Riverdale, NY (December 31, 2003)- Senior forward Dave Holmes recorded his first double-double of the season, tallying game-highs of 22 points and 13 rebounds as Manhattan College overcame a seven point second half deficit to defeat the Hofstra University Pride, 65-58, tonight at Draddy Gym. The Jaspers improve to 6-3 with their third straight win over Hofstra.
Trailing by seven, 53-46, with 7:06 left in the game, Manhattan outscored Hofstra 19-5 the rest of the way. Holmes started the comeback with four straight free throws to cut the deficit to four, 53-49, with 5:46 remaining. After a Loren Stokes layup pushed the lead back to six, two more Holmes free throws, followed by back-to-back three pointers by Luis Flores and Kenny Minor gave the Jaspers the lead, 55-54, with 4:22 left on the clock. Another Flores three pushed the lead to four before two Kenny Adeleke free throws brought the Pride back to within two, 60-58, with 1:57 left in the game. The Jaspers would keep Hofstra off the scoreboard the rest of the way, as a tough, leaning jumper by Jason Wingate, and three free throws, two more Holmes and one from Minor, provided the final margin.
For the second straight game, Manhattan came out of the gate strong in the first half, scoring 18 of the game's first 24 points to take an 18-6 lead 9:27 into the game. But like the Jaspers' last game, the opposition answered Manhattan's opening salvo with a run of its own, as the Pride went on a 11-1 run over the next 3:44 to pull with two, 19-17. The Jaspers would push the lead back to as many as seven, but Hofstra scored the last three points of the half, and the teams went into the break with Manhattan leading, 34-31.
Flores joined Holmes, who was 12-12 from the line, in double figures with 19 points on 8-14 shooting. Senior Jason Benton chipped in with five points, three rebounds, and a career-high six blocks. Wingate added seven points and four assists.
Hofstra was led by Adeleke's 19 points and 13 boards, while Stokes added 14 and Carlos Rivera added 11.
The Jaspers get back in action on Saturday, January 3, when the begin a three game MAAC road trip at Siena. Manhattan follows that game with its Western New York swing, battling Canisius on Wednesday, January 7, and Niagara on Friday, January 9. All three games are slated to tipoff at 7:00 p.m.