Pittsburgh, PA - Graduate student Zach Cooks continued the electrifying start to his Pride career as he poured in a game-high 29 points to lead the Hofstra men's basketball team to a 73-63 win over Duquesne on Saturday evening at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The win was the first in the career for Hofstra Head Coach Speedy Claxton.

Cooks has already scored 55 points this season through a pair of games after scoring 26 in the Pride's near upset of #15 Houston on Tuesday evening. 

The win evens Hofstra's record at 1-1 this season, while Duquesne falls to 1-1. 

Junior Caleb Burgess, who made several key plays down the stretch to help cement the victory, dished out a game-high seven assists for the Pride. 

It was all Hofstra in the opening 20 minutes as Cooks carried the Pride to an 18-point halftime advantage as he poured in 20 first half points. The Pride was on fire early as they used a 12-1 scoring run to made it 12-3 with 16:27 left in the first half after a basket from junior Aaron Estrada. A three-pointer from Cooks at the 14:53 mark gave Hofstra its first double-digit lead of the game at 17-5 and the Pride was off to the races in the opening stanza. The lead hovered around 10 for the next few minutes until Hofstra added an 11-4 run to take a 35-19 following Cooks fast break bucket. Cooks closed his incredible first half with a layup with four seconds left to push the lead back to 18.

Duquense came out of the break with a renewed energy and the Dukes slowly chipped away at the deficit. Duquesne scored the first 11 points of the second stanza to close the gap to seven, 41-34, with 16:07 showing on the clock before Cooks ended the run with a huge basket at the 15:42 mark. It would be a battle from there as the Dukes got a bucket from Austin Rotroff to make it a three-point game, 47-44, with 12:08 to play. Sophomore Darlinstone Dubar quieted the home crowd with a three-pointer less than a minute to keep the Pride in front. The Dukes were still within four before Estrada drained a three-pointer and redshirt senior Abayomi Iyiola followed with a basket to put the Pride ahead 55-46 with 9:39 left. 

Holding on to a narrow six-point lead with just over three minutes remaining, Hofstra pulled away late with a 7-0 run that made it 71-58 with 1:21 left after a Cooks basket. A pair of free throws from Estrada would account for the final points on the Pride's ledger as they picked up the road win. 


Dubar tallied 14 points and six rebounds for the Pride, while Estrada added 14 and six as well. Iyiola chipped in with 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds. 

Primo Spears led Duquesne with 17 points, while Kevin Easley had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Dukes. 

Hofstra returns to action for its first game in New York State on Tuesday when it travels to Iona for a 7 p.m. contest. That game will air on ESPN3. 

NOTES
- Hofstra is 2-0 all-time against Duquesne. The only previous meeting occurred during the 1976-77 season and resulted in a 76-70 Pride victory. 
- Cooks is the second Hofstra player in the past 30 years with back-to-back 25-point (or more) performances to start their Pride careers. Demetrius Dudley had 33 (vs. Navy) and 32 points (vs. Lehigh) to open his Hofstra career in 1991. 
- Hofstra improved to 77-15 over the last eight seasons when holding its opponent under seven points.