Shorthanded Hofstra loses to Wagner

Hofstra coach Mo Cassara had to dig deep into his bench Tuesday night, but came up empty.

Forced to play without starting point guard Stevie Mejia (hamstring) and reserve forwards Stephen Nwaukoni (illness) and Bryant Crowder (suspension), the visiting Pride found itself shorthanded and unable to deal with pressure defense in a 58-43 non-conference loss to Wagner.

Although the Pride dressed only nine players, no one was making any excuses.

"We have a short bench right now,'' Cassara said. "But that's what we've got and we have to find a way to get better.''

How tough was it for the Pride? Matt Grogan and Jereme Good, both walk-ons, got into the game during the first half.

Mejia, who missed his second straight game, dressed but sat out. Nwaukoni didn't make the trip to Staten Island for the Pride (3-6), which has lost three straight.

Mejia won't be ready for a while, Cassara said. But Nwaukoni is expected to be back for Saturday's home game against Manhattan.

Mike Moore had 15 points but shot only 4-for-16, and Nathaniel Lester had 12 points. Hofstra shot 28.9 percent from the field and committed 20 turnovers.

Chris Martin had 15 points, and Kenneth Ortiz 12 for Wagner (7-2).

"Give them the credit for putting the pressure on us like that,'' Lester said. "But it's mental within our team. It's something we have to fix.''

Hofstra cut a 13-point deficit to 44-37 with 7:42 left, but Wagner answered with a 7-0 run, capped by a Tyler Murray layup, and led 51-37 with 5:03 to go.

Said Lester: "I think we just have to find better shots, get a couple of more passes in, move the ball around and get our shots and don't take shots they want us to take.''

Hofstra's shooting and ballhandling problems began in the first half as the Pride shot 39 percent and committed 12 turnovers. Wagner actually shot worse (28.6 percent), but had more possessions and went 8-for-11 from the free-throw line and led 26-23.

Cassara did find some positives in the Pride's defense, which forced 19 turnovers.

"I think we're doing some really good things defensively,'' he said. "We forced them into some turnovers and got some good stops. I like where we are defensively.''