MBB: Green, Tanksley Lead Hofstra Past LIU Brooklyn

BOX SCORE | POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

Brooklyn, NY – Junior forward Ameen Tanksley had a game and career-high 32 points, including 17 in the first half, while junior guard Juan’ya Green had a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Hofstra Men’s Basketball team to an 88-62 victory over LIU Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon at the Barclays Center.

The victory was Hofstra’s first-ever in the Barclays Center as Hofstra played Tulane at the home of the Brooklyn Nets (NBA) in 2012-13.

Hofstra improves to 8-4 with the victory, while LIU Brooklyn falls to 4-7 with the loss and sees its four-game win streak come to an end.

Hofstra would be on fire from the field in the opening 20 minutes as the Pride shot a tremendous 58% (17-29) from the field in the first half. Tanksley led the way with 17 points, while sophomore guard Brian Bernardi added nine and Green chipped in with six points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Tanksley got Hofstra on the board to start with a jumper at the 19:33 mark and the Pride would use a 6-0 run to earn an 11-7 lead following a Tanksley layup with 12:07 left before halftime.

The Pride would take its first double digit lead of the contest at 24-13 as Hofstra scored eight straight points to push the advantage to 24-13 with 8:19 to play before intermission. Tanksley had five during the run and sophomore guard Jamall Robinson added a three-pointer.

Hofstra would continue to expand its lead as the first stanza played on. Tanksley put the finishing touches on his spectacular first half with a jumper with 40 seconds to play to allow Hofstra to earn its first 20-point lead of the game – a lead they would take into the locker room as well.

LIU Brooklyn would start the second half on a 12-4 run to close the gap to 49-37 with 15:50 left to play on a layup from Iverson Fleming.

As was the case in the opening half, Tanksley came up big once again and drained a three-pointer to push the lead back to 52-37 just 21 seconds later.

Hofstra would never seriously be challenged the rest of the way as the Pride ended its short two-game losing skid with a resounding 26-point victory.

Robinson added six points and nine rebound for the Pride, while graduate guard Dion Nesmith had 13 points. Tanksley also pulled down eight rebounds for Hofstra.

Nura Zanna had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Blackbirds and Fleming chipped in with 13.

The win improves Hofstra’s record in the series with LIU Brooklyn to 17-13 in a series that dates back to the 1958-59 campaign.

Hofstra returns to action on Wednesday, December 31 when it travels to Central Connecticut State for a 4 p.m. contest on New Year’s Eve.

Stephen Gorchov
Associate Director of Athletics for Communications
Office of Athletic Communications
Hofstra University
Office Phone – (516) 463-4933
Cell Phone – (516) 523-5252
GoHofstra.com