Mike St. John

Darnell Harris

Paul Johnson

Tabby Cunningham

, PA - The La Salle men's basketball team squandered an eight-point lead with under five minutes to play, allowing Hofstra (8-2) to fight its way back and win a closely-contested game at Tom Gola Arena, 71-70. The loss spoiled a fine night by senior Steven Smith (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast), who notched his fourth double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

With La Salle leading 69-61 with 4:34 left on the clock, Hofstra mounted a comeback that was kicked off with a Aurimas Kieza three-pointer. The Pride's Carlos Rivera stole the ball from Tabby Cunningham (Philadelphia, PA/St. John Neumann) and fed Kieza for a jumper. Kieza then picked Smith's pocket and took off for a fast-break layup, tying the score at 69.

On La Salle's next possession, Smith was fouled attempting a layup. He made one of two free throws to give the Explorers a one-point lead. Hofstra's Antoine Agudio then hit a jumper with just over a minute left to put the Pride up 71-70.

The Explorers had a couple of chances to take the lead. Senior Jermaine Thomas (Frederick, MD/Thomas Johnson) missed a jumper with 47 seconds to go, and Rivera corralled the rebound. On the ensuing possession, Greg Johnson missed a three and the rebound went out of bounds, giving La Salle the ball with six seconds left. After a Hofstra timeout, Cunningham tried to drive the length of the court, but was tied up and lost the ball as time expired.

Agudio's 23 points led all scorers. La Salle's Darnell Harris (Baltimore, MD/St. Francis) contributed 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting, including four treys. Freshman Paul Johnson (Washington, DC/Gonzaga) added 11 points.  The Explorers connected on 50 percent of their shots.

Loren Stokes had 18 points for the Pride, who shot 49 percent from the floor. Adrian Uter added 12 points and Kieza finished with nine.

The Explorers return to action on Jan. 4, when the host Duquesne at 12:05 p.m.