HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Hofstra senior Juan'ya Green scored seven of Hofstra's 10 points in a span of 1:36 late in the second half to help lead the host Pride to a 96-85 win over Canisius Friday night in the 2015-16 season opener for both programs. Green, the CAA Preseason Player of the Year ended the night with 16 points and 11 assists in the win for Hofstra.

Canisius senior Malcolm McMillan scored a career-high 33 points to lead all scorers on Friday night. McMillan went 13-for-20 from the floor, 4-for-9 from 3-point land and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line while adding six assists in 38 minutes of action. Senior Jamal Reynolds and sophomore Kassius Robertson added 13 points while junior Phil Valenti scored nine points to go with eight boards and six assists.

The Griffs took an 83-82 lead with 2:39 left on the clock after McMillan stepped up and drained a 3-point field goal from the top of the key. Off that make, Hofstra moved the ball up the floor quickly and Green scored on a driving lay-up to start Hofstra's late 10-0 run which saw the Pride turn a one-point deficit into a nine-point cushion. Hofstra's late scoring push was capped by a 3-pointer by junior guard Brian Bernardi, who ended the night with 26 points, highlighted by a Hofstra school-record eight treys.

"We came out at them and we had them on the run," Canisius head coach Jim Baron said. "They're a good team, but our guys didn't back down. We just made some tough mistakes down the stretch. We had the violation when they missed the front of the one-and-one, and then we missed a lay-up late and then the putback. You can't do that, but to our guys' credit, they battled tonight and gave [Hofstra] all they could handle."

Canisius came out of the gates on fire and the Blue and Gold took an 18-point lead with 9:02 left before the halftime intermission after McMillan posted four-point play on a made trey and a made free-throw.  Hofstra took advantage of four Canisius turnovers in the final 5:00 of the first half to trim the Griffs' lead to two at the break at 47-45, capped by a tip-in at the horn by forward Denton Koon.

Canisius shot 47.9 percent from the field, 34.4 percent from 3-point land and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line in the loss, while the Pride ended the contest shooting 53.8 percent from the field, 39.3 percent from 3-point range and 62.5 percent from the charity stripe. Canisius tallied 20 points off 13 Hofstra turnovers and posted 40 points in the paint, while Hofstra recorded 41 rebounds, 13 of which came off the offensive glass.

Canisius will return home to play host to Lehigh on Monday, Nov. 16, in the 2015-16 home opener. Tipoff in the Koessler Athletic Center is set for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3, with the radio call available through Timeless WECK 1230-AM and FM-102.9 and GoGriffs.com.