I’ll Be Quirky: Elon

The Elon to the right is not the one the Dutchmen are playing today.

The winning streak ended at one Thursday night, when the Flying Dutchmen came all the way back from a 15-point second half deficit to take late leads in both regulation and overtime only to fall to Drexel, 81-80. At least the Dragons didn’t win on a buzzer-beating half-courter this time? The Dutchmen will try to get back in the win column this afternoon, when they host Elon at the Arena. Here’s a quick look back at the Drexel loss and a look ahead to the Phoenix.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Justin Wright-Foreman tied a career-high by scoring 30 points for the third time in CAA play but was left to wonder what-if about end-game sequences in regulation and overtime as the Dutchmen suffered a narrow loss. Wright-Foreman missed three of four free throws in the final three minutes of regulation before his pass to Hunter Sabety under the basket went off Sabety’s hands in the waning seconds. In overtime, Wright-Foreman missed two more free throws, including one that would have given the Dutchmen a three-point lead with 41 seconds remaining. Drexel’s Kurk Lee followed with the game-winning 3-pointer, after which Wright-Foreman missed a driving layup with six seconds left. Ty Greer missed two tip-ins and Brian Bernardi missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer. Bernardi (14 points), Deron Powers (11 points) and Rokas Gustys (10 points) also scored in double figures while Greer pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds playing largely in place of Eli Pemberton, who suffered what appeared to be an ankle injury in the first half. Powers added five assists and two steals.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Drexel 1/26)

3: Justin Wright-Foreman

2: Brian Bernardi

1: Deron Powers

SEASON STANDINGS

Justin Wright-Foreman 33

Deron Powers 25

Eli Pemberton 24

Rokas Gustys 18

Brian Bernardi 16

Ty Greer 9

Jamall Robinson 5

Hunter Sabety 2

THE WRIGHT-FOREMAN STUFF

Sophomore guard Justin Wright-Foreman scored a career-high 30 points for the second straight game and the third time in nine CAA games on Thursday, when he became the sixth Dutchman since 2002-03 to record three 30-point games in the same season. Among Wright-Foreman’s predecessors are the two most prolific scorers in program history, Charles Jenkins (who had four 30-point games in each of his final three campaigns) and Antoine Agudio, as well as 1,000-point scorers Loren Stokes and Mike Moore and current NBDL player Zeke Upshaw. 

Antoine Agudio 6 (2007-08)

Charles Jenkins 4 (2008-09)

Charles Jenkins 4 (2009-10)

Charles Jenkins 4 (2010-11)

Loren Stokes 3 (2005-06)

Mike Moore 3 (2011-12)

Zeke Upshaw 3 (2013-14)

Justin Wright-Foreman 3 (2016-17)

Wright-Foreman has played at least 10 minutes in every game but one this season and has scored in double figures in 16 of 22 games. He scored more than four points and played more than 10 points in just one game last season, when he collected nine points in 17 minutes against Division II Molloy. 

Wright-Foreman has scored 335 points this season, the most in the CAA era for a Hofstra sophomore who scored fewer than 100 points as a freshman. 

(DON’T) GET TO THE WORKIN’ OVERTIME PART 

The Dutchmen fell to 0-2 in overtime games this season (they lost to William & Mary, 95-94, on Jan. 2), 1-7 in overtime overtime games under Joe Mihalich and 17-13 in overtime games during the CAA era (2001-present).

A TRUE ROUND ROBIN

The Dutchmen played every CAA team once during the first half of the league schedule. Hofstra is the only team yet to play an opponent twice in CAA play.

HALFWAY TO NOWHERE?

With Thursday’s loss, the Dutchmen fell to 2-7 at the midway point of the CAA schedule. It is only the fourth time in 16 seasons the Dutchmen have had two or fewer wins halfway through CAA play. 

Between 2001-02 — when  the "America East four” saved, err, joined the CAA — and last season, 37 teams reached the midway point of the league schedule with two wins or fewer. Only the 2009-10 Dutchmen, who started 2-7 and finished 10-8, finished .500 in league play. Only two others (Towson in 2001-02 and William & Mary in 2012-13) finished with as many as seven league wins. Overall, 37 teams combined to finish with an average of 3.8 CAA wins.

OVER THE AIR

Hofstra will provide a video and radio feed of today’s game at the Pride Productions hub.

