Hofstra Gets Past Monmouth; Extends Win Streak To Three

Hempstead, NY - Justin Wright-Foreman's three-point play with 16 seconds remaining in the second half turned a 73-72 deficit into a 75-73 victory for Hofstra over Monmouth Wednesday night at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. Hofstra improved to 6-3 with its third consecutive victory. Monmouth fell to 0-10 on the season. Wright-Foreman led all scorers with 30 points and added seven rebounds and four assists. Eli Pemberton joined Wright-Foreman in double-figures with 14 points. Desure Buie had nine points on three three-pointers and added six assists. Stafford Trueheartchipped in with eight points Jacquil Taylor grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. The teams started at a fast pace with a combined 40 points and seven three-pointers in the first seven minutes of play. The Pride held a 21-19 lead at that point behind eight points from Wright-Foreman and Trueheart. Monmouth would tie the score at 24 with 11:08 on the clock on a layup from Ray Salnave and would go up by two, 26-24, on a dunk from Sam Ibiezugbe with 9:28 on the clock. The teams would trade the lead 10 more times and have four tie scores the rest of the half before Tareq Coburngave the Pride a 45-43 lead at the half with a three-pointer with six seconds to play. The second half began at a much slower pace and the Pride held Monmouth without a basket for nearly four minutes to start the stanza but only scored four points in that time for a 49-43 lead. The Hawks would cut their deficit to two, 53-51, with 14:57 to play on Louie Pillari's three-pointer and then made it a one-point game on a pair of free throws from Salnave with 13:46 to go. But Wright-Foreman came through with a three-pointer on Hofstra's next possession to give Hofstra a 57-53 advantage. That started a 5-0 run for the Pride as Hofstra's leading scorer would add two free throws to make it a 59-53 game with 12:37. The Pride could not pull away from the Hawks, however, as Monmouth kept the game within six points and tied the score at 67 with 4:00 to play on an old-fashioned three-point play from Diago Quinn. Monmouth would take their first lead of the second half, 71-69, with 2:40 to play on a basket from Salnave. But Buie answered with a go-ahead three-pointer from the right corner to put Hofstra back on top with 2:22 to go. Neither team would score again until Salnave put the Hawks back up, 73-72, with 31 seconds remaining. But Hofstra turned to Wright-Foreman and his jumper and subsequent free throw put Hofstra up by two, 75-73, with 16 seconds to play. The Pride still needed a defensive stand and got one as they forced a contested three-pointer at the buzzer that glanced off the side of the rim. Salnave had 22 points and seven assists for Monmouth while Deion Hammond added 14 points. Quinn had 13 points and a team-high six rebounds. Hofstra is back in action Saturday when it concludes a two-game homestand by hosting Rider. Game time at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex is 4 p.m. Tickets are available by visiting HofstraTickets.com or by calling (516) HOF-TIXX. Notes: -Hofstra is 7-2 all-time versus Monmouth and the last three games in the series have been decided by a combined seven points. -Justin Wright-Foreman extended his streak of double-figure scoring games to 62 with his 30 points. It was also his 14th 30-point game of his career and third this season. -Hofstra has used the same starting lineup (Desure Buie, Justin Wright-Foreman, Eli Pemberton, Stafford Trueheart, and Jacquil Taylor) in all nine games this season. -Eli Pemberton moved into 35th place on the Hofstra career scoring list with 1,024 points, passing John Irving and James Shaffer. -Hofstra had a season-high 12 three-pointers in the game.