Zach Cooks sparks Hofstra to close out win over Northeastern
Hofstra Pride guard Zach Cooks controls the ball during a game against the Northeastern Huskies at the Mack Sports Complex on Saturday. Credit: Lee S. Weissman/Lee S. Weissman
A day that began in celebration appeared to be on the verge of ending as potentially the worst loss of the season for the Hofstra men’s basketball team.
But after a pregame ceremony in which the locker room was named after former head coach Joe Mihalich, the Pride rallied for a stunning 76-73 Colonial Athletic Association win over visiting Northeastern on Saturday.
Hofstra scored 11 unanswered points in the final 72 seconds, including Zach Cooks’ go-ahead layup with eight seconds left.
"They put the ball in my hands, I saw the lane open and just went and made a play," said Cooks, who had 12 points as Hofstra (19-9, 11-4) extended its winning streak to six games.
Northeastern (7-19, 1-14) took a 73-65 lead with 1:31 remaining on Jason Strong’s three-pointer.
After Hofstra cut its deficit to 73-70 on Cooks’ layup and Jalen Ray’s three-pointer, a steal by Cooks set up Aaron Estrada’s layup with 23 seconds left to bring the Pride within one.
A missed free throw by Northeastern’s Chris Doherty on the front end of a one-and-one five seconds later set up the contested layup by Cooks that put the Pride ahead 74-73.
"He’s a big-time player," Hofstra coach Speedy Claxton said. "When the moment’s bright, that’s when he’s going to shine. And the moment was bright tonight and he came through. I knew he was going to make it."
Hofstra’s Jarrod Simmons came up with a steal on the ensuing possession before Estrada was fouled with three-tenths of a second left and hit two free throws. Time expired before the Huskies could get off a desperation heave from midcourt.
Estrada led the Pride with 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Darlinstone Dubar had 13 points and Ray added 12.
Doherty and Jahmyl Telfort each had 22 points for Northeastern.
"We just wanted to stay level-headed and positive," Cooks said. "Even when we were down however many points, we just wanted to make sure that we came out with a win."
Mihalich recorded 141 wins in seven seasons before stepping down because of health concerns in March 2021 and becoming a special adviser to the athletic director. After taking over a program coming off a seven-win season, he led Hofstra to four seasons of at least 20 wins and three regular-season CAA titles.
Hofstra had its best campaign under Mihalich in his final season at the helm in 2019-20, when it won the conference tournament and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament — which soon was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pride were set to make their first tournament appearance since 2001.
"It’s everything," Claxton said of getting the win on Mihalich’s big day. "It’s a special night. We’re celebrating Coach and we definitely wanted to win for him, and we did just that. We’re going to go celebrate with him. He’s a legend here."