SCOUTING ELON

The Phoenix, under eighth-year head coach Matt Matheny, are 13-9 this season and 5-4 in CAA play. Elon is 4-1 in its last five games. a stretch that began with a 96-80 win over the Dutchmen in North Carolina on Jan. 12. The Phoenix are the first CAA team the Dutchmen are facing for the second time.

The Dutchmen and Phoenix had no mutual foes during non-league play. 

In CAA play, the Dutchmen and Phoenix have each beaten Northeastern and lost to College of Charleston, UNC Wilmington and James Madison. The Phoenix split with William & Mary, which beat the Dutchmen, and defeated Towson and Drexel, each of whom also beat the Dutchmen. 

The Dutchmen, who were picked sixth in the CAA preseason poll, enter today ranked 185th at KenPom.com and 195th in the RPI. The Phoenix, who were picked fourth, are ranked 142nd at KenPom.com and 172nd in the RPI.

Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 3 1/2-point favorites.

The Dutchmen rank third among CAA teams in scoring (78.2 ppg) but are allowing  77.6 ppg, the second-most in the league and two-tenths of a point better than Drexel.

The Dutchmen rank fifth in the CAA in field goal percentage (45.0%) and third in 3-point field goal percentage (36.5%) They are allowing opposing teams to shoot 45.7 percent overall, ninth in the league, and 39.7 percent from beyond the arc, which is last. 

The Phoenix rank fifth in scoring (75.5 ppg) and are allowing 71.0 ppg, which is sixth in the CAA.

The Dragons are fourth in the CAA in field goal percentage (45.3%) and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (36.0%). They are third in field goal percentage defense (42.1%) and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (36.0%).

ALL-TIME VS. ELON

Hofstra is 5-1 against Elon, which joined the CAA prior to the 2014-15 season. Elon earned its first win in the series on Jan. 12, when the Phoenix led the Dutchmen by as many as 25 points on the way to a 96-80 victory in North Carolina. The Dutchmen eked out a pair of narrow wins last season, when they beat Elon 80-76 in North Carolina on Jan. 9 and 66-64 at the Arena on Jan. 28. The series began Nov. 23, 2009, when the Dutchmen cruised past the Phoenix, 70-46, in a preseason NIT game at the Arena.

REPLACING THE MISSING SCORING—AND THEN SOME

The Dutchmen lost a whopping 50.3 ppg from last year’s squad via the graduations of Juan’ya Green (17.8 ppg), Ameen Tanksley 15.9 ppg), Denton Koon (11.4 ppg) and Malik Nichols (5.2 ppg). But they have “found” 55.3 ppg this season via five players who didn’t play for the team in 2015-16, plus the emergence of sophomore Justin Wright-Foreman. 

Justin Wright-Foreman (14.0)***

Eli Pemberton (13.2)

Deron Powers (13.1)

Ty Greer (7.6)

Jamall Robinson (4.1)

Hunter Sabety (3.3)

***The Wright-Foreman average subtracts the 1.2 ppg he averaged last season to better account for the “found” points.

WRIGHT-FOREMAN IS THE FINISHER

Sophomore guard Justin Wright-Foreman continued to thrive in the second half Saturday, when he scored 22 of his game-high 30 points in the second half and overtime. Of his 335 points this season, 226 have been scored in the second half. 

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. Pemberton currently ranks eighth on the CAA-era freshman scoring list and is four points away from moving past Halil Kanacevic, though Pemberton's short-term availability is unknown after he suffered an ankle injury Thursday.

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.) ELI PEMBERTON, 291 (2016-17)

9.) Carlos Rivera, 226 (2003-04)

10.) Nathaniel Lester, 189 (2007-08)

GUSTYS MOVES INTO THE TOP FOUR

Junior forward Rokas Gustys became the fourth-leading rebounder in program history Thursday night, when he collected 10 rebounds against Drexel. Gustys, who moved past Gary Cheslock, has more rebounds than anyone who has played at Hofstra in the last 35 seasons.

3.) David Taylor, 926 (1979-82)

4.) ROKAS GUSTYS, 859 (2014-present)

3.) Gary Cheslock, 857 (1978-81)

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

You got tripped by Grayson Allen bias! (Elon’s Steven Santa Ana was tripped on Dec. 21 by Duke’s little weasel, who was suspended for a whopping one game by Duke’s big weasel)

Newcomer bias! (Elon is the newest member of the CAA)

Your nickname reminds me of Galaga bias! (You had to be a kid in the ‘80s to understand phoenixes and Galaga)

You’re not related to that Musk guy bias! (He's the guy who invents stuff)

I'll Be Quirky: Drexel

Daryl Hall's solo hit was as good as anything Hall & Oates ever did. @ me. 

