Hofstra Huddle. Photo by: Stacy Podelski/ 1495 Sports
Senior Jalen Ray had a game-high 25 points, including four three-pointers, but it wasn’t enough as the Hofstra Men’s Basketball team fell to James Madison, 74-70, at the Atlantic Union Bank Center on Sunday afternoon.
Freshman Kvonn Cramer was also in double figures for the Pride with 13 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
Hofstra slips to 12-9 and 8-6 in conference play with the loss. James Madison improved to 13-5 and 8-1 in Colonial Athletic Association play.
A three-pointer from Ray with 13:47 on the first half clock would give the Pride an early 8-6 advantage. Ray would add another three-pointer with 12:30 left before halftime to make it 11-10 in favor of the Pride before James Madison began to rally. The Dukes used an 8-1 run to open up an 18-12 lead following a three-pointer from Jalen Hodge at the 10:48 mark. A Vado Morse jumper gave the Dukes a 10-point lead, 25-15, later in the half and James Madison would eventually take that lead into the locker room at 32-22.
James Madison pushed the advantage to 12 with an early basket in the second half. The lead would still be at 10, 43-33, with 13:51 left before Hofstra got back-to-back three-pointers from freshman David Green and Ray to close to within four, 43-39, with 10:59 remaining. Morse hit a big three-pointer to answer for the Dukes but the Pride kept fighting to keep the deficit within striking distance. A dunk from Cramer and a free throw from sophomore Caleb Burgess made it a four-point game, 57-53, with 5:21 left. Hofstra would get it to within four once again with under five minutes left, but James Madison used an 11-4 run to push the lead to 11 with just over a minute left and the Dukes would hold on for the victory.
Junior Isaac Kante added a game-high 12 rebounds and eight points for the Pride, which also got 12 points from senior Tareq Coburn.
Morse led James Madison with 16 points and added seven rebounds. Terrence Edwards had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Dukes, while Michael Christmas chipped in with 12 points and six rebounds.
Hofstra returns home to host Charleston next weekend. Games will be on Saturday and Sunday with both tips scheduled for 1 p.m.
NOTES
– Hofstra leads the all-time, 22-15, with James Madison.
– Ray had four three-pointers and now has 211 in his career, leaving him four shy of Eli Pemberton (215 from 2015-20) for fourth place all-time.
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