Aaron Estrada scored 23 of his 25 points in the first half before Darlinstone Dubar and Jaquan Carlos scored 13 points apiece in the second half Saturday afternoon for visiting Hofstra, which snapped No. 18 Charleston’s 20-game winning streak with an 85-81 win in a Colonial Athletic Association game.
Hofstra (15-8, 8-2 CAA) beat a team ranked in the AP poll for the second straight season — the Pride defeated then-No. 24 Arkansas, 89-81, on Dec. 18, 2021 — and just the third time in program history.
Dubar finished with 18 points while Tyler Thomas had 17 points and Carlos scored 15 points for the Pride.
Ante Brzovic had 18 points to lead four players in double figures for Charleston (21-2, 9-1), the first CAA team to be ranked in the AP poll in the regular season since Navy in 1986-87.
Ryan Larson scored 15 points while Reyne Smith and Pat Robinson III finished with 11 points each for the Cougars, who fell for the first time since losing to then-No. 1 North Carolina, 102-86, on Nov. 11.
Charleston was just 5 of 31 from beyond the arc Saturday and missed its last 16 shots.
The Cougars led by as many as eight in the first half before Estrada scored 18 points in a 21-10 run in which Hofstra took a quartet of one-point leads. Brzovic dunked just before the buzzer to give Charleston a 46-44 lead.
Thomas drained a game-tying 3-pointer to begin a decisive 17-7 run for Hofstra, which went ahead 70-63 on a layup by Carlos with 10:02 left. Dubar had eight points during the run, including the go-ahead putback immediately after Thomas’ 3-pointer.
Larsen hit four free throws during a 6-2 spurt by Charleston that pulled the Cougars within 81-79 with 1:39 left, but Carlos responded with a driving layup to put Hofstra up 83-79. After three fouls by the Cougars, Thomas hit two free throws with 19 seconds left. Smith hit two free throws on the other end before Charleston sandwiched missed 3-pointers around Estrada missing the front end of two one-and-ones.
–Field Level Media