Sports

Hofstra loses fourth straight

It looks like it’s going to be a long season in Hempstead.

Playing its second game since the suspensions of four players who were arrested on burglary charges, Hofstra lost its fourth straight game, falling to Wagner, 52-44, while suiting up just seven scholarship players Tuesday night at the Mack Sports Complex.

Without two of their top four scorers, the Pride (3-6) looked lost on offense, shooting 33.3 percent, while searching for a new identity that has not had time to surface.

“My focus right now is those 11 guys in there,” Hofstra coach Mo Cassara said. “We’re just going to keep working every day and find different ways.We haven’t had a lot of practice time, but the following two weeks we’ve got some time to put a few new guys in new positions and help them be successful.”

The Seahawks’ season-long scoring issues continued as well, as they shot 32.1 percent from the field, including 1-of-9 on 3-pointers, and trailed 24-19 at the half.

With a plus-11 advantage on the glass, Wagner (3-4) was only up 46-43 when guard Kenneth Ortiz emerged with a game-sealing drive with 33.3 seconds left as the shot clock expired. He finished with a team-high 15 points and four steals.

“As a player, you just play for those moments,” Ortiz said. “Adrenaline is just something that I live for. When the time goes down, [coach Bashir Mason] has the most trust in me to make a play for us.”

Hofstra guard Taran Buie, who had two points in the first half, seemed like the only thing keeping the Pride from being shut out in the second half.

He scored a game-high 16 points, including two 3-pointers and a 3-point play, but Hofstra had few other offensive answers. Walk-on Matt Grogan was second on the team with seven points.

Hofstra has three months to try to redefine its season. After a week of stunning circumstances, at least something in their control.

“It’s still early in the season,” Buie said. “I think we still got a good core of veteran guys that we can win a lot of games still. I think if we just practice hard and figure out how we move forward from this point on, that’ll be our best bet.”