Junior Guard Juan’ya Green. Photo by: Stacy Podelski/1495 Sports
After playing its last three games away from home, the Hofstra Men’s Basketball team will return home to the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex on Tuesday when the Pride host La Salle in a special 4 p.m. tip-off.
La Salle holds a special place in the heart of Hofstra Head Coach Joe Mihalich as not only is Mihalich a 1978 graduate of the school with a B.S. in mathematics and education, but he also spent a large portion of his coaching career there. Mihalich served as an assistant coach with the Explorers from 1981-98.
The game against the Explorers is one of just three home games for the Pride during a 14-game stretch from November 25 – January 14. Hofstra defeated Norfolk State, 88-74, on December 2 and will host Delaware in its Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) home opener on January 5 in its other home games during this stretch.
For ticket information to all home games and also the Pride’s game at the Barclays Center on December 28 call the Hofstra Athletics Box Office at (516) HOF-TIXX.
Hofstra (7-3) is coming off an 82-77 loss at Columbia on Saturday as the Pride were behind by 10 late before using an 8-0 run to close to within 73-71. The Lions would hold for the victory, though, ending the Pride’s four-game win streak.
The Pride placed four players in double figures against Columbia with junior guard Juan’ya Green leading the way with 19 points, while graduate guard Dion Nesmith and junior forward Ameen Tanksley each added 18. Junior forward Malik Nichols was the last member of the Pride in double figures with 10 points, while also pulling down a team-high nine rebounds.
Hofstra has won four of its last five games as the loss to Columbia ended the four-game win streak.
Tanksley and Green continue to lead the Pride in scoring with 18.3 and 18.1 points per game, respectively. With freshman forward Rokas Gustys out of the lineup, Tanksley is the Pride’s top rebounder at 5.9 per contest. Green leads Hofstra with 61 assists this season and has a 6.1 to 2.0 assist to turnover ratio.
La Salle (6-5) will be playing a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) for the third time in its last four games. The Explorers defeated Drexel, 65-55, on December 13 and most recently earned a 67-53 victory over Towson on Saturday. All three games against CAA opponents will have been on the road.
Jordan Price leads La Salle with 17.9 points per game, while Jerrell Wright is second on the team with 11.6 points and also averages 6.6 rebounds per game. Steve Zack leads the Explorers with 8.9 rebounds, while also scoring 7.5 points per outing. Price had a game-high 31 points in the win over Towson.
Hofstra is 5-14 all-time against La Salle, with the Pride winning the last meeting in 2005-06 by the score of 71-70. The first game in the series occurred during the 1968-69 season.
The Pride is 18-71 against the current members of the Atlantic 10 Conference, of which La Salle is a member of.
Mihalich is 1-1 all-time against his alma mater, defeating La Salle, 88-82, during the 2006-07 season and dropping a 77-74 decision during the 1998-99 campaign.
Following the game against the Explorers, Hofstra will have a pair of games remaining in 2014 as the Pride will head to the Barclays Center on December 28 to take on LIU Brooklyn at 2:30 p.m. and then close the year on New Year’s Eve with a road contest at Central Connecticut State at 4 p.m.
For more information on the Hofstra Men’s Basketball team fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here: