Hempstead, NY – Senior Juan'ya Green recorded his second double-double of the season to lead five Pride players in double-figures as Hofstra defeated Delaware, 90-80 in the Colonial Athletic Association opener for both teams at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex Thursday afternoon.

Hofstra, which won its third consecutive game, improved to 9-4 overall and 1-0 in the CAA, hit on 14 of 33 three-point attempts as part of their 49 percent shooting from the field. Green tied his career-high with 11 assists to go with his team-high 19 points. Graduate-student Denton Koon tallied 17 points and grabbed six rebounds while senior Ameen Tanksley posted 16 points and six boards. Sophomore Rokas Gustys added 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds while junior Brian Bernardi chipped in with 12 points. Tanksley and Bernardi each sank four three-pointers while Green added three and Koon two.

Delaware, which dropped its fourth consecutive game, falls to 5-7 overall and 0-1 in conference play. The Blue Hens had four players in double-figures led by sophomore Anthony Mosley with a game-high and career-high 20 points. Senior Marvin King-Davis posted 19 points and 11 boards for his seventh double-double of the season which leads the CAA. Junior Cazmon Hayes added 16 points and sophomore Kory Holden chipped in with 13 points. The Blue Hens shot 45 percent (31-69) from the field, including 7 for 18 from the three-point line.
 
The first half featured five tied scores, five lead changes and a barrage of three-pointers – mostly from the Pride – in a fast-paced 20 minutes. The Blue Hens took their biggest lead of the half early in the period at 10-6 on a three-point play by Anthony Mosley at the 16:55 mark.

But the Pride would tie the game at 12-all just 40 second later on three-pointers from Tanksley and Koon. The score would be knotted at 14, 16 and 19-all at the 13:48 mark before the Pride, who were shooting over 60 percent from the field, including five threes, would bust open a lead.

Hofstra went on a 14-4 run over the next 4:06, behind seven points from Koon, to take their biggest lead of the half at 33-23. After Mosley hit a three for UD and Koon followed with a lay-up to move the score to 35-26 at the 7:45 mark, the Blue Hens went on their own run. Mosley tallied 10 points in a 12-2 UD spurt that gave the Blue Hens a 38-37 advantage on a Mosley lay-up with 3:46 to play in the half.

Bernardi's three-pointer for the Pride just 17 seconds later would start Hofstra's 5-2 run to close the half with the Pride holding a 43-40 lead. Hofstra hit on 50 percent (17-34) of their shots including 8 for 18 from the three-point line with Koon leading the Pride with 15 points. UD, which was led by Mosley's 15 points, hit on 14 of 34 field goal attempts including 5 of 12 from the three-point line for a 41.2 percentage.  

The second half started with a bang as Delaware's Hayes hit a three-pointer just nine seconds in to tie the game at 43. But the Pride went on a 10-0 run with Tanksley's three-pointer at the 18:11 mark capping the run and giving Hofstra a 53-43 advantage.

Delaware chipped away and closed to within five at 61-56 on a King-Davis jumper at the 13:44 mark. But the three-ball came back into play for the Pride as Tanksley hit two and Green hit another in a 9-4 spurt that gave Hofstra a double-digit lead at 70-60 with 10:09 to play.

The Blue Hens were only able to close to within seven at 82-75 with 4:53 to play on a King-Davis jumper, but the Pride tallied six unanswered points, including four by Green, as part of a 8-5 run to close the contest in the 90-80 victory.

Hofstra returns to action on Saturday, January 2 when the Pride travels south to face CAA-foe Towson University at 7 p.m.

Notes:
- Tanksley and Green now have scored in double-figures in 12 games this season. Koon and Berardi each have done it in nine games.
- Hofstra improves to 51-31 in its all-time series against Delaware and have now won three consecutive meetings.
- In addition to his scoring prowess, Green has now led the team in assists in 12 of the 13 contests this season and 42 times during his Pride career.
- This marks Hofstra's third win streak of three games this season.