Hempstead, NY –  Juan'ya Green scored a game-high 25 points to top the 2,000-point mark in his career and lead four Pride players in double figures as Hofstra held off a second half charge to defeat Drexel, 69-61 in a Colonial Athletic Association contest at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex Thursday night.

Green, who sparked a late second half spurt for the Pride with 10 straight points, was 8-for-13 from the field and 8-for-10 from the line for his 25 points. He now has 2,003 points in his career. Green also grabbed six rebounds and dished five assists as Hofstra improved to 12-5 overall and 4-1 in the CAA.

Green is only the third active player to reach 2,000 career points, joining D.J. Balentine of Evansville and John Brown of High Point in the exclusive club. 

Sophomore Rokas Gustys recorded his seventh double-double of the season and the eighth of his career with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Brian Bernardi added 12 points and senior Ameen Tanksley chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds. Graduate-student Denton Koon tallied five points and grabbed a career-high and game-high 13 rebounds.

Drexel, which slipped to 3-13 overall and 1-4 in the CAA, had three players in double-figures led by graduate-student Kazembe Abif, who posted a double-double, tying his career-high with 16 points and adding 10 rebounds. Sophomore Sammy Mojica scored 13 points while senior Tavon Allen added 10 points. Freshman Terrell Allen chipped in with nine points and eight rebounds.

The Pride, who never trailed in the first half, scored the first six points of the contest with Gustys scoring four. But after Hofstra opened up a 13-5 lead on a Nichols layup at the 10:58 mark, the Dragons went on an 8-2 run over the next 3:18 to close to within two at 15-13 after a Bah dunk with 7:18 to play in the half.

Hofstra responded with four points by Green and three by Tanksley during a 7-3 spurt which boosted the Pride lead to 22-16 with 4:18 remaining after a lay-up by Green. Allen scored the next four points for Drexel to close to within two again at 22-20. But Bernardi's three-pointer with 3:22 to play in the half started a 12-2 Hofstra run that boosted the lead to 34-22. Bernardi tallied seven points in the spurt. Mojica's lay-up at the buzzer closed out the first half scoring with the Pride holding a 34-24 advantage.

The Pride, who shot 41 percent (12-29) from the field and outrebounded the Dragons 30-18 in the first 20 minutes, turned the ball over 12 times that resulted in 11 Drexel points. The Dragons hit on just 26 percent (10-38) including just two of 10 from the three-point line.

Drexel came out shooting and hitting in the second half as the Dragons went on an 11-4 run to open the second period to tie the contest at 38-all at the 14:05 mark after an Abif layup. The Drexel graduate-student had seven of the 11 Dragon points in the run.

Bernardi's three-point play started a 7-2 spurt for the Pride that gave Hofstra a 45-40 lead at the 12:08 mark after a Gustys jumper. But Abif hit a layup and Allen connected on a three-pointer in the next minute to tie the game at 45 with 11:14 to play.

Gustys scored inside and Green hit two from the charity stripe to give Hofstra a 49-45 lead only to see the Dragons go on a 9-3 run with Abif's layup giving Drexel their first lead of the games at 54-52 with 6:22 remaining.

One minute later with Hofstra trailing by two at 56-54, Green went to work for the Pride. The Hofstra senior scored the next 10 points over the next 2:11 to give the Pride a 64-56 lead with 3:06 to play. His last points in the spurt, on a three-point play, gave him 2,001 in his collegiate career.

Mojica would hit two free throws at the 1:49 mark for Drexel but Gustys would follow with a layup and Green would add two from the charity stripe to seal the Pride's second straight victory and their sixth in their last seven outings.

The Pride return to action on Saturday, January 16 when they host the Dukes of James Madison (13-5, 3-2) at the Mack Sports Complex. Game time is 4 p.m. For ticket information visit HofstraTickets.com.

Notes
- The Pride recorded their second–best first half defensive effort of the season by holding the Dragons to 24 points. Florida Atlantic tallied 23 in the first half in a 68-54 Hofstra victory in December.
- Hofstra Head Coach Joe Mihalich is now 6-5 lifetime against Drexel.
- Hofstra is now 46-35 all-time against Drexel and the series ranks as the second-longest against an opponent for the Pride. Hofstra has only faced Delaware more - having faced the Blue Hens 82 times. 
- Terrell Allen is the son of former Hofstra great LeRoy Allen, who scored 1,435 career points from 1983-87 to rank 11th all-time in program history.