The Flying Dutchmen did the happy happy joy joy dance for the first time in 2017 on Saturday, when they squandered most of a 16-point second half lead before hanging on to beat Northeastern, 78-73. The win snapped a six-game losing streak for the Dutchmen, who improved to 1-0 in the #AlternativeFacts Era. The Dutchmen will look to stay perfect in our imperfect times tonight, when they visit ECC rival Drexel. Here’s a quick look back at the win over the Huskies and a look ahead to the Dragons. 

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Justin Wright-Foreman scored 17 of his game-high 30 points in the second half as the Dutchmen ran away from and then eluded Northeastern for their first win in three weeks. The Dutchmen trailed 9-2 at the first media timeout and outscored the Huskies 60-37 over a 26-minute span bridging the two halves before Northeastern got as close as two points in the final minute. A nostalgic 3-point play by Deron Powers with 17 seconds left finally secured the victory. Brian Bernardi (16 points) was the only other Dutchman in double figures, though Eli Pemberton added nine points and four assists while Powers finished with seven points and six assists.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Northeastern 1/21)

3: Justin Wright-Foreman

2: Brian Bernardi

1: Deron Powers

SEASON STANDINGS

Justin Wright-Foreman 30

Deron Powers 24

Eli Pemberton 24

Rokas Gustys 18

Brian Bernardi 14

Ty Greer 9

Jamall Robinson 5

Hunter Sabety 2

THE WRIGHT-FOREMAN STUFF

Sophomore guard Justin Wright-Foreman earned CAA co-player of the week honors (along with Tyler Seibring of Elon) after racking up 48 points and shooting 68 percent from the field in two games. Wright-Foreman scored a career-high 30 points for the second time this season on Saturday, when he became the sixth Hofstra player in the last 10 seasons to record multiple 30-point games in a season. Charles Jenkins had four 30-point games in each of his final three campaigns. 

Antoine Agudio 6 (2007-08)

Charles Jenkins 4 (2008-09)

Charles Jenkins 4 (2009-10)

Charles Jenkins 4 (2010-11)

Mike Moore 3 (2011-12)

Zeke Upshaw 3 (2013-14)

Ameen Tanksley 2 (2014-15)

Justin Wright-Foreman 2 (2016-17)

Wright-Foreman has played at least 10 minutes in every game but one this season and has scored in double figures in 15 of 21 games. He scored more than four points and played more than 10 points in just one game last season, when he collected nine points in 17 minutes against Division II Molloy. 

Wright-Foreman has scored 305 points this season, the most in the CAA era for a Hofstra sophomore who scored fewer than 100 points as a freshman. 

IT’S STILL GETTING LATE EARLY OUT HERE

With Saturday’s win, the Dutchmen avoided tying the program’s worst eight-game start ini the CAA era. The 2011-12 Dutchmen opened 1-7 and finished 3-15 in league play.

The Dutchmen will now try to become only the fourth team since 2001-02 — when the "America East four” saved, err joined the CAA — to win as many as six CAA games after starting out 1-6 in league play. William & Mary finished 7-11 in 2012-13 while James Madison (2001-02) and Northeastern (2010-11) each went 6-12. The previous 22 teams to start 1-6 or 0-7 combined to finish with an average of 3.5 wins in CAA play.

OVER THE AIR

Hofstra will provide a radio feed of tonight’s game at the Pride Productions hub. Free live video will be offered by Drexel here.

SCOUTING DREXEL

The Dragons, under rookie head coach Zach Spiker, are 7-13 this season and 1-6 in CAA play. Drexel has dropped two straight, including an 87-74 loss to UNC Wilmington on Saturday.

The Dutchmen and Dragons had no mutual foes during non-league play. 

In CAA play, the Dutchmen and Dragons have each beaten Delaware and lost to UNC Wilmington, James Madison and Elon. 

The Dutchmen, who were picked sixth in the CAA preseason poll, enter today ranked 184th at KenPom.com and 201st in the RPI. The Dragons, who were picked ninth, are ranked 230th at KenPom.com and 245th in the RPI.

Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 4-point favorites.

The Dutchmen rank third among CAA teams in scoring (78.1 ppg) but are allowing  77.4 ppg, the second-most in the league and less than a half point better than Drexel.

The Dutchmen rank fifth in the CAA in field goal percentage (45.2%) and second in 3-point field goal percentage (37.7%) They are allowing opposing teams to shoot 45.5 percent overall, eighth in the league, and 39.6 percent from beyond the arc, which is last. 

The Dragons rank fifth in scoring (75.3 ppg) and are allowing 77.7 ppg, which is last in the CAA.

The Dragons are eighth in the CAA in field goal percentage (43.0%) and sixth in 3-point field goal percentage (34.4%). They are ninth in field goal percentage defense (45.6%), percentage points behind the Dutchmen, and ninth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (36.7%).

ALL-TIME VS. DREXEL

Hofstra is 38-45 against Drexel in a series that began during the 1958-59 season. The Dutchmen and Dragons have opposed one another as members of the East Coast Conference, the North Atlantic Conference/America East and the CAA. The only opponent Hofstra has faced more than Drexel is Delaware, whom the Dutchmen played for the 84th time on Dec. 31. 

The Dutchmen went 3-0 against Drexel last season, when they earned a 69-61 win at the Arena on Jan. 14 and a 70-64 victory in Philadelphia on Jan. 30 before beating the Dragons, 80-67, in the CAA quarterfinals on Mar. 5. The Dutchmen have won five straight games against Drexel dating back to the 2014-15 season.

REPLACING THE MISSING SCORING—AND THEN SOME

The Dutchmen lost a whopping 50.3 ppg from last year’s squad via the graduations of Juan’ya Green (17.8 ppg), Ameen Tanksley 15.9 ppg), Denton Koon (11.4 ppg) and Malik Nichols (5.2 ppg). But they have “found” 55.4 ppg this season via five players who didn’t play for the team in 2015-16, plus the emergence of sophomore Justin Wright-Foreman. 

Eli Pemberton (13.8)

Justin Wright-Foreman (13.3)***

Deron Powers (13.2)

Ty Greer (7.9)

Jamall Robinson (3.8)

Hunter Sabety (3.4)

***The Wright-Foreman average subtracts the 1.2 ppg he averaged last season to better account for the “found” points.

WRIGHT-FOREMAN IS THE FINISHER

Sophomore guard Justin Wright-Foreman continued to thrive in the second half Saturday, when he scored 17 of his game-high 30 points in the second half. Of his 305 points this season, 204 have been scored in the second half. 

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. Pemberton currently ranks eighth on the CAA-era freshman scoring list and is six points away from moving past Halil Kanacevic.

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.) ELI PEMBERTON, 289 (2016-17)

9.) Carlos Rivera, 226 (2003-04)

10.) Nathaniel Lester, 189 (2007-08)

GUSTYS MOVES INTO THE TOP FIVE

Junior forward Rokas Gustys, the fourth-leading rebounder in program history, pulled down eight rebounds on Saturday. Gustys, who is nine rebounds away from surpassing Gary Cheslock for third place, has more rebounds than anyone who has played at Hofstra in the last 35 seasons.

3.) Gary Cheslock, 857 (1978-81)

4.) ROKAS GUSTYS, 849 (2014-present)

5.) Kenny Adeleke, 837 (2001-04)

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

Hall & Oates bias! (c’mon folks, know my favorite bands)

Frantz Massenat buzzer beater bias! (c’mon folks, know your horrid Hofstra hoops history)

Joe Linderman still has some eligibility bias! (The Drexel center played at least five seasons for the Dragons in the NAC/America East era)

We miss Bruiser Flint bias! (The CAA’s longest-tenured coach was fired following last season)

I’ll Be Quirky: Northeastern

The Dutchmen need a win more than words can say (wait that's Alias).

