Thursday, November 30, 2017

I’ll Be Quirky: Molloy

Once again proving @VCULitos wrong for declaring I made up the ECC.

Any encouragement derived from the Charleston Classic evaporated last Saturday, when the Flying Dutchmen never led in an 85-76 loss to previously winless Siena. The Dutchmen will attempt to stop a three-game losing streak and avoid falling under .500 tonight, when they host Division II Molloy at the Arena. Talk about a no-win game. Anyway, here’s a look back at the Siena game and a look ahead to Molloy.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Rokas Gustys (18 points, 15 rebounds) collected another double-double and reached 1,000 career rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Dutchmen trailed wire-to-wire in a loss to Siena. The dominant victory provided some redemption for Siena, which trailed for the final 36:25 of the Dutchmen’s 84-64 win at Hofstra last season. Justin Wright-Foreman led all scorers with 25 points while Eli Pemberton added 11 points and a team-high five assists. The Dutchmen allowed Siena to shoot a scorching 58.8 percent both overall and from 3-point land. Five Siena players reached double figures and a sixth finished with nine points.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Siena 11/25)
3: Rokas Gustys
2: Justin Wright-Foreman
1: Eli Pemberton

SEASON STANDINGS
Justin Wright-Foreman 14
Rokas Gustys 9
Eli Pemberton 9
Desure Buie 2
Joel Angus 1

COACHSPEAK: “Got to give credit to Siena. They came to play more than we did. I don’t know why. When I figure that out, I’m going to bottle it and sell it. Probably make a lot of money.”

ROK 1K
Senior center Rokas Gustys became just the second active Division I player, third Hofstra player ever and the ninth player in CAA history to reach 1,000 career rebounds by pulling down a board with 13:01 left in the second half. The only active Division I player with more rebounds than Gustys is Seton Hall’s Angel Delgado (1,109). He is now 185 rebounds away from surpassing John Irving, Hofstra’s leading rebounder in the Division I era, for second place on the program’s all-time list. In addition, Gustys moved past George Mason’s Will Thomas (aww, too bad) on the CAA all-time list last Saturday is 11 rebounds shy of moving past UNCW’s Brian Rowsom (1984-87) for eighth place in league history.

DOUBLE DOUBLE THE FUN
Rokas Gustys recorded his 37th career double-double Saturday, the third-most among active Division I players. Only Seton Hall’s Angel Delgado (54) and Eastern Michigan’s James Thompson IV (45) have more. In addition, Gustys’ 37 double-doubles since the start of the 2014-15 season tie him for 10th most in that span with, no kidding, one of the He Who Shall Not Be Named (he will not be named, but he’s the only one who did anything at Division I after getting the boot from Hofstra).

THE DEFENSE RESTS
The Dutchmen allowed an opponent to shoot better than 50 percent from the field for the second straight game. In the Joe Mihalich era, the Dutchmen are 6-29 when allowing opponents to shoot more than 50 percent.

MOLLOY COLLEGE AND HOFSTRA VS. NON-DIVISION I FOES
Molloy College is a Division II school located in Rockville Centre. The Lions play in the East Coast Conference (*satisfied smirk and nod towards Litos*) and are 1-5 this season with a win over Caldwell University. Hofstra is the second Division I opponent for Molloy, which fell to St. John’s, 71-43, on Nov. 20. Molloy was picked to finish sixth in the ECC.

There is no line on this game, because even degenerate gamblers do not bet on Division I vs. non-Division I games. Hofstra is 1-3 against the spread this season.

Hofstra won the lone previous meeting between the two schools on Nov. 16, 2015, when the Dutchmen earned a 96-64 victory.

The Flying Dutchmen have won their last 17 games against non-Division I foes dating back to a 70-54 loss to Florida Southern during the 1988-89 seasons. The Dutchmen last faced a non-Division I foe last season, when they beat Division III Medaille, 89-56, on Nov. 25.

OVER THE AIR
Hofstra will carry live audio and video and offer live stats here.

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
ECC bias! (Duh)
Get your own mascot bias! (We too have lions)
Dan Savarino bias! (The Hofstra alum broadcasts Molloy games)
This shouldn’t be this difficult bias! (Duh)

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