PHILADELPHIA – This past Thursday, Drexel University (11-11) welcomed in an impressive team in Hofstra University (16-9) at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Hofstra took the first game of the season series, 81-78 and completed the season sweep on Thursday night, 83-73.
Hofstra standout guard Aaron Estrada was unstoppable, scoring 32 points on 14-21 from the field and 4-6 from 3-point range. When he couldn’t get his shot, he found his teammates, also leading the team with six assists.
Cam Wynter opened the game with a layup and the two teams went back and forth to start the game. Wynter had four of the teams first eight points as the game went to the first media timeout with 15:22 remaining in the first half with the score 9-8, Hofstra leading.
When returning from the break, Aaron Estrada started to get hot, hitting 2 3 pointers in a little over a minute of game time. Estrada’s second 3 pointer gave Hofstra a 17-13 lead but Wynter and Drexel big man James Butler responded with 5 of their own points cutting the Hofstra lead down to 1, at 19-18.
The two teams continued to trade baskets for the next 6 minutes, where Drexel had the lead, 28-27. Aaron Estrada had another 5-0 run himself in 40 seconds to give Hofstra a 4 point lead going into the under 4 minute media timeout.
Drexel vs. Hofstra Highlights by Nick Borowski
Drexel center Amari Williams and guard Xavier Bell scored 6 of the team's last 8 points of the half, tying the score up at 36 when both teams went to the locker room for the break.
Aaron Estrada and Hofstra forward Abayomi Iyiola scored 8 points in 2:30 to open up a 44-40 lead. Hofstra looked determined on both ends of the floor to start the second half. Hofstra guard Zach Cooks made a 3 pointer to balloon the lead to 7.
Drexel coach Zach Spiker stated these minutes were what shifted the tide of the game from a back-and-forth game to Hofstra starting to run away with it.
“I think there was a separation where it was tight… 51-44, that’s where it started to get loose a little bit,” said Spiker.
At the under 12 media timeout, Hofstra still had a 7 point lead at 51-44 and nothing was clicking for Drexel. Estrada made sure that Drexel wouldn’t be able to make a comeback.
Opening statements from Drexel head coach Zach Spiker - video by Nick Borowski
After the media timeout, Estrada scored 6 points, all on jump shots, to extend the lead out to 62-51. Estrada and Hofstra guard Jalen Ray could not miss for the final 8 minutes of the game, combining for 18 of the final Hofstra 23 points. Despite a strong offensive effort from the Dragons to try to bring themselves back, they had no answer for the scorching Hofstra duo.
When asked about if they could have done more on Estrada, Spiker said, “I think you want to make him work as hard as you can. I think it’s unrealistic to hold him to a certain number. You want to make the quality of his shots very, very difficult.”
The Dragons (12-11) rebounded this afternoon, defeating Northeastern 67-51.
Drexel had little trouble finding offensive rhythm in this matchup. Bell led the Dragons on the floor, scoring 14 of his 22 overall points in the first half. He was aided by graduate student Melik Martin, who tallied 13 points, six rebounds and three steals in the victory.
The Dragons will play on the road for their next three games against the College of Charleston on Monday (7 p.m.) and then against William and Mary on Thursday (2/17, 7 p.m.) and will wrap up their road trip against Elon on Saturday (2/19) at 4 p.m.