Pride Season Ends in NIT

The Hofstra Pride men’s basketball saw its season come to an end Tuesday with an 84-78 loss to NC State in the first round of the National Invitational tournament. The game was played on the campus of NC State.

The Pride started strong, shooting 47 percent in the first half and had a three-point lead going into the break, 42-39. Tariq Coburn got four of his eight points on one play, an and-one three-pointer with 10:33 to go in the half that brought the Pride from two down to two up. After two free throws from Justin Wright-Foreman put Hofstra up seven with a minute to go in the half, NC State went on a 4-0 run, thanks to layups from Braxton Beverly and Torin Dorn, to make it a three-point game.

The run continued as the second half began with NC State scoring the first seven points. After the Pride took the lead back, 53-51, just under 5 minutes into the half, NC State went on a 9-0 run to take a lead they would never relinquish. Although the Pride came close a few times, the Wolfpack held strong and pulled out the victory. NC State will face either Georgetown or Harvard in the second round.

Justin Wright-Foreman led all scorers with 29 points, his 88th straight game in double figures which is the second-longest active streak in the nation and seventh in NCAA history. He finishes his college career second in all-time points for the Pride with 2,327 points, behind only Charles Jenkins who has 2,513. Jacquil Taylor’s four-block performance gave him his tenth game with three or more blocks on the season.

For the Wolfpack, Markell Johnson put up 26 points while Dorn and CJ Bryce contributed 19 and 18, respectively. Bryce also had 11 rebounds, a game-high.

With starters Wright-Foreman and Taylor along with role players Dan Dwyer and Kenny Wormly having played their last games for Hofstra, the team looks forward to next season where new faces will have to step up to build on this season’s successes.