Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra Men's Basketball team will return home to the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex on Friday when the Pride host Long Island rival Stony Brook at 7 p.m.
For ticket information please call the Hofstra Athletics Box Office at (516) HOF-TIXX.
Pride Productions will have live video and audio available.
In conjunction with a PR 106 class at Hofstra, the team will be helping to sponsor a clothing drive for the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless. Fans that bring clothes to be donated will be entered into a raffle for a chance to win a 32" VIZIO television, an Xbox One or a Pebble smart watch.
The game against the Seawolves will mark the renewal of a rivalry that has seen the schools play 22 times but will be the first meeting since a 61-56 Hofstra victory during the 2008-09 campaign. Hofstra leads the all-time series, 18-4.
Hofstra (1-1) is coming off a 76-64 loss at North Carolina State on Monday evening. The Pride competed well in the second half against the Wolfpack, cutting the deficit to eight before NC State ended up capturing the 12-point victory.
Junior guard
Juan'ya Green led Hofstra with 19 points, while also adding eight rebounds and four assists. Also assisting in the Pride's efforts were junior forward
Ameen Tanksley (13 points/10 rebounds) and freshman forward
Rokas Gustys (12 rebounds). It marked the first double-double of the season for Tanksley and Gustys has reached double digits in rebounding in each of Hofstra's first two games of the season.
Through two games, Hofstra has shown that it enjoys shooting from the beyond the arc as the Pride has already attempted 53 three-pointers this season. Sophomore guard
Brian Bernardi leads the way with seven "triples", while Green and graduate guard
Dion Nesmith each have drained four and Tanksley has a trio of trifectas.
Green leads Hofstra in scoring so far this season with 16.5 points, while also chipping in with 6.5 assists and 6.5 rebounds per outing. Even more impressive is his assist to turnover ratio – as he has totaled 13 assists and committed just one turnover through a pair of games.
Three other players also average in double digits as Tanksley (14.5 ppg), Bernardi (12.5 ppg) and Nesmith (12.0 ppg) help lead the offensive showing for the Pride. Gustys is the Pride's top rebounder with 11 caroms per outing, while freshman center
Andre Walker is averaging 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots per game.
Stony Brook is 1-1 this season after dropping an 80-70 decision at Georgia on Tuesday. Carson Puriefoy is averaging 20 points per game, while Jameel Warney is second on the squad with 12 points and a team-best 14.5 rebounds per outing. The Seawolves opened the season with a 57-56 home win over Columbia on November 14.
