First time we've ever had to shout a bias about an NBA teammate of a Flying Dutchman.
Wishing the jolliest of days to all Stars fans!🎄 pic.twitter.com/H5WL3G7TPY— Salt Lake City Stars (@slcstars) December 25, 2019
The Flying Dutchmen doubled their point differential in the 2020s Thursday night, when they dodged disaster as Isaac Kante hit the tie-breaking layup with under six seconds to play before a defensive stand preserved a 63-61 win over UNC Wilmington. The Dutchmen, now in sole possession of second place in the CAA, will look to maintain their standing with another big road test this afternoon, when they visit Charleston. Here’s a look back at the wins over both UNC Wilmington and Northeastern as well as a look ahead to the Cougars.
THE GAME BEFORE THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Dutchmen squandered all of a 16-point halftime lead and trailed by a point twice in the final six minutes, but Eli Pemberton drove the lane and weaved his way through a triple team to hit the tie-breaking, game-winning layup with 0.5 seconds left as the Dutchmen edged Northeastern, 74-72. The Dutchmen never trailed after Desure Buie’s 3-pointer gave them a 66-64 lead with 3:15 left, but Pemberton's dramatics were required after Jordan Roland (25 second half points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 7-of-9 from 3-point land) concluded his scorching final 20 minutes by draining a contested 3-pointer. Joe Mihalich didn’t call time out as the Dutchmen put the game-winning play into motion. The game-winning basket gave Pemberton a team-high 24 points and also vaulted him past Norman Richardson into 10th place on the school’s all-time list. Buie finished with 23 points while Isaac Kante (15 points and 12 rebounds) had a double-double. Jalen Ray (12 points) was, remarkably, the only other player to score for the Dutchmen.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Northeastern 1/9)
3: Eli Pemberton
2: Desure Buie
1: Isaac Kante
SEASON STANDINGS
Desure Buie 34
Eli Pemberton 27
Isaac Kante 16
Tareq Coburn 15
Jalen Ray 13
Omar Silverio 2
Stafford Trueheart 1
COACHSPEAK: “Great college basketball game. That’s been the norm with us and Northeastern, to have great games. You just know it’s going to be a battle. When we play them again, it’ll probably be the same thing. It’ll come down to one or two plays at the end. And today, we made them, and in particular this guy (Pemberton) made them right here.”
THIS IS THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF FRIENDS’ FIRST SEASON, WHAT WOULD THIS GAME BE TITLED IF IT WAS AN EPISODE OF FRIENDS?
The One Where Eli Was Elite
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
No! And we didn’t have to go far back into the media guide to find the most recent 74-72 victory — a season-opening nail-biter against Coppin State on Nov. 11, 2016. I’m sure that was the biggest thing to happen that week. The Dutchmen have recorded seven unicorn scores this season after recording 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.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Dutchmen flirted with what might have been their worst CAA loss ever before finally — and barely — vanquishing their Trask Coliseum demons as Isaac Kante hit the tie-breaking layup with under six seconds left before the Dutchmen didn’t allow UNC Wilmington to get off a shot following a timeout in a 63-61 win. UNC Wilmington is winless in CAA play, but the Seahawks, in their first game under interim head coach Rob Blake, came back from a 10-point first half deficit and led 57-54 with under six minutes left. The Dutchmen didn’t trail again after Tareq Coburn (a team-high 15 points and nine rebounds) drained a 3-pointer with 4:22 left then slammed home the putback of an Eli Pemberton miss with 2:52 to go. The game featured 10 lead changes, nine ties and a second half in which neither team led by more than four points. Kante had 12 points, including 10 in the second half, and eight rebounds while Desure Buie had 12 points and two assists, including the game-winner. Eli Pemberton, who won his first game at Trask Coliseum in his last trip there, had 14 points and five rebounds.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. UNC Wilmington 1/16)
3: Tareq Coburn
2: Isaac Kante
1: Desure Buie
SEASON STANDINGS
Desure Buie 35
Eli Pemberton 27
Tareq Coburn 18
Isaac Kante 18
Jalen Ray 13
Omar Silverio 2
Stafford Trueheart 1
COACHSPEAK: “It’s not often that we’re right on the money about something, but we were right on the money about tonight. We knew we would see a different team. We knew that Rob Burke would get them fired up. He did a great job getting these guys set, getting these guys ready, and they played with great emotion and great enthusiasm and all those things. It was a team that we were prepared for, but not prepared for. Proud of our guys. There’s a lot of reasons we could have lost that game. We had a lot of chances to lose. A lot of chances to lose. But we didn’t. Our guys made winning basketball plays in the end when they had to.”