The Flying Dutchmen continued digging for rock bottom on Thursday, when they blew a 16-point first half lead and fell to Towson, 86-80, at the Arena. It was the sixth straight loss for the Dutchmen, who are tied for last place in the CAA. The Dutchmen will again look to snap the skid — and avoid matching the program’s worst-ever CAA start — this afternoon, when they host Northeastern. Here’s a quick look back at the loss to the Tigers and a look ahead to the Huskies.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

The Dutchmen led by 16 with 6:46 remaining in the first half, got outscored 50-19 over the next 17:59 but took a one-point lead with 2:59 left before being outscored 14-7 the rest of the way by Towson. At one point in the second half, the Tigers scored on 11 straight possessions. Freshman Eli Pemberton scored a career-high 26 points but only two other players, Deron Powers (19 points) and Justin Wright-Foreman (18 points), got into double figures for the Dutchmen. Powers added a game-high six assists. Rokas Gustys and Brian Bernardi combined for just 13 points in 62 minutes of action while reserves contributed only four points in 33 minutes.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Towson 1/19)

3: Eli Pemberton

2: Deron Powers

1: Justin Wright-Foreman

SEASON STANDINGS

Justin Wright-Foreman 27

Eli Pemberton 24

Deron Powers 23

Rokas Gustys 18

Brian Bernardi 12

Ty Greer 9

Jamall Robinson 5

Hunter Sabety 2

IT REALLY DOES STILL CONTINUES TO GETS LATE EARLY OUT HERE

The Dutchmen fell to 1-6 in CAA play on Thursday. It is the second-worst start through seven games in the CAA era for the Dutchmen, who opened 0-7 in 2011-12 and finished 3-15 in league play.

Of the 22 teams to open 1-6 or 0-7 between 2001-02 — when the "America East four” saved, err joined the CAA — and 2015-16, none have recovered to finish .500 in league play. Only three of these teams recovered to win as many as six CAA games. William & Mary finished 7-11 in 2012-13 while James Madison (2001-02) and Northeastern (2010-11) each went 6-12. The 22 teams combined to finish with an average of 3.5 wins in CAA play.

A CLUB NOBODY WANTS TO JOIN

Through Friday, the Dutchmen and Delaware are two of the 16 Division I teams to open 0-6 or 1-6 in league play this season. 

THE 50/50/50 CLUB

Towson scored 54 points in the second half Thursday as it overcame an eight-point halftime deficit. It was the highest-scoring half by a Hofstra opponent this season and the third time the Dutchmen have given up at least 50 points in a half. Columbia scored 53 second-half points in the Dutchmen’s 88-86 win on Dec. 29 while Elon scored 50 points in the first half of a 96-80 victory on Jan. 12. In addition, three other opponents — Sacred Heart, Vermont and Florida Atlantic — have scored 49 points in half against the Dutchmen this season.

DOUBLE DIGIT DILEMMA

The Dutchmen blew a double-digit lead in a loss for the first time this season and the 12th time in the Joe Mihalich Era. The 16-point lead was the second-biggest blown lead for the Dutchmen in a loss under Mihalich, behind the 20-point margin the Dutchmen built up in a 70-67 loss to UNC Wilmington on Feb. 4, 2016.

THE SKID HITS SIX

With six straight losses, the Dutchmen have lost more CAA games in the last 19 days as they did all of last season. The losing streak is the longest for the Dutchmen since a seven-game losing streak during the 2012-13 season.

BUZZER BEATING BLUES

The Dutchmen’s losing streak began when Daniel Dixon hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift William & Mary to a 95-93 win on Jan. 2. It was the third buzzer-beating defeat the Dutchmen have suffered since the 1995-96 season. The first such loss, a 71-68 defeat at the hands of Northeastern on Jan. 26, 1996, began a nine-game losing streak for the Dutchmen (who were really called the Dutchmen back then) in Jay Wright’s second season at the helm. The second such defeat, a 55-52 loss to Drexel on Jan. 23, 2013, was the third loss in a seven-game streak.

The Dutchmen have led for 51:16 out of a possible 200 minutes since Dixon’s shot dropped through the net. More than half of that “lead time” (26:43) came Thursday against Towson.

OVER THE AIR

Hofstra will provide both a video and radio feed of today’s game at the Pride Productions hub. 

SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN

The Huskies, under 11th-year head coach Bill Coen, are 12-7 this season and 5-2 in CAA play. But Northeastern has dropped two straight, including a 69-62 loss on Thursday to Delaware, which was previously winless in the CAA. 

The Dutchmen and Huskies had two mutual foes during non-league play. The Dutchmen routed SUNY-Stony Brook 96-58 and lost to Vermont 87-73 while the Huskies fell to the Patriots 77-75 and beat the Catamounts 59-57. Northeastern’s non-conference wins included road victories at UConn and Michigan State.

