POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (AP)—Gibran Washington scored half of his 10 points in the final 1:01 Tuesday night and Hofstra beat Marist 79-74 in the opening round of the Preseason NIT.
The Pride advanced to the second round and will play at Georgia Tech on Thursday night. Georgia Tech beat Louisiana-Lafayette 79-45 Tuesday night.
Washington, a sophomore guard, gave the Pride the lead for good when he hit his only 3-pointer of the game as the shot clock was running out, making it 76-74 with 1:01 to play.
Danny Walker made one free throw with 31 seconds left to give Hofstra a three-point lead.
Marist then missed two shots—a 3-pointer by Pierre Monagan and a follow in the lane by Chris Handy—before Washington came up with the loose rebound on the sideline and went downcourt for a layup with five seconds left that made it 79-74.
Walker, a senior forward who missed all last season with an ankle injury, led Hofstra with 21 points, 15 on 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range. Wendell Gibson had 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting. Kenny Adeleke had seven points and 13 rebounds for the Pride, who were 8-21 last season.
Brandon Ellerbee, who was 6-for-11 from 3-point range, had 25 points for the Red Foxes. Monagan, a junior college transfer, had 12 points and eight assists.
Both teams had 10 3-pointers in their season opener, Hofstra in 20 attempts and Marist in 24.