Like just about everyone in the CAA, Hofstra rode the rollercoaster over the weekend. On Thursday, the Pride squandered a 10-point first half lead and fell to Delaware, 73-71, when Kevin Anderson drove the length of the court and hit the tie-breaking layup just before the buzzer. But things got a whole lot better Saturday, when Hofstra became the rare favorite to win when it pulled away late in the second half to beat Drexel, 72-59.

Hofstra hits the road for its final southern trek of the regular season this week, when the Pride visits Elon Thursday before heading to first-place William & Mary for a game that could have major implications in the race for the regular season championship. Here is a look back at some of the facts and figures from the loss to Delaware and the win over Drexel and a look ahead to the trip to face the Phoenix and the Tribe.

Oh No, Not Again

The Pride lost in the waning seconds for the second straight game last Thursday, when Anderson weaved his way through four Hofstra defenders before lofting a shot just beyond the outstretched arms of Stafford Trueheart. The buzzer-beater capped a wild game in which both teams traded lengthy first half runs (18-0 for Hofstra, 14-0 for Delaware) and each squandered double-digit leads. The loss was the second straight for Hofstra, which fell to Charleston, 69-67, on Sam Miller’s putback with under 10 seconds left on Jan. 18. The losing streak was the first regular season skid for the Pride in almost exactly two years. Desure Buie had 19 points and six assists while Isaac Kante (16 points, nine rebounds) flirted with a double-double.

Dragon Slayers

Tareq Coburn (a career-high 24 points along with 12 rebounds) had his best game for the Pride, which flirted with disaster Saturday by falling behind by eight points early in the second half against Drexel. But Jalen Ray’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 9:47 left began a 17-0 run for Hofstra, which held Drexel scoreless for 12 consecutive possessions. Coburn scored nine of his points in the run and 17 overall in the second half. Kante had 13 points while Desure Buie and Eli Pemberton each added 12 points.

Halfway There

A weekend that looked as if it might turn pretty sour late Saturday afternoon turned out pretty good for the Pride, who hit the halfway point of the CAA season with a 6-3 record and a share of second place with Charleston and Towson thanks to the Cougars’ loss to UNC Wilmington and the Tigers’ win over first-place William & Mary. The three teams are one game behind the Tribe. This marks the third time in seven seasons under Joe Mihalich in which Hofstra has been 6-3 or better after nine league games. The Pride were 9-0 last season and 7-2 in 2016. Hofstra was also 6-3 in 2006 and 8-1 in both 2007 and 2011.

The Pride Through 22 Games

Hofstra’s 15-7 record is tied for the 18th-best record in program history through 22 games. The Pride most recently started 15-7 in 2004-05.

Close Shaves

That graph last week about the last time Hofstra played four straight games decided by two points or fewer proved to be prescient. The loss to Delaware marked the Pride’s fourth straight two-point game. It was the first time Hofstra has played four straight games decided by two points or fewer since the then-Flying Dutchmen went 2-2 with a one-point win over Florida and a two-point win over Manhattan and a two-point loss to Rider and a one-point loss to Saint Peter’s from Dec. 19, 1978 through Jan. 10, 1979.

Long Time Between Losing Streaks

The back-to-back losses to Charleston and Delaware marked the first time Hofstra lost consecutive regular season games since Jan. 20-25, 2018, when the Pride fell to Charleston 76-70 and Northeastern 81-67. Hofstra played 63 games in between losing streaks. It was the longest stretch without a losing streak by Hofstra since the then-Flying Dutchmen went 97 games between regular season losing streaks from Nov. 27-28, 1998 through a five-game losing streak from Dec. 16-29, 2001.

In addition, the two-year span between regular season losing streaks was the longest by a CAA team since the league expanded to 10 teams prior to the 2001-02 season. The stretch between losing streaks in CAA play was the longest since VCU went almost four years — from Feb. 4-9, 2006 through Jan 4-6, 2010 — without losing back-to-back league games.

The Defense Didn't Rest

The 72-59 win over Drexel marked the 26th straight time the Pride has won when holding an opponent under 60 points. Under Joe Mihalich, Hofstra is 28-1 all-time when holding an opponent under 60 points. The only loss was suffered Feb. 10, 2014, when the Pride lost to James Madison, 59-53.

Coburn Baby Burn

The streaky Tareq Coburn was decidedly scorching Saturday, when he scored a career-high 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Coburn entered Saturday just 1-of-9 since hitting his final field goal with 4:49 remaining in the first half against Charleston on Jan. 18, but he shot 8-of-10 from the field against Drexel, including 4-of-4 from 3-point land. He is just the third Hofstra player since 2010-11, the first season in which individual game data is available at CollegeBasketballReference.com, to make at least four 3-pointers without a miss and the first since Eli Pemberton was 5-of-5 from beyond the arc in a 90-86 loss to Sacred Heart on Nov. 15, 2016.

