Hofstra survives JMU rally, prevails in OT

By Jason Dimaio (@JasonDimaio1)

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Always a straight shooter, Speedy Claxton was not one to mince words after Hofstra’s win over James Madison Saturday. 

“Does anybody have any vodka?” Claxton quipped after a wild game that saw the Pride head to overtime for the first time this season to secure the win, defeating the Dukes in an 85-78 decision. “This says a lot about our team. We could have easily folded. We should have won this game in regulation, but we didn’t and that’s why I’m so proud of these guys.”

In front of a packed Mack Complex Center for Hofstra's homecoming, by far the best crowd Hofstra has had all year, the Pride didn’t make it easy on fans early. James Madison never seriously threatened the hosts throughout this game, but Hofstra (14-9, 6-4 CAA) left the door open on several occasions before putting the game away. After a first half in which Hofstra got out to a 10-point lead early, the Dukes fought back and only trailed by one at halftime. With 10 minutes left in regulation, Hofstra extended the lead back up to 10, but again James Madison had an answer by breaking off an 11-3 run to only trail by two with five minutes left.

In the following three minutes, Aaron Estrada, who topped his career high yet again with 35 points, would score seven of the next nine points — including what seemed to be the final 3-point dagger — as The Pride went up by a 71-64 count with 2:48 remaining, but a meltdown was what would follow. 

Hofstra went scoreless the rest of regulation. The Pride’s lack of attacking the basket enabled James Madison to stay out of foul trouble, combined with back-to-back turnovers in the final 30 seconds and a game-tying basket by Vado Morse with eight seconds left, those in attendance were stunned.

As overtime commenced, Hofstra made sure that it would not break. The Pride clamped down defensively and Estrada hit big shot after big shot. He scored nine points in the extra stanza and had the near-capacity crowd on its feet chanting “MVP” as Hofstra salvaged the middle game of its three-game homestand. Zach Cooks’ impact did not go unnoticed either, as he contributed 16 points working his way back off an injury, and helped space the floor for Estrada.

“We missed him, we missed his points and if we don’t have those points we probably lose and he is still trying to get back into form so lets hope it continues” Claxton on Cooks.

“It’s all thanks to my coaching staff,” Estrada said, giving credit to Claxton and his assistants for his resurgence. “I wouldn’t hit threes in practice and I would lose some confidence, but they’re always there for me to tell me keep shooting.”