Hofstra

Scott Rodgers scored 25 points as Drexel beat Hofstra, 63-56, yesterday afternoon. Drexel (5-6, 1-1 Colonial Athletic Association) led by 13 points late in the second half before Hofstra closed within 56-51 on a three-pointer by Cornelius Vines with 1 minute, 15 seconds left. Rodgers answered with a jumper, and Jamie Harris hit two free throws moments later to seal it. The point total was a career high for Rodgers, a senior guard from Central High. Harris finished with 14 points.

Hofstra dominated the final three minutes last night to take a 69-62 win over Drexel in an America East game. The Pride (5-1, 1-1) broke a 59-59 tie with 3 minutes, 33 seconds to play by staging an 8-1 run. Hofstra was 4 for 6 from the foul line in the final 49 seconds. "They really killed us on the offensive glass," said Drexel coach Steve Seymour. "They did a great job of getting the ball inside down the stretch and buried us on the free-throw line. "Defensively we didn't get shots in those last three minutes, and that's what cost us the game.

Drexel was hit by another bolt of Hofstra's comeback lightning last night, but this time the host Dragons survived with a 74-68 overtime victory in a North Atlantic Conference game. Earlier this month, a 23-0 second-half run by Hofstra erased Drexel's 22- point advantage. For that game, though, Dragons team leader Leslie Reiner was sidelined with an injury. So last night, with the home team (4-3, 1-1 NAC) holding a 16-point lead at 58-42 with 6 minutes, 12 seconds remaining, few Drexel fans worried about a replay.

As the final seconds of Georgia Tech's consolation-game victory over Iona in the ECAC Holiday Festival counted down, a frustrated fan of the Gaels derisively shouted at the Yellow Jackets, "You guys lost to Hofstra. " Before this season is through, a lot of teams are apt to discover that losing to Hofstra is no disgrace. Just ask Penn, which fell to the revitalized Flying Dutchmen, 67-62, in the tournament's championship game yesterday afternoon in Madison Square Garden. "Hofstra is a real good basketball team," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said.

The next step in ascension of the Drexel men's lacrosse program begins today. After hosting their first home playoff game in 25 years last season, the Dragons have their sights set on reaching the NCAA Tournament. Taking care of business within their conference is the surest way there. That task begins when the 11th-ranked Dragons open their Colonial Athletic Association schedule against No. 15 Hofstra at Vidas Field at 5 p.m. Last season, the Dragons defeated three nationally ranked opponents, including top-ranked Virginia, posted the second-most wins in school history (11)

Villanova routed Hofstra, 71-46, yesterday in the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament at the Pavilion. The Wildcats (20-10) missed out on an NCAA berth for the second consecutive season and appeared determined to prove the selection committee wrong. Villanova will host Xavier at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Jackie Adamshick scored 13 points, and Liad Suez-Karni and Courtney Roantree each added 12 points for the Wildcats. "I think we did [belong in the NCAA]

Drexel forward John Rankin had the right idea in the Dragons' first-round East Coast Conference tournament game against Hofstra. The Dutchmen have been flying high of late, and Rankin knew that Drexel had to draw first blood and shake Hofstra's confidence. Instead, it was Rankin who admittedly had a shaky start, as the Dragons fell to Butch van Breda Kolff's Flying Dutchmen, 79-73, at Towson State. Drexel's season is over and Hofstra plays top-seeded Bucknell in the first tournament semifinal game today, while Towson plays Lafayette in the other second-round contest.

Drexel's season unofficially ended before it ever really began, when senior center Joe Linderman elected to redshirt because of a back injury. The Dragons officially played their last game yesterday at the Bob Carpenter Center, losing to regular-season champion Hofstra, 69-51, in the America East Tournament semifinals. In between, they never stopped competing. Nor did they ever use that huge void in the middle as a crutch. They were picked to finish fourth with Linderman.

Fresh off an overtime victory at Delaware on Thursday that gave them sole possession of second place in the Colonial Athletic Association, the Drexel Dragons returned home last night with a three-game winning streak. They kept it going with a 78-66 victory over Hofstra. With a run of points that began about eight minutes into the game, Drexel (11-6, 6-2) built enough of a lead that the second half became a matter of just finishing the job. Dragons guard Eric Schmieder tied a career high with 24 points and contributed seven assists.