Double-Double Club

Coburn’s double-double was his fourth of the season and the sixth of his career, which ties him for the fifth-most double-doubles by a Hofstra player since the 2010-11 season. He is the first Pride player with at least 20 points and 12 rebounds in the same game since Rokas Gustys had 22 points and 21 rebounds against William & Mary on Feb. 15, 2018 and the first player other than Gustys with a 20/12 game since Nathaniel Lester had 23 points and 12 rebounds against UNC Wilmington on Jan. 7, 2012.

Banner Day For Buie

Desure Buie had a rough shooting day Saturday when he scored 12 points while going just 5-of-20 from the field. The 20 field goal attempts were the most in a single game for Buie. But it was a noteworthy afternoon for Buie, who moved up Hofstra’s list of all-time leaders in four categories.

With the opening tip, Buie appeared in his 129th game, breaking the program record he shared with Lester and Charles Jenkins. Buie’s 12 points gave him 1,097 and moved him past Ameen Tanksley into 32nd place on the all-time scoring list. And Buie also had five assists and three steals, which vaulted him into sixth place all-time in both categories. With 465 assists and 182 steals, Buie passed Juan’ya Green and Loren Stokes, respectively.

Cool Connor Moment

Senior Connor Klementowicz, who spent the last three seasons as a walk-on, learned during a pre-game meeting Saturday afternoon he was receiving a scholarship for his final season with the Pride. The news was presented to Klementowicz via a letter he was asked to read in front of the team by athletic director Rick Cole Jr. Klementowicz, who has emerged as a popular team leader for the Pride, has scored 17 points in 24 career games.

? "These are the really good days guys!"- @RickColeJrHU ?@connorksj3 - thank you for all you have done for @HofstraU, @HofstraPride Athletics & our program.

You continue to be an incredible representative of #Hofstra and are an inspiration to us all. #RoarWithPride pic.twitter.com/phEYZZmrPG

— Hofstra Men's Basketball (@HofstraMBB) January 25, 2020

Kenpom Ponderings

The Pride stayed relatively stable at the KenPom.com rankings last week but gained ground in the overall CAA rankings. Hofstra opened last week at no. 148 and will enter this week at no. 145. That moved the Pride from third to second in the CAA, behind only Northeastern (136). Hofstra is followed by Charleston (147), which ranked first in the league last week, with Towson (157) and William & Mary (163) right behind. No other mid-major league has its top five KenPom teams so closely bunched together.

So Who Has A Double-Digit Scoring Streak Now?

Justin Wright-Foreman, as you may or may not recall, ended his Hofstra career by scoring in double figures in each of his last 88 games. The longest such streak now belongs to Desure Buie, who has 18 straight double-digit efforts.

What's A Unicorn Score And How Many Does The Pride Have Now?

A unicorn score is a score by which the Pride have never won before. The 72-59 win over Drexel on Saturday was not a unicorn score for Hofstra, but it was the first 72-59 win in a very long time — since the then-Flying Dutchmen opened the 1951-52 (!!!) season by beating Roanoke. The Pride has seven unicorn scores this season after posting 10 unicorn scores last season. The term unicorn score was coined by New York Mets superfan, historian and blogger Greg Prince to describe a score by which the Mets had never previously won. 

That Was Then

Jay Wright began his head coaching career at Hofstra 25 years ago this fall. The then-Flying Dutchmen snapped a seven-game losing streak on Jan. 19, 1995 by beating non-Division I foe Stony Brook 79-60, but Hofstra’s North Atlantic Conference losing streak hit six games with an 84-70 loss to Hartford on Jan. 23 and a 90-64 loss to Drexel two days later. The skid left the Dutchmen with a 3-14 overall record and a 1-8 mark in the NAC.

...This Is Now

Justin Wright-Foreman, who recorded three DNP-CDs while on the Jazz’s active roster earlier this month, returned to the Utah Jazz’s G-League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, with a flourish last week by leading the Stars in scoring in three straight wins. Wright-Foreman scored 25 points in a 112-111 win over the Texas Legends last Monday, 24 points in a 113-109 victory over the Agua Caliente Clippers on Wednesday and 30 points in a 114-110 win over the Stockton Kings on Friday. The Stars’ second-leading scorer on Monday and Friday? Charleston's very own Jarrell Brantley.

What's Next

The Pride begins the second half of the CAA schedule by visiting Elon on Thursday and William & Mary on Saturday. Hofstra played the two teams at home in the reverse order during the first weekend of January, when it fell to William & Mary 88-61 on Jan. 2 before making up that point differential by beating Elon, 102-75, two days later.

Hofstra is 9-3 all-time against Elon and 22-14 against William & Mary. The lopsided loss to the Tribe marked a departure from the norm in that rivalry. Ten of the last 15 games between Hofstra and William & Mary have been determined by six points or fewer or in overtime.

By JERRY BEACH