Estero, FL – Junior Rokas Gustys continued to stake his claim as the nation's best rebounder as the Lithuanian native had 26 rebounds and added 10 points, three blocks and two assists to lead the Hofstra Men's Basketball team to a 65-57 win over South Dakota in the third place game of the Gulf Coast Showcase at Germain Arena.

The staggering rebounding number set, established and put Gustys in rarified air. The total is a single-game high in NCAA Division I this season, the sixth-most in a game in Hofstra history, was a single-game Gulf Coast Showcase record and his 49 rebounds are a new tournament record.

Senior Brian Bernardi had 15 points in the game and went over 1,000 for his career (combined SMU and Hofstra). He now has 1,004 total with 894 as a member of the Pride. Bernardi also moved into third place all-time at Hofstra in career three-pointers. He now has 194 and passed Norman Richardson, who tallied 192 from 1997-2001. 

Hofstra evened its record at 3-3 with the win as it went 2-1 down in Florida. South Dakota slips to 5-2 with the loss.

Hofstra took a 31-28 lead into the break as Bernardi drained a three-pointer in the waning moments of the opening stanza to put the Pride in front.

The Pride fell behind early, 4-0, before eventually knotting the score at 12 less than nine minutes into the contest. A three-pointer from senior Deron Powers evened the score for Hofstra.

South Dakota immediately answered with back-to-back three-pointers to push the lead back to six, 18-12, with 10:31 to play before intermission.

Hofstra's defensive intensity picked up at that point and they used an 8-2 run to even the score at 20 courtesy of a lay-up from sophomore Desure Buie.

The Pride took its first lead of the game at 28-27 via a pair of Powers free throws and would take the lead into the locker room thanks to Bernardi.  

South Dakota closed the gap to one, 33-32, early in the second stanza before Hofstra put together a sustained 10-0 scoring run to open up a 43-32 advantage with 15:44 left in regulation. Bernardi had five points during the run that culminated with three-pointers from freshman Eli Pemberton and Bernardi.

Hofstra would push the lead to 13, 47-34, following another jumper from Bernardi before South Dakota closed to within six, 47-41, using a quick 7-0 scoring run.

Both teams would hit a bit of a cold streak with both going scoreless for more than four minutes until a three-pointer from South Dakota's Trey Dickerson make it 49-44 with 8:14 to play.

The Pride would continue to stave off each South Dakota rally as a three-pointer from Powers made it 52-44 and later after USD had closed to within four, 52-48, Bernardi hit another clutch trifecta to make it 55-48 with 4:23 left in the second stanza.

Despite a pair of long-range three-pointers from South Dakota in the final minutes Hofstra was able to hold on and went 10-10 from the free throw line in the final 1:39 of the game to earn the hard-fought victory.

Powers led Hofstra with 18 points to account for one of three players in double figures.

Tyler Flack had 15 points and seven rebounds for South Dakota, while Matt Mooney added 12 points and four assists and Dickerson scored 13 points.

Hofstra returns home for its next game as it will host Medaille on Friday in the final game of the Gulf Coast Showcase. Tip is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Fans can purchase tickets by visiting HofstraTickets.com, where it is now possible to print their tickets at home. In addition, fans can also call (516) HOF-TIXX or visit the Hofstra Athletics Box Office in the Mack Sports Complex for more ticket information. One ticket is good for both contests. 

NOTES
- Today's game was the first-ever between Hofstra and South Dakota in the sport of men's basketball.
- The previous Gulf Coast Showcase single game record was 16 by Aaron Valdes of Hawaii against Marist in 2014 and the previous Gulf Coast Showcase tournament record was 37 by Joel Bolomboy of Weber State in 2015.
- Gustys tallied his eighth career game of at least 20 rebounds. He leads the entire nation in 20-rebound games since the start of the 2014-15 campaign.