Boone, NC – Junior guard Juan'ya Green had 17 points and junior forward Malik Nichols provided great energy with 10 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season as the Hofstra Men's Basketball team captured a 68-51 victory over Appalachian State on Sunday afternoon at the Holmes Center. 

Hofstra improves to 6-2 with the win, the program's best since the 2008-09 squad was 7-1 through eight games. Appalachian State falls to 3-3 with the loss. 

Hofstra would take a three-point advantage, 29-26, into the halftime break as Green led the Pride with nine first half points. 

After the Mountaineers got on the board first with a free throw, the Pride scored seven of the next nine points in the contest to open up an early 7-3 advantage following a three-pointer from Green. 

Appalachian State would recover and take an 8-7 lead on a three-pointer from Tab Hamilton before Hofstra used a 12-2 run that culminated with a three-pointer from sophomore guard Jamall Robinson to open up a 19-10 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the opening stanza. 

Hofstra would eventually take the narrow lead into the break as the Mountaineers closed the gap to one several times later in the half before a Robinson jumper with 34 seconds remaining closed the Hofstra scoring in the opening half.  

A three-pointer from sophomore guard Brian Bernardi at the 19:20 mark of the second stanza would open the scoring and make it 32-26 in favor of the Pride.

Following that basket it would be an offensive struggle for both teams throughout a majority of the second half with Appalachian State holding a 37-36 advantage heading into the under-12 media timeout. 

A rejuvenated Pride would come out of that break and score back-to-back buckets, courtesy of Green and graduate guard Dion Nesmith, to earn a 40-37 lead with 11:01 left in regulation. 

Hofstra would push the lead to 42-37 as Nichols got an offensive rebound and put-back before Appalachian State ended the mini-Hofstra run.

Leading 44-42 with just over eight minutes left, Hofstra would put together a 8-0 scoring run that included another Nichols energy basket to make it 52-42 with 4:36 showing on the clock. It proved to give Hofstra some strong momentum in the game and their first double digit lead of the contest. 

Hofstra wouldn't allow Appalachian State back in the game after that point, keeping the pressure on the remainder of the contest and pulling away for the 17-point victory. 

Junior forward Ameen Tanksley added 13 points and six rebounds for Hofstra, which outscored the Mountaineers, 39-25, in the second stanza. Nesmith and Bernardi were also in double figures for Hofstra with 11 and 10 points, respectively. 

Frank Eaves led Appalachian State with 13 points, while Dustin Clarke had eight rebounds for the home team. 

Hofstra returns to action on Wednesday, December 10 when it travels to Coppin State for a 7:30 p.m. contest. From November 25 through January 16, Hofstra will play just three home games during a 14-game stretch.