Friday, December 30, 2016

I’ll Be Quirky: Non-Conference Roundup

The most recent I'll Be Quirky was Dec. 13, so this photo is...oh no, poor Homer.

Thanks to the hectic nature of the week before Christmas—it’s a really crazy time when your wife and Jay Wright share the same birthday!—I never got a Siena “I’ll Be Quirky” up with a recap of the thrashing of SUNY-Stony Brook. So close to non-conference perfection. This is like the five-point loss to Syracuse at the Carrier Dome in 2004 all over again.

Anyway, with #CAAHoops play finally starting up Saturday (whoo hoo!) I thought it’d be a good time to get up the most recent recaps and take care of some odds and ends before the beginning of the conference season. There will be a couple stories up here tomorrow, including the CAA debut of I’ll Be Quirky prior to the Delaware game, so stay tuned! 
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THE GAME BEFORE THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Dutchmen never trailed in dismantling SUNY-Stony Brook 96-58 in the most lopsided beating in the series since SUNY-Stony Brook crawled into Division I. Justin Wright-Foreman led six players in double figures by scoring 22 points for the Dutchmen, who led by as many as 43 points in the second half before taking pity on their undermanned little brothers to the east. Ty Greer (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Rokas Gustys (11 points, 18 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles while Deron Powers had 13 points and seven assists and Brian Bernardi chipped in with 11 points and four assists.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. SUNY-Stony Brook 12/13)
3: Justin Wright-Foreman
2: Rokas Gustys
1: Ty Greer

SEASON STANDINGS
Eli Pemberton 16
Rokas Gustys 14
Justin Wright-Foreman 12
Deron Powers 11
Brian Bernardi 11
Ty Greer 5
Jamall Robinson 3

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Dutchmen got a bit of revenge on Siena for last year’s lopsided loss in Loudonville by cruising to an 84-64 win at the Arena last Thursday night. Deron Powers led five players in double figures by collecting a team-high 21 points and eight assists while committing just one turnover. Justin Wright-Foreman (16 points) continued his emergence as a reliable scorer while Eli Pemberton (13 points), Brian Bernardi (11 points) and Rokas Gustys (10 points) all chipped in Gustys added 15 rebounds and Hunter Sabety had five blocks and six points in just 11 minutes.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Siena 12/22)
3: Deron Powers
2: Justin Wright-Foreman
1: Rokas Gustys

SEASON STANDINGS
Eli Pemberton 16
Rokas Gustys 15
Deron Powers 14
Justin Wright-Foreman 14
Brian Bernardi 11
Ty Greer 5
Jamall Robinson 3

HEMPSTEAD TURNPIKE IS EASY STREET
The 38-point rout of SUNY-Stony Brook was the fifth-most lopsided win by the Flying Dutchmen in the CAA era and the third-most lopsided win against a Division I foe.

12/10/14: Coppin State 105-64
11/13/10: Farmingdale State 102-62***
11/20/09: Farmingdale State 87-48***
1/27/10:UNC Wilmington 93-54
12/13/17: SUNY-Stony Brook 96-58

***non-Division I foe

BACK-TO-BACK BIG WINS
The Dutchmen have won consecutive games by at least 20 points for the second time in the Joe Mihalich era and the first time since late December 2014, when they beat Long Island University 88-62 on Dec. 28 and Central Connecticut State University 84-56 on Dec. 31.

WINNING THE NON-CONFERENCE SEASON
The Dutchmen will end the non-conference play with a winning record for the third straight season and for the 10th time since joining the CAA in 2001-02. They’ll complete the non-conference schedule with a winning percentage of better than .600 for the seventh time. CAA games that were played in the middle of the non-conference schedule were not counted but are listed separately. Also, these figures do not include any “Bracket Buster” games scheduled in the middle of the season.

2004-05: 8-1 (.889) 1-0 CAA
2005-06: 6-2 (.750) 2-0 CAA
2008-09: 8-3 (.727) 1-0 CAA
2014-15: 9-4 (.692)
2015-16: 8-4 (.667)
2006-07: 7-4 (.636) 1-0 CAA
2016-17: 8-5 (.615)
2009-10: 7-5 (.583) 1-0 CAA
2010-11: 6-5 (.545) 1-0 CAA

In addition, Joe Mihalich completes the non-conference schedule with a winning record for the ninth time in 19 seasons as a head coach. This is the second time he’s presided over three straight over-.500 performances in non-conference play. Niagara had a winning record in non-conference games in three consecutive seasons from 2007-08 through 2009-10.

YEAH BABY
Deron Powers had his best game in a Hofstra uniform last Thursday, when he led the Dutchmen with 21 points and eight assists while playing a team-high 35 minutes in the win over Siena. Powers’ effort marked the 12th time since the 2009-10 season that a Hofstra player has scored at least 20 points and collected at least eight assists. However. he is the first player to reach those figures while committing one turnover or fewer since Chaz Williams scored 20 points and had nine assists and one turnover against Drexel on Feb. 10, 2010.

PEMBERTON HITS THE TOP 10
Eli Pemberton, who was the first Hofstra freshman since Antoine Agudio (2004-05) to open his career by scoring in double digits in his first five games, is already the 19th Dutchmen freshman in the CAA era to score at least 100 points in his debut season. He moved past Shemiye McLendon into 10th place on the CAA-era freshman scoring list last Thursday and is only two points away from surpassing Nathaniel Lester for ninth place.

1.) Antoine Agudio, 452 (2004-05)
2.) Charles Jenkins, 436 (2007-08)
3.) Kenny Adeleke, 433 (2001-02)
4.) Loren Stokes, 374 (2003-04)
5.) Chaz Williams, 325 (2009-10)
6.) Jamall Robinson, 312 (2013-14)
7.) Halil Kanacevic, 294 (2009-10)
8.) Carlos Rivera, 226 (2003-04)
9.) Nathaniel Lester, 189 (2007-08)
10.) ELI PEMBERTON, 188 (2016-17)

WRIGHT SOPHOMORE STUFF
After scoring just 44 points as a freshman, Justin Wright-Foreman has emerged as one of the Dutchmen’s top scorers this season. He was the 27th Hofstra freshman in the CAA era to score fewer than 100 points but already has more points as a sophomore than all but five of his predecessors. Wright-Foreman needs just five points to surpass Stephen Nwaukoni’s sophomore season total and 19 to surge past Gibran Washington’s sophomore season tally. 

David Imes 251 points 2010-11 (25 as a freshman)
Ziggy Sestokas 219 points 2006-07 (29 as a freshman)
Greg Washington 169 points 2008-09 (33 as a freshman)
Gibran Washington 158 points 2002-03 (76 as a freshman)
Stephen Nwaukoni 144 points 2011-12 (59 as a freshman)
JUSTIN WRIGHT-FOREMAN 140 points 2016-17 (44 as a freshman)

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