 1-2 CAA) missed two shots each to lead up to the thrilling conclusion that triggered the latest unbelievable moment on Long Island, as Wright-Foreman's buzzer-beater harkened back to Hofstra legend Charles Jenkins harvesting the soul of William & Mary in overtime nearly eight years ago.

"I don't know if impossible and shot go together with Justin," head coach Joe Mihalich said. "I really don't. He makes shots every day where you would say just that -- that was impossible -- but he made it. He's just a marvelous, marvelous basketball player who, every game, every day, does something to make you just say, 'Wow.'"

Last week, Mihalich spoke of challenging his team to eclipse the bar set three years ago by the 2015-16 Hofstra unit that saw its NCAA Tournament dreams fall apart in overtime of the CAA championship game, and proudly referenced each instance in which this year's group had bettered its predecessor. Once again, it has, in another new fashion, by handling business against its contemporaries when the cynics among them still reign in some circles.

"Whatever adversity comes, we just have to stay positive through it," Wright-Foreman elaborated. "My message to my team is keep our composure, stay together. With each other, we can be at our best, and we believe in ourselves. It just goes to show you our chemistry, both on and off the court. We're super close. We're brothers, we're family."

"I think when you're having a good year, you're going to have a win like that," Mihalich said. "You just find a way to win, and our guys did that. A lot of people thought we were dead in the water except us. The only people who didn't think we were dead in the water were these guys right here. We rallied, we believed in ourselves, we did what we had to do those last four minutes. Good teams find a way, and we just found a reason to win."