It's true. We do.
Hey did you hear? The Flying Dutchmen beat UCLA! One of the longest road trips in program history got off to a historic start Thursday night as the Dutchmen stormed back to stun the Bruins, 88-78. The Dutchmen will look to build off the upset victory tonight, when they visit Cal State Fullerton. Here’s a look back at the big win over UCLA and a look ahead to the Titans.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Flying Dutchmen beat UCLA! Ehh I suppose there should be more to the paragraph. UCLA raced out to a 13-point first half lead, but Desure Buie (29 points, seven assists, three steals, one turnover) and Jalen Ray (27 points) had career games to lead the Dutchmen comeback. Ray’s free throw with 8:07 left gave the Dutchmen the lead for good and the Dutchmen shot 5-of-7 from the field the rest of the way while Ray and Buie combined to drain all 12 of their free throws. Read more about it here! Eli Pemberton had 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals while Tareq Coburn had 10 points and five rebounds.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. UCLA 11/21)
3: Desure Buie
2: Jalen Ray
1: Eli Pemberton
SEASON STANDINGS
Tareq Coburn 10
Desure Buie 8
Eli Pemberton 5
Jalen Ray 4
Isaac Kante 3
COACHSPEAK: “It’s a win for the ages. It’s a win that Hofstra will talk about and hold close to their hearts forever. Not for the next week. Not for the next month. Not for the rest of the year. Forever. Forever.”
THIS IS THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF FRIENDS’ FIRST SEASON, WHAT WOULD THIS GAME BE TITLED IF IT WAS AN EPISODE OF FRIENDS?
The One With The L.A. Trip That Worked Out Much Better Than Joey’s
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
Yes! Appropriately, a seminal win by the Dutchmen came with a unicorn score. The Dutchmen beat Drexel 88-76 two seasons ago and previously earned three 89-78 wins and two 87-78 wins, but Thursday was the first 88-78 win in program history. This is the Dutchmen’s third unicorn score of the season, keeping afloat the hope of a unicorn season! They recorded 10 unicorn scores last season. The term unicorn score was coined by Mets superfan, historian and blogger Greg Prince to describe a score by which the Mets had never previously won.
11/9/19: 94-74 over Monmouth
11/15/19: 111-69 over New York Tech
11/21/19: 88-78 over UCLA
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER FIVE GAMES
With the win Thursday, the Dutchmen improved to 3-2. This ties the 2019-20 team for the 22nd-best record through five games. Thirty other teams began 3-2, most recently the 2018-19 team. Here is how some other notable Hofstra teams have fared through two games.
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 2-3
1976-77: 4-1
1999-2000: 3-2
2000-01: 4-1
NIT TEAMS
2004-05: 5-0 (most recent 5-0 start)
2005-06: 4-1
2006-07: 2-3
2015-16: 3-2
2018-19: 3-2
2016-17: 2-3 (most recent 2-3 start)
2012-13: 3-2 (last time over .500 that season because…well, you know)
2008-09: 4-1 (most recent 3-1 start)
1994-95: 1-4 (Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 1-4 (VBK’s last team)
1973-74: 0-5 (most recent 0-5 start
This feature is also inspired by Greg Prince, who measures how the current Mets compare, record-wise, to previous teams through the same point in the season.
BAKER’S DOZEN AGAINST THE POWER SCHOOLS
The win over UCLA marked Hofstra’s 13th all-time against a team that is in a power conference as of the 2019-20 season. It was the Dutchmen’s first win over a power conference school since an 82-77 win over Florida State in the Virgin Islands four years and one day earlier.
11/21/19: UCLA 88-78
11/20/15: Florida State 82-77
12/29/06: St. John’s 63-51
3/15/06: Nebraska 73-62***
11/29/05: St. Johns 64-51
12/11/04: St. John’s 78-68
12/2/03: St. John’s 81-64
12/26/00: Rutgers 58-52
12/16/00: St. John’s 86-80
12/26/98: Georgia Tech 61-42
12/1/90: Mississippi 78-73
12/19/78: Florida 68-67
2/7/77: Virginia 78-69 (OT)
***NIT
DOUBLE-DIGIT COMEBACK
The Flying Dutchmen mounted a comeback from a double-digit deficit for the first time this season and just the second time since the start of last season. The Dutchmen came back from a 15-point first half deficit to beat Mount St. Mary’s, 79-61, in the 2018-19 opener.
A NEW 1-2 PUNCH?