THIS IS THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF FRIENDS’ FIRST SEASON, WHAT WOULD THIS GAME BE TITLED IF IT WAS AN EPISODE OF FRIENDS?
The One We’ll Never Talk About Again
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
No! A 63-61 win sure sounds like a Tom Pecora special, and sure enough, the Dutchmen edged Delaware by that very score on Feb. 4, 2004.
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER NINETEEN GAMES
With the narrow wins over Northeastern and UNC Wilmington, the Dutchmen improved to 14-5. This ties the 2019-20 team for the 12th-best record through 19 games. Six other teams began 14-5, most recently the 2006-07 squad. Here is how some other notable Hofstra teams have fared through 19 games:
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 10-9
1976-77: 14-5
1999-2000: 14-5 (win in 19th game marked seventh win of 10-game winning streak)
2000-01: 15-4 (win in 19th game marked seventh win in program-record 18-game winning streak)
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 13-6
2004-05: 14-5
2005-06: 15-4 (most recent 15-4 start)
2006-07: 14-5
2015-16: 13-6 (most recent 13-6 start)
2018-19: 16-3 (win in 19th game marked 12th win in the 16-game winning streak)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 14-5
1961-62: 17-2 (most recent 17-2 start)
1962-63: 13-6
1963-64: 16-3
Some other notable 19-game records:
2017-18: 12-7 (most recent 12-7 start)
2016-17: 9-10 (most recent 9-10 start, last time over .500; loss in 19th game marked fifth loss of Mihalich-era record six-game losing streak)
2013-14: 7-12 (most recent 7-12 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2012-13: 5-14 (most recent 5-14 start)
2011-12: 6-13 (most recent 6-13 start)
2003-04: 8-11 (most recent 8-11 start)
2001-02: 8-11 (Tom Pecora’s first team)
1995-96: 7-12 (loss in 19th game marked fifth loss of Wright-era record nine-game losing streak)
1994-95: 5-14 (win in 19th game marked second win of three-game winning streak, the first streak in Wright’s first year)
1997-98: 11-8 (most recent 11-8 start)
1993-94: 3-16 (only 3-16 start, 84-76 win over Central Connecticut in 19th game was lone regular season ECC win and also the first game I ever covered, VBK’s last team)
1990-91: 10-9 (most recent 10-9 start)
1987-88: 4-15 (only 4-15 start, loss in 19th game was ninth loss of program-record 12-game losing streak)
1985-96: 10-9 (over .500 for good)
1964-65: 9-10 (under .500 for good)
1959-60: 18-1 (most recent 18-1 start & Hofstra’s winningest team, percentage-wise; win in 19th game was eighth win of season-ending 13-game winning streak)
1956-57: 9-10 (under .500 for good)
1947-48: 13-6 (season complete)
1945-46: 12-7 (season complete)
1943-44: 7-12 (season complete)
Hofstra has never been 19-0, 2-17, 1-18 or 0-19 through 19 games.
The following seasons were completed in fewer than 19 games: 1938-39 (10-8), 1937-38 (10-4), 1936-37 (10-7)
Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1945-46, 1948-49, 1951-52, 1954-55.
This feature is inspired by Greg Prince, who measures how the current Mets compare, record-wise, to previous teams through the same point in the season.
A REPEAT OF HISTORY AGAINST THE HUSKIES
As chum of the blog Jaden Daly noted Jan. 9, the Dutchmen’s win over Northeastern marked the second time in a little more than a year that they broke a 72-72 tie with Northeastern on a last-second basket. Justin Wright-Foreman, of course, drained a running 34-footer at the buzzer last Jan. 5 to give the Dutchmen a 75-72 victory.
A MILESTONE BUCKET
Eli Pemberton’s game-winning layup against Northeastern didn’t just lift the Dutchmen to a dramatic victory, it also snapped a tie on the all-time scoring list with Norman Richardson and vaulted Pemberton into sole possession of 10th place with 1,679 points. He added 14 points against UNC Wilmington Thursday as he continued pursuing ninth-place David Taylor.
9.) David Taylor 1,818 (1979-83)
10.) ELI PEMBERTON 1,693 (2016-present)
11.) Norman Richardson 1,677 (1997-2001)
12.) Frank Walker 1,437 (1985-89)
ISAAC KAN DO
Isaac Kante again flirted with a Christian Laettner against Northeastern on Jan. 9, when he went 7-for-7 from the field and 1-for-2 from the free throw line. Kante became only the sixth Dutchman player in the CAA era (2001-present) to enjoy a perfect shooting night while attempting a minimum of seven field goals.
