HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – A furious second-half comeback by Princeton, cutting a 16-point deficit to one with less than a minute to go in regulation, fell just short, as the Tigers lost to Hofstra, 81-77, at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex Wednesday evening.
The fact that the Tigers (4-4) would be in a position to win didn’t seem like a possibility after they allowed the Pride to score 50 first-half points on 75% (15-for-20) shooting from inside the arc. Princeton hit a respectable 50% from the field, including six of 15 from deep, but the fast pace for Hofstra (5-3) forced eight turnovers, including six steals, plus eight more field goal attempts.
Coming out of halftime down 50-34, the Tigers were able to slow the pace but could not cool off the Pride, finding themselves down by 19 immediately after the first media timeout of the second half. A short jumper from Jaelin Llewellyn, sandwiched between three-pointers by Ryan Langborg and Ethan Wright, shaking off the effects of a lingering head cold, led Princeton on a quick 8-0 run to pull within 11, 59-48, with 14:30 to go.
A layup by Darlinstone Dubar and a three from Jalen Ray, his first made basket in seven attempts on the night, extended the Pride’s advantage to 16 at the 11:30 mark.
From there, the Tigers’ offense got red hot as their defensive pressure finally began to wear down the Pride.
Over the next 11 minutes, Princeton hit 11 of its 16 attempts, while Hofstra managed only four baskets in 15 shots. During that stretch, Llewellyn scored 13 points, including back-to-back triples from identical spots on the right baseline, and reserve Max Johns added a key old-fashioned three-point play.
With Hofstra holding onto a 78-75 lead, a missed layup by Zach Cooks gave Princeton the ball with a minute to go in regulation. After working the clock, Matt Allocco found a wide open Llewellyn in front of the basket for an uncontested layup to make it a one-point game with 48 seconds left.
As the shot clock wound down on the ensuing possession, Cooks could find no opening as he drove the left side of the lane and kicked it out to Ray at the three-point line. The grad student from Hampton, Va., went up from the right elbow and sank a bank-shot triple at the buzzer to give the Pride an 81-77 advantage with 18 ticks on the game clock. A quick three from Allocco missed the mark and the Tigers’ valiant comeback came to a losing end.
“I just said to the team this has to be a learning experience for us,” Princeton coach Mitch Henderson told The Trentonian immediately after the defeat. “One of the things about us, sadly, you need to have these games to form a more perfect disposition, a tougher disposition and we need it. We’re good, but I’m not sure we’re great. I think this will help us, it’s got to help us.”
Over the last 20 minutes, the Tigers shot 63% (12-for-19) from inside the arc and 50% (6-for-12) from outside, while the Pride managed only 37% from two and 36% from three. Princeton also won the inside battle, holding a +6 and +8% advantage, after having a -3 and -14% result in the first half.
Llewellyn, playing in front of a visiting crowd that included a scout from the Charlotte Hornets, led all scorers with 24 points on 56% shooting. Langborg had 16 points on 67% from the field to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. Wright added 13 points, as well as 11 rebounds and six assists, while Tosan Evbuomwan finished with 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting.
Henderson has said that Evbuomwan might be the best passer on the team. In fact, his 4.6 assists per game leads the Ivy League. Wright is third in the conference in rebounding and sixth in scoring. Llewellyn is fifth in scoring at 15.5 points per game, a slim half point better than Wright.
For the victors, Aaron Estrada had a team-high 20 points and seven assists. Estrada scored 18 points on 80% shooting in the first half but was held to two points on a 1-for-5 effort over the game’s final 20 minutes. Omar Silverio totaled 17 points and Dubar added 15 points, while Cooks had 13 points and seven assists. After hitting his game-winning shot, Ray finished the evening with eight points on 18% shooting and a team-high seven rebounds.
The Tigers will look to get back into the win column when they host Drexel at Jadwin Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The 4 p.m. contest will be available on ESPN+ and NBC Sports Philadelphia.
George “Toothless Tiger” Clark contributed to this story.