I'll Be Quirky: James Madison

Wait, guys from Division I-AA schools can go on to play for the Jets? Neat!

Ahh, winning streaks are overrated anyway. The Flying Dutchmen had their eight-game winning streak snapped and received a reality check Thursday night, when Towson feasted on the boards and led for the final 34-plus minutes in a 76-65 win. The Dutchmen will once again look to clinch the outright CAA regular season title for the second straight season this afternoon, when they host James Madison on Senior Day. Been a busy week so here’s an abbreviated look back at the loss to the Tigers and a look ahead to the Dukes.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Isaac Kante (21 points) and Tareq Coburn (20 points) were a combined 15-of-20 form the field as they made up for off-nights from Desure Buie and Eli Pemberton, but the Dutchmen could not overcome Towson’s dominance on the boards in their fist loss in more than a month. Towson out-rebounded Hofstra 49-26, pulled down 24 offensive rebounds and scored 26 (!!!) second-chance points. Kante was 9-of-10 from the field and pulled down seven rebounds. Pemberton finished with 18 points (on 5-of-17 shooting) and recorded eight rebounds and four assists. Buie was limited to six points on 2-of-14 shooting. The Dutchmen had just four players score for the second time this season. The reserves were scoreless for a third straight game.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Towson 2/27)

3: Isaac Kante

2: Tareq Coburn

1: Eli Pemberton

SEASON STANDINGS

Desure Buie 56

Eli Pemberton 40

Isaac Kante 35

Tareq Coburn 28

Jalen Ray 16

Stafford Trueheart 3

Omar Silverio 2

COACHSPEAK:

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 Bullies (that was actually the title of an episode of Friends!)

TIGERS POUNCE ON THE BOARDS

The negative-23 difference on the boards was the largest for the Dutchmen since Jan. 27, 2014, when — you guessed it — Towson out-rebounded Hofstra 45-20 in a 76-58 win. The 24 offensive rebounds by Towson were the most surrendered by the Dutchmen in at least the last 10 years as well as just the third time this season a team has recorded at least 24 offensive rebounds against a Division I foe. 

BUMMER DAY FOR BUIE

Desure Buie had a rare rough night Thursday, when he scored six points while going 2-of-14 from the field. The 14.3 percent shooting figure was the lowest by a Hofstra player who took at least 12 attempts since Zeke Upshaw was 2-for-16 (12.5 percent) in the CAA title game loss to UNC Wilmington on Mar. 7, 2016. Better now than then, right?

DIFFERENT FACES

Tareq Coburn and Isaac Kante were the Dutchmen’s top two scorers Thursday. It’s just the second time this season Desure Buie and/or Eli Pemberton didn’t rank among the top two scorers. Coburn (23 points) and the duo of Kante and Jalen Ray (19 points) led the way against New York Tech on Nov. 15.

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END (part one)

Eli Pemberton’s streak of 38 straight free throws ended when he missed an attempt from the charity stripe with 11:39 left Thursday night. Pemberton’s streak was the second-longest in CAA history, the longest active streak in the league and the longest streak by a Hofstra player in the Joe Mihalich era. Pemberton broke Desure Buie’s record of 35 straight makes by draining his second free throw Thursday.

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END (part two)

The Dutchmen’s streak of allowing 75 points or fewer ended at 13 games Thursday. They went 11-2 in the streak, which was the longest such streak under Joe Mihalich and the longest by Hofstra since a 15-game stretch from Jan. 1 through Feb. 18, 2012 in which a Dutchmen squad depleted by dismissals went just 3-12.

KAN DO

Isaac Kante was 9-of-10 from the field Thursday. It was the best shooting performance by a Hofstra player who took at least 10 shots since Rokas Gustys was also 9-for-10 against James Madison on Jan. 16, 2016.

OVER THE AIR

Today’s game will be aired on FloHoops.com (subscription). Hofstra will carry live audio and offer live stats here.

THE CAA RACE

It’s even simpler than it was Thursday: With a win this afternoon, the Dutchmen (13-4) will clinch the outright regular season championship and the no. 1 seed in the CAA Tournament, which is scheduled to begin next Saturday. Hofstra has never clinched an outright regular season title at home. The Dutchmen can also earn the no. 1 seed with a loss and a loss by William & Mary in the Tribe’s season finale today. But that would not be as fun.

SENIOR DAY

While Senior Day is a bittersweet afternoon for players and coaches, the game itself has traditionally been a happy occasion for both the Flying Dutchmen and Joe Mihalich. The Dutchmen are 21-5 in home finales in the DD Era, though they fell to James Madison, 104-99, in overtime on Senior Day last year. The other losses were absorbed in 1994 (Army won 87-76), 2001 (Towson won 61-60), 2013 (Delaware won 57-56) and 2017 (UNC Wilmington won 83-76).

In addition, Mihalich is 17-4 in regular season home finales as a head coach. His 10-game winning streak in home finales was snapped in 2017. The only other times a Mihalich-coached team lost a home finale were in 2001, when Niagara fell to Canisius, 85-70, and 2006, when the Purple Eagles lost to Manhattan, 82-81.

