Hempstead, NY - Hofstra rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to tie the game, but Towson answered with a run of its own to pull away in a 78-68 Colonial Athletic Association victory over the Pride Thursday night at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.

Hofstra slipped to 13-9 overall and 5-4 in league play with the loss. Towson improved to 17-6 overall and 8-2 in CAA action. The win was Towson's third in a row and eighth in its last nine games.

Aaron Estrada led the Pride with 22 points, including 18 in the second half. The junior guard also added seven assists and three steals. Jalen Ray joined Estrada in double-figures with 17 points. Abayomi Iyiola had six rebounds to pace the Pride.

Towson led by 10, 43-33, at the half following an opening 20 minutes that saw six lead changes and three tie scores. With the score tied at 23, with just over eight minutes to play, the Tigers would close out the half on a 20-10 run to go into the locker room with the double-digit lead. The Tigers led by as many as 12, 43-31, on a Nicolas Timberlake three-pointer with 41 seconds to play before the Pride's Jarrod Simmons scored the final points of the half.  

The teams started slowly on the offensive end, combining for 10 points over the first 4:15. Ray put Hofstra up by two, 15-13, with a three-pointer with 12:23 remaining in the first half. Zach Cooks followed with a three of his own to push the Pride's lead to five, 18-13. Ray extended the lead to eight with his second three-pointer on Hofstra's next trip down the floor. The Tigers responded with a 10-0 run to take a 23-21 lead with 8:40 to play on a dunk from Charles Thompson. Estrada would tie the game at 23 with two free throws following an intentional foul call before Towson went on their half-ending run. Towson shot 70 percent from the floor in the half and connected on 11 of its final 13 shots.

After falling behind by 12 at the start of the second half, the Pride went on a 12-0 run to tie the score at 45 with 16:42 remaining. Estrada had eight of Hofstra's points in the run. Towson got a three-point play from Juwan Gray to snap a 47-47 tie. That started a 12-0 run for the Tigers, who led 59-47 with 10:32 to play. Hofstra would close the gap to eight, 65-57, on a Ray three-pointer with 5:38 remaining but the Tigers scored four unanswered to go back up by 12. Hofstra would get a basket from Estrada and a three from Ray to make it a seven-point game, 69-62, with 2:56 to go. Caleb Burgess' basket off a steal in the backcourt cut Hofstra's deficit to six, 70-64, with 1:24 on the clock. That was as close as Hofstra would get as the Tigers went 6-6 from the line down the stretch to secure the win.

Timberlake led three Tigers in double-figure scoring with a career-high 26 points. He also added eight rebounds and six assists. Thompson had 16 points, while Gray added 11. Cameron Holden pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for Towson.

Hofstra returns to action Saturday, February 5 at 2 p.m., versus James Madison. The game is part of Hofstra's Winter Homecoming weekend. Tickets are available for purchase at HofstraTickets.com, by calling (516) HOF-TIXX, or by visiting the Hofstra Athletic Ticket Office in the lobby of the Mack Sports Complex during normal business hours. On game day, the ticket office will open one hour prior to tip-off.

Notes:
-Hofstra is 46-29 all-time against Towson
-Ray, who remains 12th on the Hofstra all-time scoring list, eclipsed the 1,600-point plateau and now has 1,615 career points.
-Hofstra suffered its first home loss of the season and slipped to 7-1 at the Mack Sports Complex.
-Burgess had a season-high eight points for the Pride.
-Hofstra was 6-6 from the free throw line while Towson was 20-27.