Sharpe Shooting Hofstra Outlast Columbia 88-86

Hot and timely shooting by Hofstra held off the Lions in the final minute to claim an 88-86 men’s basketball win at Levien Gymnasium. It was a prideful matchup between two local colleges that wanted to one up each other.

The win was Hofstra’s third straight and improves the Pride’s record to 5-3. Columbia falls to 3-3 with the loss.

Down by just one to the Pride (5-3), the Lions (3-3) had an opportunity to take a late lead, as they held the ball down just 87-86 with the final possession. But Hofstra guard Eli Pemberton rejected sophomore guard CJ Davis’ layup attempt with five seconds left on the clock. Hofstra collected the rebound, dumping it off to guard Deron Powers, who was then fouled with just under three seconds to go. Columbia trailed for most of the game. Every time Columbia would get close, Hofstra would nail down a key jumper.

“Games are 40 minutes long,” Engles said. “We have to do some things differently, other than just the last five minutes. I thought we showed some resilience here… we’ve just got to make some plays at the end.”

Hofstra (5-3) hit 12 3-pointers and shot 58.5 percent (31-53) from the floor. Brian Bernardi led five Hofstra players in double figures with a team-high 21 points and five 3-pointers. Greer and Powers both finished with 15 points apiece and Pemberton and Jamall Robinson (4-7 from 3-point range) both added 12 points. In the second half alone, Hofstra shot 65.4 percent (17-26).

For Columbia (3-3), Luke Petrasek hit 11-16 field goals, including a perfect 3-3 from 3-point range and finished with five rebounds. Nate Hickman hit 6-10 shots and 3-5 from 3-point range for his 21 points.

The Lions offense fared well against the Hofstra zone, shooting 45 percent in the first half and 50 percent overall for the game.

Columbia did everything but win the game. They had more assist, less turnovers, and more steals than Hofstra. Columbia did get out rebound by a 37-25 mark. Getting out rebound by 12 usually means you going to lose.

“We just got to finish some things as we move on,” Engles said. “I definitely think that today was a step forward for us, even though we lost.”

Next up for Columbia, a matchup with Seton Hall at the Prudential Center on Thursday night.