Hempstead, N.Y. - The Hofstra Men's Basketball team returns home after a long road trip to the Puerto Rico Tip-Off and hosts Wagner on tonight for a 7 p.m. contest at the Mack Sports Complex.
Hofstra and Wagner will be meeting for the 50th time, with the Pride holding a 33-16 lead in the series. However, the two teams have not played since the 1991-92 season, when Hofstra earned its last of three straight victories against the Seahawks.
Both teams feature new head coaches to the Division I level, as Hofstra's Mo Cassara is in his first year with the Pride after serving the last four seasons as an assistant at Boston College, while Dan Hurley is in his first season at Wagner after nine years at St. Benedict's in New Jersey.
In fact, one of the players who Hurley coached during his prolific run at St. Benedict's (223-21 record in nine seasons) was current Hofstra point guard Dwan McMillan (Brooklyn, N.Y.). McMillan began his high school career at Boys & Girls Academy in Brooklyn, but transferred to St. Benedict's for his final two seasons, helping the Gray Bees to a 24-1 record, a state title and a No. 2 national ranking his senior year.
Hofstra comes into Thanksgiving weekend with a 1-3 record, after defeating Farmingdale State 102-62 at home on Saturday, Nov. 13, and then dropping three games at the Honda Puerto Rico Tip-Off last weekend. The Pride nearly had Western Kentucky defeated in its second game of the tournament on Friday, but the Hilltoppers rallied from a 14-point deficit with five minutes to go to knock off Hofstra 62-60.
Senior guard Charles Jenkins (Queens, N.Y.) has continued to be the offensive standout for the Pride, as has been the case for the last three years. Jenkins is averaging 23.0 points on 64.3 percent shooting through the first four games, raising his career total to 1,859 points, more than any active player in the nation. Junior guard Mike Moore (New Haven, Conn.) has also been in double figures in each of the first four games and is averaging 13.8 points.
Wagner, meanwhile, has started off 2-1 with a home win over Lafayette and a road win over Stony Brook, sandwiched around a loss at Lehigh. The Seahawks are led by junior guard Tyler Murray, who has averaged 19.0 points through the first three games, and has shot 9-16 from three-point territory (56.3 pct.).
For ticket information, contact the Hofstra Box Office at (516) HOF-TIXX (463-8499) or log on to GoHofstra.com. To watch or listen to the game on line, log on to GoHofstra.com and sign up for the PrideZone.
