Former Hofstra Men's Basketball player Rick Apodaca (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen High School) came off the bench to score nine points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor as Puerto Rico fell 96-71 in an exhibition game against the United States Olympic Team on Saturday afternoon in Jacksonville, Florida, which was televised live on ESPN.

Apodaca is on the verge of becoming the first Hofstra student-athlete to ever compete in an Olympic Games. Former Pride wrestler Nick Gallo was an alternate on the United States Wrestling team in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, but he did not compete. The Puerto Rican team is down to 13 players and needs to make one more cut before opening play in the Olympics on Sunday, August 15 against the United States in Athens, Greece. 

Apodaca scored 1,422 points for Hofstra from 1999-2003, ranking him ninth all-time in Pride history. He is also second all-time in school history with 190 three-pointers made and was a second-team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection in 2001-02. He was a part of two NCAA Tournament teams with the Pride, including the 2000-01 team which finished 26-5 to tie the school record for wins in a season.