Isaac Kante 7/7 vs. Northeastern 1/9/20
Jacquil Taylor 7/7 vs. James Madison 3/10/19
Jacquil Taylor 7/7 vs. Rosemont 12/22/18
Rokas Gustys 8/8 vs. Towson 2/18/16
Moussa Kone 10/10 vs. Drexel 2/15/15
Ameen Tanksley 9/9 vs. Norfolk State 12/2/14
David Imes 8/8 vs. Drexel 1/3/11
In addition, Kante’s seven field goals without a miss gave him 11 straight field goals without a miss dating back to the 102-75 win over Elon on Jan. 4. That was the longest streak for a Hofstra player since Kone made 12 straight field goals from Feb. 12-15, 2015, when he drained his final two shots against Northeastern and all 10 attempts against Drexel. Kante’s pursuit of Kone ended Thursday, when he missed his first field goal attempt against UNC Wilmington.
(ONLY) FOUR SCORE(D) AT LEAST THIRTY YEARS AGO
The Dutchmen had just four players score against Northeastern. It was the first time since at least the 1989-90 season — as far back as my records go at home — that fewer than five players scored for Hofstra. That is wild!
SCORING JUST ENOUGH
The Dutchmen’s 63 points against UNC Wilmington mark their third-fewest in a victory under Joe Mihalich and their fewest since a 58-56 win over Delaware on Dec. 31, 2016. The only other win in which the Dutchmen scored fewer than 63 points took place Feb. 8, 2014, when they beat UNC Wilmington 61-52.
WINNING THE ROCK FIGHTS
Under Joe Mihalich, the Flying Dutchmen have crafted a well-earned reputation as a high-scoring team. But the win over UNC Wilmington improved the Dutchmen to 3-1 this season when scoring fewer than 70 points. The Dutchmen are just 16-32 when scoring fewer than 70 points under Mihalich, though that record is skewed by going 2-14 in such games during his first season.
COBURN COLD NO MORE
Tareq Coburn, who battled a wicked case of the flu earlier this month, snapped out of his slump by leading the Dutchmen with 15 points and nine rebounds in 35 minutes. Coburn had just 10 points and four rebounds over 56 minutes in his first three games of the month against William & Mary, Elon and Northeastern.
TRICKY TRASK
The Dutchmen snapped a three-game losing streak at UNC Wilmington’s Trask Coliseum, where, prior to Thursday, they hadn’t won since storming back from an 18-point deficit to stun the Seahawks, 70-69, in the game that ended up deciding the regular season CAA champion on Feb. 25, 2016. The Dutchmen haven’t lost four straight road games at an opponent since falling to James Madison four consecutive times from the 2012-13 through the 2015-16 seasons.
In addition, Eli Pemberton avoided becoming the first Hofstra player to go an entire career without winning at a CAA opponent since Moussa Kone’s teams went 0-4 at both Northeastern and William & Mary from 2011-12 through 2014-15. (Redshirt senior Desure Buie was a freshman on the 2015-16 team)
KANTE VS. TAYLOR
Isaac Kante had big shoes to fill when he stepped into the center spot in place of the graduated Jacquil Taylor. So far, so good. Kante is averaging 10.1 points and 7.1 rebounds while playing an average of 27.1 minutes over his first 19 games. Taylor averaged 6.5 points and 8.1 rebounds while playing 23.1 minutes per game over his first 19 games last season. However, Taylor was just beginning to heat up at this point last season and finished the season by averaging 10.9 points, 9.6 rebounds over 30.9 minutes per game in the Dutchmen’s final 16 games.
BUIE MOVING ON UP
Desure Buie continued climbing the all-time scoring list over the last two games, when he vaulted past John Irving and James Shaffer with his 23-point effort against Northeastern before moving ahead of Percy Johnson into 35th place by scoring 12 points against UNC Wilmington. Buie enters today needing 14 points to surpass Darius Burton for 34th place and 23 points away from surging past Derrick Flowers into 33rd place.
33.) Derrick Flowers 1,069 (1987-91)
34.) Darius Burton 1,060 (1993-97)
35.) DESURE BUIE 1,047 (2016-present)
35.) Percy Johnson 1,045 (1950-53)
36.) James Shaffer, 1,022 (1991-95)
37.) John Irving 1,018 (1974-77)
BUIE CHASES THE TRIPLE CROWN
Desure Buie enters today leading the Dutchmen in scoring (18.7 ppg), assists (5.1 apg) and steals (2.3 spg). A Hofstra player has held at least a share of the lead in all three categories just seven times in the Defiantly Dutch era (1993-present). Juan’ya Green was the last one to win the Triple Crown when he did so for the second straight year in 2015-16.
