Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications
Hofstra men’s basketball freshman guard Shemiye McLendon has turned into quite the clutch player early in his collegiate career.
The Vero Beach, Fla. native played a crucial role in Saturday’s 78-75 comeback win over Northeastern in which the Pride scored the game’s final 10 points. McLendon calmly hit two free throws to put Hofstra up 76-76 with 1:56 left. The Vero Beach Academy graduate then helped the Pride seal the huge Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) victory when he connected on two additional free throws with six seconds left to give the Pride a 78-75 lead.
McLendon's clutch performance at the end of the Northeastern game was the fourth time he had knocked down pivotal free throws down the stretch to help the Pride win key conference games. In a 75-69 win at Drexel on Jan. 3 McLendon hit two free throws with 1:55 left to gave the Pride the lead to stay and on Jan. 22 the freshman guard connected on two foul shots with less than two seconds left to put Hofstra ahead by three in a victory at William & Mary on Jan. 22. On Jan. 24 in a dramatic 92-90 overtime win against James Madison, McLendon sank two foul shots with 17.2 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to the extra session.