At noon yesterday, the St. Joseph's basketball team held its usual day-of- the-game walk-through. At tipoff last night, the Hawks seemed to take that walk-through part seriously. They let lowly Hofstra walk right through them for nine minutes. Then Bernard Jones, a muscular 6-foot, 5-inch sophomore forward, shook the lethargy from his teammates by igniting a 24-3 spurt, and St. Joseph's (11-4) ran off with a 76-55 victory over the Flying Dutchmen (5-15) despite an uneven performance at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - A wanted man with a criminal history dating back nearly 15 years was identified by police Saturday as the masked home invader involved in the death of a Hofstra University student early Friday morning. Dalton Smith, who was wanted on a parole violation related to a first-degree robbery conviction, attempted to rob the off-campus home where he and Hofstra junior Andrea Rebello were fatally shot, Nassau County police said. Authorities said police were involved in the shooting although it isn't clear who fired the shots that killed Rebello and Smith around 2:30 a.m. Friday.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - A Hofstra University junior sharing an off-campus house with her twin sister and several other college students was shot and killed during an early morning break-in Friday that also left the armed intruder dead, police said. The shooting at a private house only steps from the Long Island campus cast a pall over the university community gearing up for commencement this weekend. Hofstra's president said in a statement that the ceremonies would go ahead. It wasn't clear who fired the fatal shots or how many rounds were fired, but authorities said police were involved in the shooting, which happened about 2:30 a.m. A weapon was found inside the house, police said.

JOE MIHALICH is leaving behind 15 successful seasons at Niagara to take over Hofstra's troubled men's basketball program. Mihalich, 56, was announced by the school as its 12th basketball coach Wednesday. Mihalich is a former player and assistant coach at La Salle. He replaces Mo Cassara, who was fired March 22 following a 7-25 season. Four Pride players were arrested in November on burglary charges stemming from dormitory room break-ins. Hofstra lands an established coach and respected recruiter in Mihalich, who played a big role in reviving the Purple Eagles' proud tradition.

Joe Mihalich is leaving behind 15 successful seasons at Niagara to take over Hofstra's troubled men's basketball program. The 56-year-old former La Salle player and assistant was announced Wednesday by the Long Island school as its 12th basketball coach. Mihalich replaces Mo Cassara, who was fired following a 7-25 season. Four Pride players were arrested in November on burglary charges stemming from dormitory room break-ins. Hofstra lands an established coach and respected recruiter in Mihalich, who played a big role in reviving the Purple Eagles' proud basketball tradition.

A ROBERT MORRIS internal investigation into former basketball coach Mike Rice found no evidence of the "coaches against player" brawls alleged by an ex-Rutgers employee, though one former Colonial contacted by the school claims Rice used anti-gay slurs on several occasions and engaged in a shoving match with a player during halftime of a game. Rice coached at the suburban Pittsburgh school from 2007-10 before taking the job at Rutgers, who fired Rice last week after video of the coach physically and emotionally abusing players became public.

Elena Delle Donne scored 32 points to help No. 18 Delaware beat host Hofstra, 79-50, on Thursday night for its 20th straight victory. Trailing by four points with five minutes left in the first half, the Blue Hens (25-3, 16-0 Colonial Athletic Association) took over. They scored 13 of the last 15 points to end the half and then the first 12 of the second half to put the game away. The Blue Hens held Hofstra (12-15, 8-8) without a field goal for nearly 11 minutes spanning the halves until Candace Bond hit a three-pointer with 12 minutes, 7 seconds left to make it 55-36.

In a basketball game that could have been put away in the first half, Drexel needed much longer before finally settling matters. Leading by 33-23 at halftime, the Dragons saw Hofstra pull within five points with less than eight minutes remaining before scoring a 63-54 win Monday in a Colonial Athletic Association game at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Drexel is 11-15 overall and 7-7 in the CAA. Hofstra fell to 6-21, 3-11. Damion Lee scored 17 points for Drexel while Frantz Massenat added 16 and Derrick Thomas 11. Thomas has scored in double figures in six consecutive games.

MID-FEBRUARY Monday nights at the Daskalakis Athletic Center were going to be special this season. It has not turned out that way. Still, in this off-the-rails journey, just about any win is a good win. Drexel found an opponent whose season went even worse than the Dragons', without the expectations. Four Hofstra players, including two starters, were charged with a series of dorm-room burglaries after their seventh game. All were suspended and have not played since. So there is always another side.

Elena Delle Donne scored 17 of her 26 points in the first half and posted seven boards and six assists to spark No. 20 Delaware past Old Dominion, 86-62, Thursday night for its 16th straight win. Lauren Carra tallied 15 points and grabbed eight boards for the host Blue Hens, who won their 31st consecutive Colonial Athletic Association game. Old Dominion (16-9, 7-6) scored the first four points of the game, but Delaware launched a 22-5 run to pull ahead for good. Delle Donne capped the run with a jumper as the Blue Hens (21-3, 12-0)

Elena Delle Donne scored 35 points as No. 25 Delaware won its 13th straight game, a 79-63 pasting Sunday of visiting Hofstra. Delle Donne scored 21 first-half points as the Blue Hens (18-3, 9-0 Colonial Athletic Association) broke open a tight game in the final 10 minutes of the half. Her three-pointer at the half made it 46-33. Delaware's lead grew to 21 points, 56-35, in the opening minutes of the second half. The Pride (9-10, 5-3) never got any closer than 13 points after intermission.