Hempstead, NY – Senior Justin Wright-Foreman had a season-high 37 points and junior Eli Pemberton also added a season-high 20 points as the Hofstra Men's Basketball team defeated the Titans of Cal State Fullerton, 80-71, at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex Wednesday night. Hofstra improved to 3-2 on the season while the Titans dropped to 2-4 on the year. 

Wright-Foreman topped his previous season best of 34 points at Marshall on November 11 with 13-for-20 shooting while dishing out a game-high six assists. Pemberton topped his previous season-high of 19 set against North Carolina A&T on November 14 on 5-of-10 shooting and 8-for-9 from the charity stripe. The Pride shot 46% (29-63) from the field for the game.

Cal State Fullerton had three players in double-figures led by senior Kyle Allman, Jr. with a season-high 38 points on 12-for-22 shooting including 8-for-14 shooting from the three-point line. Allman tied the Mack Sports Complex record for most points by an opponent with his 38 points. Senior Khalil Ahmad added 13 points and junior Jackson Rowe chipped in with 12 points for the Titans. Cal State Fullerton shot 45.6 % (26-57) from the field.

The first seven minutes of the contest were a nip-and-tuck affair with Fullerton's Rowe's lay-up tying the contest at 12-all with 13:08 to play in the half. But the Pride went on a 9-3 run to take a 21-15 lead on Wright-Foreman's three-pointer at the 9:18 mark. After the Titans closed to within one at 21-20 less than a minute later, Hofstra scored nine straight points as part of a 20-9 spurt to close the half with a 41-29 lead at the break.

Wright-Foreman guaranteed that he would extend his streak of double-digit scoring to 58 games by scoring 24 points in the first 20 minutes on 9-of-13 shooting including 2-of-3 from the three-point line. Pemberton added 13 for the Pride.

Hofstra came out on fire in the second half, hitting six of their first eight shots over the first 6:01 to build a 55-36 lead on two Wright-Foreman free throws. But the Titans rallied and went on an 18-9 run to close to within 10 at 64-54 on Allman, Jr.'s second consecutive three-pointer at the 8:38 mark.

The Pride responded with a 7-1 run to boost the lead back to 16 at 71-55 with 6:19 to play. The  Rams were unable to crack the double-digit deficit plateau until the final 17 seconds when Ahmad's slam closed out the scoring with Hofstra winning by nine at 80-71.

Hofstra is back in action on Saturday when the Pride travel to Richmond to face the Rams of VCU at 7 p.m. 

Notes
- Wednesday's contest was the first-ever meeting between the Pride and the Titans of Cal State Fullerton.
- Wright-Foreman entered the game as the seventh-ranked scorer in Division I, averaging 25.8 points per game.
- The contest featured Queens, NY scholastic teammates from the High School for Construction-Trades, Engineering and Architecture in Wright-Foreman for Hofstra and senior Kyle Allman, Jr. from Cal State Fullerton.
- Allman's 38 points equaled Rider's Ryan Thompson's 38 against the Pride in 2010 and first established by Keydren Clark of Saint Peter's in 2003. The Mack Sports Complex record is 40 points by Hofstra's Speedy Claxton against Hartford in 2000.