Hofstra beats St. Francis, 63-59

It wasn't pretty, but Hofstra capped a long week the way it had hoped -- with a victory.

After traveling to the West Coast and back, the Pride edged St. Francis (N.Y.), 63-59, in non-conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Mack Sports Complex. Mike Moore's 23 points and 10 rebounds led the way for Hofstra (2-1), and Nathaniel Lester had 13 points and nine rebounds.

The game was Hofstra's first after an 82-72 loss at Oregon State in the TicketCity Legends Classic on Wednesday night.

"We didn't have our 'A' game tonight,'' coach Mo Cassara said. "But we found a way to win. I don't like to make excuses, and I'm not making excuses, but it's been a long week.''

Hofstra shot only 33.3 percent (10-for-30) from the field in the second half and 38.8 percent (19-for-49) overall. Said Cassara: "We didn't have our legs today. I've been doing this for 14 years, and I don't think I've ever seen so many missed easy shots around the basket.''

With 6:24 remaining and the Pride trailing by three, Hofstra's Dwan McMillan hit two free throws and later added another to begin a 7-0 run. After Shemiye McLendon's jumper put the Pride ahead for good at 59-57, McMillan attempted a layup that was blocked by Akeem Johnson. Moore pulled down the offensive rebound along the left baseline and drilled a jumper as he fell backward onto the court, putting the Pride up 61-57 with 2:38 to go.

"Coach looks to me as one of the leaders out on the court,'' Moore said. "So when the pressure was on, I felt like I needed to make a play.''

The Pride held the Terriers to two points in the final six minutes, and with Hofstra holding a 61-59 lead, McLendon stole the ball, drew a foul with three seconds remaining and hit two free throws to clinch the victory.

"I think the defense really improved today,'' Cassara said. "We went to a zone defense and it worked pretty well for us.''

Stevie Mejia scored nine points and McMillan had eight off the bench for Hofstra, which went 23-for-36 from the free-throw line to St. Francis' 10-for-13. Travis Nichols had 12 and Johnson 11 for the Terriers (0-3).

The Pride will host Florida Atlantic on Tuesday. Said Cassara, "Hopefully, we'll be able to get a little rest between now and then.''