Hempstead, N.Y.— The Hofstra men's basketball team will
return home from a two-game road swing on Wednesday when the Pride will oppose
first-place George Mason University at 7 p.m. from the Mack Sports Complex.
Hofstra (7-14, 1-8) is coming off a split in its trip
through Virginia. The Pride posted its first Colonial Athletic Association win
of the season at JMU on Saturday before falling to VCU on Monday. George Mason
(16-5, 8-1) enters with a four-game winning streak.
George Mason leads the 12-team league in scoring average
with 71.3 points; the only squad to crack the 70-point plateau. The Patriots
also are shooting a CAA-best 47.2 percent from the field. To combat Mason's
quick-strike ability, the Pride will depend on senior guard Mike Moore, who has
logged a 20-point effort in 13 of Hofstra's 21 games.
Moore leads the team and the CAA with a 19.4
scoring average and his 13 20-point games were six more than the next closest
players in the CAA entering the week (Delaware's Devon Saddler and JMU's A.J.
Davis had seven). Moore has led the team in scoring in 17 out of 21 total
games. Entering Monday night, Moore was 20th in the nation in scoring averaging.
Besides his offensive prowess, Moore's pair of double-digit rebounding games made
him one of just 22 players in the CAA to accomplish the feat.
Senior forward Nathaniel Lester is the
conference's top-10 in scoring and rebounding, averaging 14.2 points and a
team-best 6.8 rebounds. Lester recorded Hofstra's best all-around
against a VCU team that advanced to last season's Final Four, scoring 12 points
and grabbing eight rebounds at the Siegel Center.
For the third time in five games, Hofstra
will be facing a team that made the NCAA Tournament in 2010-11. Hofstra fell on
the road to ODU and VCU and will now face a George Mason team that is thriving under first-year coach Paul Hewitt.
George Mason has
defeated JMU, Delaware, Towson and UNC Wilmington. Senior forward Ryan Pearson
is a candidate for the league's Player of the Year award by averaging 17.5
points and 8.4 rebounds with a 51.0
field goal percentage. Pearson is also third on the team with 35 assists and
has connected on 15 three-pointers to become one of the best all-around threats
in the CAA.
George Mason's strength is its frontcourt as fellow senior forward Mike Morrison
is averaging 10 points and seven rebounds. Overall, the Patriots are
out-scoring opponents by eight points. The team's only conference loss came on
the road against preseason-favorite Drexel on Jan. 12.
The
Patriots hold an 11-8 all-time lead in the series, although Hofstra snapped a
five-game losing streak with an 87-74 win at the Mack Sports Complex on Jan. 5,
2011. The Pride defeated George Mason 77-66 in 2005-06 when the Patriots were
ranked No. 25 in the nation in the coaches poll (the only win over a Division I
ranked team in program history). The teams have also met three times in the CAA
Tournament with Hofstra winning two, as the lower-seeded team pulled the upset
each time.
Hofstra
will look to improve on the glass after getting out-rebounded, 37-28, at VCU.
But head coach Mo Cassara's team is still +1.1 in rebounding margin this year.
Helping Lester on the boards has been junior forward David Imes, who is averaging 5.5 rebounds.
Sophomore forward
Stephen Nwaukoni has started the last 10 games for the Pride after coming off
the bench through the first 11 games. Nwaukoni is third on team by averaging
5.2 rebounds and his 45 offensive rebounds trails only Lester (59) for the most
on the squad.
To
purchase tickets, call 516-HOF-TIXX (463-8499) or click here.
Fans who cannot make it out to the game can watch and/or listen to the game
through Pride Zone by clicking here.
