Hofstra’s Estrada drops 32 points on Drexel in a 83-73 Dragons loss

After consecutive wins for just the second time this season -- and first in Colonial Athletic Association play -- Drexel’s men’s basketball team had reason to feel good about itself heading into Thursday night’s home game against visiting Hofstra.

Aaron Estrada had other ideas. The Hofstra guard, a Woodbury, N.J., native, was the best player on the court. He played all 40 minutes, led all scorers with 32 points and at times couldn’t be stopped by any Drexel defender during Hofstra’s 83-73 win at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

Estrada, who is playing on his third college team (St. Peter’s, Oregon), scored in a variety of ways. He made four shots from three-point range, used his craftiness to find paths to the rim, and knocked down mid-range jumpers. He finished 14-of-21 from the field, a career-high in made shots, and added six assists and six rebounds.

“I think you want to make him work as hard as he can,” Drexel coach Zach Spiker said of Estrada. “I think it’s unrealistic to say you’re going to hold him or limit him to a certain number. You want to make the quality of his shots very, very difficult.

“Of his six threes, I thought most of them were pretty well contested, maybe a couple he was able to shake and get loose.”

Drexel (11-11, 6-6 CAA) got 19 points from Amari Williams and 17 from Camren Wynter.

The expression “trading buckets” was coined for games like this. The first half featured 14 lead changes and two ties. It ended in a 36-36 tie.

During one five-minute stretch in the half, the lead changed on seven consecutive baskets.

Estrada, who entered Thursday averaging 18.3 points per game, got hot for the Pride early. The junior poured in 15 points in the half on 6-of-11 shooting (3-for-5 from beyond the arc).

The Dragons made their last three shots of the first half and connected on their first second-half shot. But they made just one of their next nine shot attempts and Hofstra (16-9, 8-4) made them pay, building what was at the time the largest lead of the game at seven points.

That lead swelled to double digits as Drexel couldn’t get stops against Estrada and Jalen Ray (20 points). The Pride made eight of nine attempts at one point to build a 12-point lead with 7 minutes, 30 seconds to go. Drexel never got the deficit closer than eight.

“That’s where it started to get loose a little bit,” Spiker said. “They were more efficient than we were on the offensive end.”

Hofstra shot 57.9% from the field, including 9 of 16 makes from three-point range.

Thursday night kicked off a stretch of five games in 10 days for Drexel. The Dragons host last-place Northeastern Saturday before three road games at College of Charleston (Monday), William and Mary (Thursday), and Elon (next Saturday).

The CAA standings were crowded entering Thursday night, with four games separating second-place Towson from ninth-place William and Mary in the 10-team league.

“I think we’re a talented basketball team,” Spiker said. “When we’re playing our best, we can compete and beat anyone in this league. But you could say that for nine other teams in this league, too.

“If you don’t, this is a league where if you have a tough half of basketball, it’s hard to overcome.”