St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Hofstra
St. John's Falls To Unbeaten Hofstra, 78-68
12/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 11, 2004
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) - A sellout crowd of 5,124 at Hofstra Arena witnessed the return of St. John's to its campus after a 30-year absence and the Pride's Loren Stokes gave the home fans what they came to see leading all scorers with 24 points in the teams 78-68 win over the Red Storm.
St. John's sophomore center Lamont Hamilton led the Red Storm with 20 points and nine rebounds but got into early foul trouble in the second half that limited him to 28 minutes in the defeat.
The momentum of the game turned midway through the second half after a 33-33 tie at intermission as Hofstra's Antoine Agudio scored 16 of his 19 points to key a 7-0 run and give the Pride (6-0) a 50-42 advantage which included a technical foul on St. John's head coach Norm Roberts.
"Our team competed and played hard," Roberts noted. "It's not a step backward for us because we're still moving forward with a young team that is still learning about itself. Hofstra is a well coached and talented team that shoots the ball very well."
Daryll Hill was held to 15 points on 3 of 10 shooting and Rodney Epperson tallied 14 points for St. John's but was 0 for 7 from three-point range. Freshman Eugene Lawrence came off the bench to contribute eight points, five rebounds and four steals as the Red Storm fell to 3-4 on the season.
Hofstra shot 50% for the game and connected on nine three-point attempts while St. John's was held to 40% from the field. The rebounding edge went to the Pride by a 37-36 margin in this closely contested game.
The Red Storm has an eight-day layoff before returning to action to host Marist College at Carnesecca Arena because of final exams. The tip-off for the game against the Red Foxes is set for 2:00 p.m. and will be broadcast live on Radio Disney (1560AM).
