Heartbreaking loss to Monmouth continues Hofstra’s frustrating campaign

German Plotnikov led Hofstra Thursday with 19 points, but Pride was unable to hold double-digit in last-second loss to Monmouth. (Photo by Matteo Bracco/Hofstra Athletics)

By Vincent Simone (@VTSimone)

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Hofstra’s frustrating season gained a new chapter Thursday night with a heartbreaking 68-62 loss to Monmouth, pushing the Pride’s losing streak to six straight games.

The Pride never trailed until the final minute, when Monmouth’s Andrew Ball connected on a 3-pointer to break a 61-61 tie with just 22 seconds remaining. Hofstra led by as many as 16 in the first half and held a 9-point advantage at the break, but once again squandered a seemingly safe lead against a conference opponent.

Letting leads slip away late has become a disheartening trend for the Pride. Thursday marked the fourth time this season Hofstra has lost a game in which it led by double digits. All four occurrences have come since January 16.

“Momentum is a fragile thing,” Hofstra assistant coach Mike DePaoli lamented. “Unfortunately, the mindset right now is just fragile late in games.”

What has been a trying season reached a level of absurdity shortly before the close of the first half. At the final media timeout of the opening frame, Hofstra coach Speedy Claxton pulled up with a right leg injury. Normally known to patrol the sidelines on foot, Claxton coached from his seat for the final 3:42 of the period before making his way to the locker room on crutches. The fourth-year head coach returned from the break with a boot on his right foot, calling signals from his feet for a few minutes and even joking across the way with Monmouth coach King Rice before settling into a specially procured rolling chair for the remainder of the game, allowing him to somewhat continue his habit of moving up and down the coach’s box. The team did not provide an update on Claxton’s condition after the game, and DePaoli met with the media in his place for the normal postgame press conference.

Monmouth star Abdi Bashir, the leading scorer in the CAA at 20.2 points per game entering Thursday, was held scoreless in the first half, but helped key the Hawks’ comeback. His 3-pointer with 13:22 remaining capped a 14-4 Monmouth run and cut the deficit to just two. 

Despite Monmouth’s second-half charge, Hofstra was able to weather the storm for a time thanks to the strong play of forwards Silas Sunday and Michael Graham. Sunday put home three straight Pride buckets following Bashir’s triple while Graham was a force on the glass, contributing four offensive boards including one followed by a tip-in to put the Pride up five with 4:07 to play.

“It’s almost like the O-Line in football, like the most important piece of what we do right now,” DePaoli said of the duo. “They anchor our defense. Offensively, they catch it down there and they finish. They’re so unselfish down there.”

Unfortunately for Hofstra, Graham’s tip-in would prove to be its final made shot. Monmouth feasted from the free throw line, tying the game from the line before Ball’s game-winning three. Junior guard Madison Durr cashed in 15 of his team-high 19 points from the charity stripe as the Hawks took a whopping 35 free throws in the game. Senior guard German Plotnikov paced the Pride with a season-high 19 points, while Sunday finished with 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting.

Hofstra’s six-game losing streak is its longest since the 2016-17 season. With just three games remaining until the CAA tournament in Washington, D.C., there is little time to right the ship in what looks like a lost season for the Pride.

“They deserve more wins than we have right now,” DePaoli said of his team. “They’re a great group. They’re staying with it. We just need to validate it by getting some wins. No one’s going to give it to you. No one feels bad for Hofstra. We have to go take it.”