2015-16: Juan'ya Green (17.8 ppg/7.1 apg/1.6 apg)
2014-15: Juan'ya Green (17.1 ppg/6.5 apg/1.4 apg)***
2010-11: Charles Jenkins (22.6 ppg/4.8 apg/1.7 spg)
2008-09: Charles Jenkins (19.7 ppg/4.3apg/1.4 spg)
2004-05: Loren Stokes (18.3 ppg/3.5 apg/1.8 spg)
1999-2000: Speedy Claxton (22.8 ppg/6.0 apg/3.3 spg)
1997-98: Speedy Claxton (16.3 ppg/7.2 apg/2.2 apg)
***Green shared the steals lead with Ameen Tanksley
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. The longest such streak now belongs to Desure Buie, who has 15 straight double-digit efforts.
NO REST FOR THE WEARY
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen enter today ranked last out of 353 Division I teams in bench usage (16.3 percentage of minutes).
THE WRIGHT STUFF 25 YEARS AGO
Jay Wright began his head coaching career 25 years ago this fall and winter at the helm of the Flying Dutchmen, whose losing streak hit seven games 25 years ago last night with a 60-54 non-league loss at Yale. It was Intersession so I drove from my parents’ house to the game. I don’t even think I needed a media pass to talk to Wright in the hallway outside the visiting locker room afterward. Different times. The losing streak dropped the Dutchmen to 2-12 overall and 1-5 in the NAC.
OVER THE AIR
Today’s game will be aired on FloHoops.com (subscription). Hofstra will carry live audio and offer live stats here.
SCOUTING COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
The Cougars, under sixth-year head coach Earl Grant, are 11-8 this season and 5-2 in CAA play after suffering their second straight loss Thursday, when they squandered a 15-point lead and fell to Northeastern, 79-76. Charleston lost despite a triple-double from super senior Grant Riller (20 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) — only the third time this season a player has recorded a triple-double in a losing effort and the first time it has happened in the CAA since the 2010-11 season, the first season of individual player data at CollegeBasketballReference.com.
The Dutchmen and Cougars had no common foes in non-league play. Both teams have beaten Towson, James Madison and Elon in CAA play and fallen to William & Mary. The Dutchmen beat Northeastern.
The Dutchmen, who were picked first in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 151st at KenPom.com. The Cougars, who were picked second but received the most first-place votes, are ranked 137th at KenPom.com.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank third in the CAA in league-only offensive efficiency (110.5) and sixth in defensive efficiency (106.2). The Cougars rank second in the CAA in league-only offensive efficiency (110.8) and fourth in defensive efficiency (101.2).
Riller, the preseason player of the year and someone who may or may not be the oldest senior in college basketball since Andrey Semenov, leads the Cougars in both scoring (21.8 ppg) and assists (4.2 apg). He ranks second in rebounding at 5.4 rpg, just behind senior forward Sam Miller (5.9 rpg). Junior guard Brevin Galloway (11.4 ppg) is the only other Charleston player averaging more than 10 points per game.
KenPom.com predicts a 74-70 loss for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 4-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 12-6 against the spread this season.
SCOUT SEZ
“Should be a good one. CofC doesn’t consistently shoot it from the perimeter. Although if CofC is locked in defensively, I could see them wearing Hofstra down. And if Riller plays at a high level, forget about it.”
ALL-TIME VS. COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
Hofstra is 6-6 against Charleston in a series that began with the Cougars joining the CAA prior to the 2013-14 season. The Dutchmen swept the season series last season, when they earned an 86-72 win in Hempstead on Jan. 19 before withstanding a furious second half rally by the Cougars in a 99-95 win on Feb. 14. In the latter game, Hofstra mounted a 19-0 second half run immediately before Charleston went on a game-ending 38-18 run.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Jarrell Brantley bias! (The former Cougars superstar teamed up with Justin Wright-Foreman to help the CAA win the 3x3U national championship before being drafted by the Jazz two picks before Wright-Foreman was selected by Utah)
Grant Riller has been here forever bias! (Seriously, nobody older in the CAA since Andrey Semenov)
Anthony Johnson bias! (The first Charleston player selected in the NBA Draft played for seven teams from 1997 through 2010)
No home court advantage for you in this year’s CAA Tournament bias! (Now their fans have to drive several hours to DC, just like most of us)
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