Hempstead, N.Y. - Hofstra head coach Mo Cassara said he's been proud of the team's effort this season as Hofstra has been competitive in almost every contest.
The Pride will now try and see that effort rewarded with a conference victory when Hofstra faces James Madison University from the Convocation Center in Harrisonburg, Va. on Saturday at 4 p.m. in a Colonial Athletic Association matchup.
Hofstra (6-13, 0-7) will look to snap a six-game losing streak while picking up its first win of the month. James Madison (9-9, 2-5) won the first meeting this season with a 62-60 victory on Long Island on Dec.6.
Through 18 games, Hofstra has shown positive signs as it works towards its first league victory. Cassara's team has out-rebounded opponents 11 times this season and held an advantage in free-throw attempts in 12 contests. Defensively, Hofstra has held opponents to fewer than 70 points in 13 games.
In conference play, Hofstra has dropped six games by a combined 25 points. The Pride lost a one-point heartbreaker at Delaware and also saw Northeastern and James Madison squeak out two-point wins. In the previous game versus preseason CAA-favorite Drexel, Hofstra lost, 56-50, but held the Dragons to 37.5 percent field-goal shooting.
JMU ended Hofstra's 12-game winning streak in the series when the Dukes won on Long Island on Dec. 6. The 62-60 victory was another in a series of close contests between the schools. Last season, Hofstra posted a 92-90 overtime victory at home. Before that contest, the Pride won a 99-96 double-overtime thriller at the Mack Sports Complex in 2009. JMU had not won in the series since the 2002-03 campaign before the victory earlier this season.
Hofstra's senior leadership has helped the Pride stay in games. Mike Moore has thrived in the go-to scorer role, logging a 20-point effort in 13 of Hofstra's 19 games. The shooting guard leads the CAA with a 20.1 scoring average and his 13 20-point games were seven more than the next closest player in the league entering Monday (Delaware's Devon Saddler had six).
Moore has led the team in scoring in 16 out of 19 total games. Entering Monday night, Moore was ninth in the nation in scoring averaging. Besides his offensive prowess, Moore's pair of double-digit rebounding games made him one of just 21 players in the CAA to accomplish the feat.
Fellow senior forward Nathaniel Lester scored 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting against Drexel to extend his CAA-leading double-figure scoring streak to 11 games. Lester is averaging 13.9 points and is the team's leading rebounder with a 6.8 average. Moore and Lester have combined for 645 of Hofstra's 1,272 points this season, comprising more than 50 percent of the team's total point production.
Hofstra, which is in the midst of a four-games-in-eight-days stretch that also includes a road game at VCU on Monday and a home meeting versus George Mason University on Wednesday, will continue a challenging conference slate. The Dukes are coming off an eight-point road win at UNC Wilmington.
Head coach Matt Brady has two of the league's top-10 scorers in his starting lineup. Junior guard A.J. Davis continues the Hofstra contest as the CAA's fourth-ranked scorer by averaging 16.3 points. Senior guard Humpy Hitchens has also been a JMU offensive catalyst, averaging 15.8 points on 42.9 percent field-goal shooting.
JMU claims one of the best three-point shooting offenses in the league, entering the weekend third with a 34.6 percent success rate from beyond the arc. Yet JMU has also given up its share of three-pointers, allowing opponents to connect at a 37 percent rate for the second-worst mark in the league. The Dukes are also ranked 11th in the 12-team league in three rebounding categories (offense, defense and margin).
In the first meeting, Moore scored 20 of his 24 points in the opening half and David Imes scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds versus the Dukes. But Hitchens scored on a late layup to break a tie in a game in which Davis scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.
The Pride will look to again limit JMU's offense chances and prevent Davis and Hitchens from finding open room near the rim. Freshman forward Moussa Kone will try and build off one of the most solid defensive games of his collegiate career after he had a personal-best nine rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench against Drexel. Kone also blocked two shots, drew a second-half offensive foul, collected four offensive rebounds and did not turn the ball over once.
Kone scored six points and blocked four shots the last time he faced JMU. Sophomore forward Stephen Nwaukoni was coming off the bench in early December when the teams first met but now has been a fixture in the starting lineup. Nwaukoni is averaging 4.4 points and 5.2 rebounds.
JMU guard Devon Moore scored 19 points last game at UNC
Wilmington, tying Hitchens for the game-high honors. That gives the Dukes three
guards capable of scoring, putting the onus on Hofstra's backcourt to respond
at both ends. Senior guard Dwan McMillan will likely be asked to help offset
JMU's guard-heavy offense.
McMillan has been Hofstra's best offensive facilitator. Despite starting just 12
games, McMillan is second in the league in assists, just two behind VCU's
Darius Theus with 85 helpers and is second to Theus in assist-per-game by averaging 4.5. He is second in the CAA in assist-to-turnover ratio and his
total assists are 49 more than the next-closest teammate.
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