Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra Men's Basketball team will head to Towson on Saturday for a 4 p.m. contest. The game marks the regular season finale for the Pride, which will look to win and carry some momentum into next week's Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship.
The game will also mark the final men's basketball contest in the Towson Center as the University is opening a new arena next season.
PRIDE ZONE Live Video (courtesy of Towson) will be available via GoHofstra.com and the audio only broadcast is available via the PRIDE ZONE and WLIB (1190 AM).
Hofstra (7-23, 4-13 CAA) battled until the final buzzer in its last game before ultimately falling, 57-56, to Delaware on Wednesday evening. Hofstra got a huge boost out of sophomore center/forward Moussa Kone, who tallied a career-high with 18 points, while also adding five rebounds in 35 minutes. Senior guard Stevie Mejia shined on his senior night as he added 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in 40 minutes. Fellow seniors, forward David Imes and guard Matt Grogan, also saw extensive playing time. Imes had 10 points and seven rebounds, while Grogan played 15 minutes and chipped in with three rebounds.
Hofstra will look to Mejia and sophomore guard Taran Buie to carry the Pride into the Towson game and through postseason play. Mejia has starred of late for the Pride, while Buie has seen his scoring average dip to 12.7 points per game as he attempts to break out of a recent shooting slump. Mejia's average has surged to 11.5 points per game, while the Massachusetts native leads Hofstra in assists (123) and steals (60).
Delaware and Hofstra will meet again next week as the Pride and the Blue Hens will face each other in the quarterfinals of the CAA Championship on March 9. Game time is set for 6 p.m. Hofstra will be the seven seed in the conference tournament, while Delaware is the No. 2 seed. Northeastern clinched the regular season title and earned a bye into the semifinals, while the other matchups in the field are still to be determined.
Towson is 17-13 overall and 12-5 in league play heading into their season finale, as the Tigers are not eligible for postseason play. Jerrelle Benimon has carried the Tigers all season as he is averaging team-bests of 17.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Marcus Damas is second on the squad in scoring, and the only other player to average double figures, with 11.2 points per game. Jerome Hairston leads the Tigers with 73 assists and 32 steals, while ranking third with 9.7 points.
Saturday marks the second meeting of the year between Hofstra and Towson, with the Tigers winning 57-50 on February 16 in Hempstead. The two squads have met 56 times in the history of the series with Hofstra holding a 36-20 lead in the all-time meetings. The two teams first met during the 1982-83 campaign with the Pride winning by the score of 86-71. Hofstra defeated Towson in the only meeting last season, 74-49, in Hempstead and had won seven straight in the series dating back to the 2007-08 season prior to the earlier meeting this year.
