Richmond, Va. – The Hofstra men's basketball team will be looking for its first conference winning streak of the season when the Pride takes on Virginia Commonwealth University from the Siegel Center on Monday at 7 p.m. Fans can listen to the game through Pride Zone on GoHofstra.com and watch the game locally on SNY.

Hofstra (7-13, 1-7 in Colonial Athletic Association play) snapped a six-game losing streak in dramatic fashion the last time out when junior guard Stevie Mejia erased a one-point JMU lead with a three-point play with 6.1 seconds left for a road win over the Dukes on Saturday. The Pride will now look to continue that momentum by completing its two-game Virginia swing against a VCU (15-5, 6-2) squad that is coming off a home win over defending CAA-champion Old Dominion University.

Senior forward Nathaniel Lester has been on a tear, scoring 17 of his team-high 23 points at JMU in the second half. Lester has surged up the CAA scoring leaderboard, moving up to ninth in the league with a 14.4 average. His ascension gives the Pride two players in the top-10 as senior guard Mike Moore's 19.6 scoring average leads the conference.

VCU, which is coming off a Final Four appearance last season, is second in the league in scoring margin with a +8.5 differential. The Pride saw what damage a balanced Rams team was capable of inflicting when VCU won the series opener at Hofstra on Jan. 2, 80-63. Out of the Pride's seven CAA losses, that game was the only one Hofstra lost by more than eight points.

The Pride will be looking for the first win in the series since the 2006-07 season and will try and snap VCU's seven-game winning streak in the matchup. In the previous meeting, four Rams scored in double figures, led by Troy Daniels' 15 points off the bench. VCU forced 21 Hofstra turnovers as the Pride notched 10 fewer assists (11) compared to VCU (21). 

After advancing to the national semifinals last year, VCU has continued that momentum entering the new season under head coach Shaka Smart. The Rams have won the last four games and the team boasts five players averaging more than eight points per game, led by senior swingman Bradford Burgess.

But Hofstra has shown positive signs, especially on the road. Playing in front of 4,025 people at JMU's Convocation Center, the Pride rallied for a last-minute comeback and out-rebounded the Dukes, 37-26. Lester grabbed four offensive rebounds in that contest while junior forward David Imes scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half to send Hofstra to an early lead that proved valuable in the later stages.

Moore was held to just 10 points by JMU but still is in the league's top-20 in field-goal percentage (15th), free-throw percentage (seventh), steals (ninth) three-point percentage (fourth), three-pointers made (fourth), defensive rebounds (11th) and minutes played (fifth). He entered last week ninth in the nation in scoring average.

The game will also feature a matchup of the CAA's top-two players in assists. Senior guard Dwan McMillan is tied with VCU's Darius Theus in total assists with 90 and assist-per-game average at 4.5. McMillan is third in the CAA in assist-to-turnover ratio and his total assists are 51 more than the next-closest teammate in Moore.

Freshman Moussa Kone has also given head coach Mo Cassara's team a lift off the bench. The first-year forward shot 3-of-3 from the field and finished with six points , four rebounds, a block and a steal against JMU. Kone is second on the team in blocks with 20, just three behind Imes for the lead.

Fans can sign up to listen to the game through Pride Zone by clicking here.