Washington, DC – The Hofstra Men's Basketball team rallied from a nine-point deficit with less than three minutes remaining to tie the game at 80, but George Washington's Alex Mitola hit an off-balance jumper in the lane with 2.5 seconds left to give the Colonials an 82-80 victory over the Pride in first round action of the National Invitation Tournament on Wednesday evening at the Charles E. Smith Center. 

Senior guard Juan'ya Green closed his career in spectacular fashion as he tallied 26 points and 10 assists for his ninth double-double of the season. He was joined in the double-double column by sophomore center Rokas Gustys, who had 14 points and 13 rebounds to account for his 22nd double-double this year. 

The loss ends Hofstra's season at 24-10, while George Washington improves to 24-10 and will meet Monmouth on Monday in the second round. 

This marked Hofstra's fifth-ever appearance in the NIT.  

A Mitola three-pointer put Hofstra in the nine-point hole, 80-71, before the Pride began its comeback. A corner three-pointer from freshman guard Justin Wright-Foreman made it 80-74 before back-to-back baskets from Gustys closed Hofstra to within 80-78 with 48 seconds to play. Following a defensive stop on the other end, Green would even the score with 14 seconds left before George Washington sent Hofstra to the heartbreaking defeat with the late game-winner. 

Hofstra went into the halftime break trailing by 11 as George Washington would use a significant run after trailing 25-21 with 7:44 left in the first half following a layup from junior guard Brian Bernardi. The Colonials got back-to-back three-pointers, including one from Tyler Cavanaugh with 5:59 left in the stanza, to complete a quick 8-0 run and lead 29-25. 

The game would be knotted at 33 later in the half before GW put together a 13-1 run to open up a 12-point advantage, 46-34, after a jumper from Joe McDonald. A pair of free throws from Green would end the run and Green would close the first half scoring with a driving layup to make it an 11-point deficit at intermission. 

Hofstra came out of the break with some much needed momentum as they scored 13 of the first 20 points in the second stanza to cut the GW lead to just five, 56-51, heading into the under-16 media timeout. 

A tip-in from graduate forward Denton Koon would close the gap to four, 60-56, with just under 13 minutes left and Hofstra would get a stop on GW's next possession before turning the ball over with a chance to cut it to two. 

After the Colonials' lead was cut to four, GW would put together a 10-2 run to make it 70-58 with less than nine minutes left in regulation. 

Green would drain a three-pointer with exactly three minutes left that would make it a six-point game heading into the final media timeout of the contest at 77-71. That would set up the exciting final few minutes of the contest. 

Koon added 19 points and seven rebounds in his final collegiate game, while senior forward Ameen Tanksley chipped in with 12 points and five rebounds in his last contest. 

Cavanaugh led George Washington with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Kevin Larsen added 16 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals. 

NOTES
- George Washington leads the all-time series with Hofstra, 3-1. 
- With his 13 rebounds in the game, Gustys finished with 442 rebounds this season to establish a new single season school record (Division I era). He broke the previous mark of 400 set by John Irving in 1976-77. 
- Gustys fell 13 rebounds shy of breaking the CAA single season mark of 455 by David Robinson (Navy) in 1985-86.
- Green finished with 2,317 career points (Hofstra and Niagara) and 1,186 career Hofstra points. He ranks 22nd all-time in program history. 
- Tanksley finished with 1,750 career points (Hofstra and Niagara) and 1,090 career Hofstra points. He ranks 28th all-time in program history. 
- Green's 463 assists at Hofstra rank sixth all-time. 
- This marked the final game at Hofstra for Green, Tanksley, Koon and senior forward Malik Nichols (injured).