Desure Buie (29 points) and Jalen Ray (27 points) each shattered their previous career-highs in scoring Thursday night. It marked the first time two players scored at least 20 points apiece for the Dutchmen, and neither one was named Justin Wright-Foreman, since Feb. 15, 2018, when Eli Pemberton (26 pints) and Rokas Gustys (22 points) led the way in a 90-84 win over William & Mary.
SO WHO HAS A DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING STREAK NOW?
Justin Wright-Foreman, as you may or may not recall, ended his Hofstra career by scoring in double figures in each of his last 88 games. With his graduation, the longest streak of double-digit scoring efforts now belongs to Jalen Ray, who scored in double digits for the sixth straight time Wednesday.
A NEAR BENCH BLANKING
Stafford Trueheart made his season debut Thursday and accounted for the only bench points with a first-half jumper. The two points by reserves were the fewest for the Dutchmen since way back in the season opener Nov. 6, when Kevin Schutte’s dunk accounted for the only bench points in a 79-71 loss to San Jose State.
LUCKY THIRTEEN
Desure Buie, who was “just” 17-for-21 from the free throw line over the first four games, drained all 13 of his free throw attempts Thursday. That’s the second-most free throws without a miss by a Hofstra player in the CAA era (2001-present) and the most since Justin Wright Foreman was 15-for-15 against UNC Wilmington on Feb. 18, 2017.
Justin Wright-Foreman: 15-15 vs. UNCW 2/18/17
Desure Buie: 13-13 vs. UCLA 11/21/19
Zeke Upshaw: 12-12 vs. Towson, 2/22/14
Eli Pemberton: 10-10 vs. Rider 12/9/17
Charles Jenkins: 10-10 vs. Delaware, 1/7/09
Carlos Rivera: 10-10 vs. Siena, 11/29/06
Danny Walker: 10-10 vs. James Madison, 2/8/02
GIVE BUIE A HAND
With his first assist Thursday night, Desure Buie snapped a tie with Loren Stokes for seventh place on the all-time assist list. Buie is 79 assists behind Juan’ya Green.
6.) Juan’ya Green 463 (2014-16)
7.) DESURE BUIE 384 (2015-present)
9.) Loren Stokes 377 (2003-07)
9.) Woody Souffrant 362 (2001-05)
10.) Carlos Rivera 351 (2003-07)
UPDATING THE CAA-ERA SCORING LIST
The all-time list is still a work in progress, but there was plenty of movement on Hofstra’s CAA-era scoring list Thursday night. Desure Buie’s career-high 29 points gave him 774 for his career, vaulting him just ahead of Moussa Kone (773 points for 17th place. Jalen Ray’s career-high 27 points gave him 568 for his career, lifting him past Jamall Robinson (561 points) for 27th place. Tareq Coburn scored 10 points to increase his total to 363 points, good enough to move past Jordan Allen (359 points) into 37th place. And Isaac Kante’s five points gave him 52 for the season and lifted him past Andre Walker (50 points) into 75th place.
CAL STATE FULLERTON AND THE BIG WEST
Cal State Fullerton, under seventh-year head coach Dedrique Taylor, is 2-2 this season after beating something called a Cal State Stanislaus, 82-62, on Nov. 16. The Titans were picked to finish fifth in the Big West preseason poll. Senior guard Austen Awosika leads Cal State Fullerton with 17.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
The Dutchmen and Titans have two common foes this season. San Diego, whom the Dutchmen visit on Wednesday, visits Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 11. The Titans visit UCLA on Dec. 28. Did you know the Dutchmen beat UCLA? True story. You could look it up.
This is the second all-time meeting between Hofstra and Cal State Fullerton and the back end of a home-and-home. The Dutchmen earned an 80-71 win last Nov. 21. The Dutchmen are 3-4 all-time against current Big West foes.
At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 138th while Cal State Fullerton is ranked 224th. KenPom.com predicts a 73-27 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 1-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 2-2 against the spread this season.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Chad Cordero bias! (The former Nationals closer played baseball at Cal State Fullerton)
Jeremy Giambi forgot to slide bias! (Long before he helped enhance Derek Jeter’s legacy, Giambi also played baseball at Fullerton)
California Bowl bias! (The Titans’ long-defunct football team appeared in its only sanctioned bowl in 1983, when it fell to Northern Illinois)
Boy Meets World bias! (Because Cal State Fullerton alum Danielle Fishel starred on the show and the classics always work)
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