RIVERA WINS CAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR

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Hempstead, NY -- Senior guard Carlos Rivera (San German, PR - pictured) was named the Player of the Week by the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA), it was announced today.

Rivera earned the honor on the strength of his 37-point explosion in the Pride's 98-78 win over James Madison in the regular season finale on Saturday. Rivera shot 12-16 from the floor, 6-7 from three-point territory and 7-7 at the foul line in the contest. The 37 points bettered his previous career high by 11 and represented the highest point total for any Hofstra player since Speedy Claxton scored 40 twice in the 1999-2000 season. The six three-pointers also tied Rivera's career high and was one shy of the school record for a single game.

In the Pride's two wins last week, Rivera averaged 26.0 points and 5.5 assists. His CAA Player of the Week Award was the first of his career (he was named the Rookie of the Week twice as a freshman), and made him the third different Hofstra player to win the award this season. Senior guard Loren Stokes (Buffalo, NY) earned CAA Player of the Week accolades twice, while junior guard Antoine Agudio (Huntington Station, NY) won it once as well.

The Presto Sports/MBWA Player of the Week is chosen from Metropolitan New York area schools in all three divisions and is voted on by a panel of local media. Rivera became the second Hofstra player to earn that honor this season, as Stokes was also honored on Feb. 12.

Rivera, Stokes and Agudio enter the postseason as the highest scoring three-man backcourt combination in the country at 54.2 points per game. Stokes (20.8 ppg) and Agudio (20.5 ppg) are the only teammates in the nation who both average over 20 points per game, while Rivera (12.9 ppg) is also in double figures and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of nearly 2:1 (121 assists, 65 turnovers).

Hofstra (22-8, 14-4 CAA), which finished third in the CAA regular season standings, will open play at the CAA Tournament in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday at 8:30 p.m., when it faces the winner of Friday night's game between sixth-seeded George Mason and 11th-seeded James Madison.

27 de febrero de 2007
Harrisonburg, VA --

Agudio also broke the school record for three-pointers in a season for the third time in his career when he hit his 92nd in the first half (he ended with five threes to stretch his total to 95). The old record was 81, held by Demetrius Dudley (1992-93). Agudio made 82 as a freshman in 2004-05, then broke his own record with 91 last year.  

Stokes, meanwhile, raised his career total to 2,120 points, moving past Rich Laurel (2,102 points) and into second place on the Pride's all-time scoring list by halftime. Stokes trails only Steve Nisenson (2,222 points), who played for three seasons at Hofstra from 1962-65.

Hofstra's three guards came into the game as the highest scoring backcourt trio in the country at 53.2 points per game and easily eclipsed that total with their 81 on Saturday (at one point the three of them combined for 54 straight Hofstra points). The highest total that they had ever previously combined for in a game was 74 in a loss at Towson last year. The Pride also tied the school record for three-pointers in a game with 15.

Hofstra jumped out to an 8-2 lead early and maintained its lead for the remainder of the first half. The Dukes got as close as one point on three occasions, the last coming at 37-36 with 1:45 left, but Rivera hit a tough 15-foot bank shot and Stokes converted on an old-fashioned three-point play to give Hofstra a 42-36 lead at the break.

The Pride shot 63.5 percent from the floor, its first time over 60 percent in the last three seasons. Rivera shot 12-16 from the floor and 6-7 from three-point territory, while Stokes was 8-10 from the floor. Agudio was 5-9 from beyond the arc. James Madison was led by forward Terrance Carter with 25.