Senior forward Adrian Uter (Queens, NY/Springfield Gardens HS - pictured) scored a career high 21 points to lead five players in double figures as the Hofstra Men's Basketball team rolled to a 73-57 win over St. Francis (N.Y.) on Thursday evening at Peter Aquilone Court in Brooklyn.

With the win, the Pride improves to 7-2 on the season, including wins in its last three games and six of its last seven. St. Francis slips to 3-6 with the loss.

Senior forward Aurimas Kieza (Marijampole, Lithuania) had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while junior guard Carlos Rivera (San German, PR) had 11 points and a career-high 10 assists. Rivera became the first Hofstra player to have 10 assists in a game since Gibran Washington had 12 in an 81-64 win over St. John's on Dec. 2, 2003. Sophomore guard Antoine Agudio (Huntington Station, NY) added 12 points, while junior guard Loren Stokes (Buffalo, NY) had 10.

Uter reached his career high in the first half alone, tallying 15 points as the Pride took a 42-31 lead into the break. Uter shot 7-of-9 from the floor in the opening stanza, with one of his misses coming on a put-back attempt at the first half buzzer. His previous high of 14 points had been accomplished on two occasions, most recently in the regular season finale against George Mason last year. Uter and Kieza, who had nine points, helped control the interior in the opening half, as Hofstra outscored St. Francis in the paint 24-4, while the Terriers scored 21 of their 31 points on seven three-pointers.

Hofstra also got off to a quick start for the seventh game in a row, jumping out to an 11-0 lead before St. Francis finally scored. The Pride opened its last game against Dartmouth on Dec. 17 with a 15-2 spurt, and opened its home game against Stony Brook on Dec. 14 with a 17-0 run. Hofstra has also jumped out to an 11-0 lead over St. John's (Nov. 29), a 16-6 lead over Binghamton (Dec. 1), a 22-4 lead over Delaware (Dec. 3), and an 11-3 lead over VCU (Dec. 7). 

The Pride also began the second half with another sustained run, a 16-3 spurt to take a 58-34 lead. Hofstra was able to coast from there for the easy win, and is still yet to play a game this season decided by less than 13 points. Hofstra also moved to 7-0 this year in games played in New York State (four at home, one at Madison Square Garden, one at St. John's and one at St. Francis).

The Pride also held St. Francis to just 29.6 percent shooting, the seventh time in seven wins that it has held its opponent to 40 percent shooting or less. In addition, Hofstra held its opponent below 60 points for the sixth time this year (all wins) and has now won 63 straight regular season games when holding opponents to less than 60. Uter finished the game 10-of-13 from the floor for his 21 points, while Hofstra shot 51.7 percent as a team and outscored the Terriers in the paint 44-12.

Agudio hit two three-pointers in the contest, giving him 99 in his career. Kieza added his 97th and Rivera hit his 96th, putting three players within reach of the 100 three-pointer mark, a plateau that only 11 players in school history have reached. Stokes also added his 200th career assist in the contest, two games after scoring his 1000th career point.

The Pride will next be in action after the holiday break when it travels to La Salle on Friday, Dec. 30 for a 7 p.m. contest. The Explorers started 7-0 before falling to fourth-ranked Villanova this evening.