In CAA play, the Dutchmen and Huskies have each beaten Delaware and lost to Towson. The Huskies have beaten William & Mary and James Madison, each of whom handed the Dutchmen a defeat.

The Dutchmen, who were picked sixth in the CAA preseason poll, enter today ranked 183rd at KenPom.com and 190th in the RPI. The Huskies, who were picked seventh, are ranked 111th at KenPom.com and 97th in the RPI.

Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 2-point favorites.

The Dutchmen rank third among CAA teams in scoring (78.2 ppg) but are allowing  77.7 ppg, the most in the league. 

The Dutchmen rank fifth in the CAA in field goal percentage (44.8%) and second in 3-point field goal percentage (37.6%) They are allowing opposing teams to shoot 45.4 percent overall, eighth in the league, and 39.5 percent from beyond the arc, which is last. 

The Huskies rank sixth in scoring (74.1 ppg) and are allowing 69.2 ppg, which ranks fifth in the CAA.

The Huskies are second in the CAA in field goal percentage (47.9%) and first in 3-point field goal percentage (39.8%). They are seventh in field goal percentage defense (44.3%), percentage points behind William & Mary, and seventh in 3-point field goal percentage defense (34.7%).

ALL-TIME VS. NORTHEASTERN

Hofstra is 19-20 against Northeastern in a series that began during the 1949-50 season. All but three of the meetings have come in conference play since the 1994-95 season, when Hofstra joined the North Atlantic Conference. The Dutchmen swept the series in narrow fashion last year, when they pulled out a 96-92 triple overtime win in Boston before earning a 65-60 victory at the Arena. Northeastern swept the season series the previous four years.

THE WRIGHT STUFF AS A SOPHOMORE

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 any of his predecessors. Wright-Foreman surpassed David Imes last Saturday to officially take the biggest leap of any Hofstra sophomore since 2001-02.

JUSTIN WRIGHT-FOREMAN 275 points 2016-17 (44 as a freshman)

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)

REPLACING THE MISSING SCORING—AND THEN SOME

The Dutchmen lost a whopping 50.3 ppg from last year’s squad via the graduations of Juan’ya Green (17.8 ppg), Ameen Tanksley 15.9 ppg), Denton Koon (11.4 ppg) and Malik Nichols (5.2 ppg). But they have “found” 55.6 ppg this season via five players who didn’t play for the team in 2015-16, plus the emergence of sophomore Justin Wright-Foreman. 

Eli Pemberton (14.0)

Deron Powers (13.5)

Justin Wright-Foreman (12.6)***

Ty Greer (8.0)

Jamall Robinson (4.0)

Hunter Sabety (3.5)

***The Wright-Foreman average subtracts the 1.2 ppg he averaged last season to better account for the “found” points.

WRIGHT-FOREMAN IS THE FINISHER

Sophomore guard Justin Wright-Foreman continued to thrive in the second half Saturday, when he scored nine of his 18 points in the second half. Of his 275 points this season, 187 have been scored in the second half. 

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. Pemberton currently ranks eighth on the CAA-era freshman scoring list and is 15 points away from moving past Halil Kanacevic.

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.) ELI PEMBERTON, 280 (2016-17)

9.) Carlos Rivera, 226 (2003-04)

10.) Nathaniel Lester, 189 (2007-08)

GUSTYS MOVES INTO THE TOP FIVE

Junior forward Rokas Gustys pulled down eight rebounds on Saturday to move past Kenny Adeleke into fifth place on the program’s all-time list. Gustys, who is 17 rebounds away from surpassing Gary Cheslock for fourth place, has more rebounds than anyone who has played at Hofstra in the last 35 seasons.

3.) Gary Cheslock, 857 (1978-81)

4.) ROKAS GUSTYS, 841 (2014-present)

5.) Kenny Adeleke, 837 (2001-04)

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

Frank Barone kept the ball bias! (Ray’s Dad wouldn’t give back the football a Hofstra kicker booted for a record 65-yard field goal)

We wouldn’t have dropped football if not for you bias! (Northeastern dropped football in November 2009, just nine days before Hofstra concluded its “two-year study.”)

Matt Janning still looks like Nathan Scott bias! (The Huskies’ do-everything star really did look like the guy from One Tree Hill)

Extreme bias! (c’mon folks you know my favorite band)