The Dutchmen will honor their three seniors — Desure Buie, Connor Klementowicz and Eli Pemberton — in a pregame ceremony beginning at 3:40 PM. Check out today’s features on the seniors, hyperlinked at their names. 

LEAP DAY

If you remember the last time the Dutchmen played on Feb. 29, you’ve been watching the team longer than I have. And that’s a long time! The Dutchmen’s lone previous Feb. 29 game as a Division I school happened in 1992, when Hofstra locked up the ECC regular season title with a 103-87 win over UMBC. Hey that's neat! Let's not lose to Towson in the title game OK? The Dutchmen didn't score 100 points again until a 102-62 win over Division III Farmingdale State on Nov. 13, 2010. 

SCOUTING JAMES MADISON

The Dukes, under fourth-year head coach Louis Rowe, are 9-19 this season and 2-15 in CAA play after suffering their sixth straight loss Thursday, when they fell to Northeastern 77-57.

The Dutchmen and Dukes had no common foes during non-league play. James Madison has been swept in CAA play by everyone except Hofstra and UNC Wilmington, whom the Dukes swept.

The Dutchmen, who were picked first in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 119th at KenPom.com. The Dukes, who were picked fourth, are ranked 303rd at KenPom.com.

According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank first in the CAA in league-only offensive efficiency (112.5) and third in defensive efficiency (102.4). The Dukes rank ninth in the CAA in both league-only offensive efficiency (98.0) and defensive efficiency (109.5).

Matt Lewis, who was named to the all-CAA preseason first team, leads the Dukes in scoring (18.9 ppg) and ranks second in rebounding (5.5 rpg) and assists (3.5 apg). Junior Darius Banks, a preseason all-CAA second team selection, is averaging 12.4 ppg while junior Dwight Wilson is averaging 10.1 ppg and a tea-high 9.7 rpg. Sophomore guard Deshon Parker leads the Dukes with 4.1 assist per game.

KenPom.com predicts an 85-70 win for the Dutchmen. Be more right this time, Ken! Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 13-point favorites as of early this morning. The Dutchmen are 19-9-1 against the spread this season.

SCOUT SEZ

“Hofstra’s not gonna be happy. Could be a beatdown.”

ALL-TIME VS. JAMES MADISON

Hofstra is 21-13 against James Madison in a series that began when the Dutchmen joined the CAA prior to the 2001-02 season. The Dutchmen came back from a 14-point second half deficit to beat the Dukes, 82-76, in the CAA opener on Dec. 28. Hofstra is aiming to sweep the regular season series for the second time in three years. 

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

You still get publicity from I-AA football bias! (Gotta stick with the standards)

Let us win this Senior Day bias! (Duh)

Andrey Semenov bias! (Another oldie but goodie)

Daniel Brown bias! (Speaking of I-AA football publicity, Brown played for the Jets last year)

Senior Day: Desure Buie

Remember how much fun it was to watch Juan’ya Green master point guard for the Flying Dutchmen? Or how enjoyable it was to see Ameen Tanksley play the Robin to Green’s Batman? Or that crazy finish against Monmouth on Dec. 6, 2017, when the Dutchmen trailed by two points, Justin Wright-Foreman intentionally missed a free throw and Stafford Trueheart tapped out the rebound to Jalen Ray, who sank the game-winning 3-pointer?

Desure Buie certainly does.

“Juan’ya Green, of course, the phenomenal player he was — Ameen Tanksley, Brian Bernardi, all those dudes, Denton Koon, they were all veterans,” Buie said of four-fifths of the startling lineup from his freshman year, when the Dutchmen fell to UNC Wilmington in the CAA championship game. “Some games, you get thrown in the fire. Some games, you’ve just got to sit and watch and see how things play out.

“I’ve been a part of a game, sitting on the bench, and I was like ‘Yo, this is the best game I’ve ever watched, truth be told.’ You always want to be in the game but that was so exciting, I was so excited to be part of that, it didn’t matter.”

Now, Buie is rounding out a remarkable career in which he’s become the guy everyone else watches. Entering Senior Day today, the fifth-year senior has played in a school-record 137 games — shattering the previous record of 128, shared by Charles Jenkins and Nathaniel Lester — and ranks third in the nation in minutes played with 1,111, just 108 fewer minutes than he played in 72 games over his first three seasons.

Buie needs one point this afternoon to move into sole possession of 20th place on the program’s all-time scoring list. His 548 points this season are 144 fewer than he had in his first four seasons. 

With three more steals, he’ll become just the third player in Hofstra history — after Frank Walker and a guy named Speedy Claxton — to record 1,000 points, 500 assists and 200 steals. He is likely to lead the Dutchmen in scoring, assists and steals this season, joining program icons Green, Claxton, Jenkins and Loren Stokes as the only players to achieve the feat in the last 25 years.

“He kept getting better and better,” Joe Mihalich said. 

And with a Dutchman win or William & Mary loss today, Buie will become the first Hofstra player at the Division I level to be a part of three regular season conference champions. All this from a player who came off the bench in his first 42 games through Nov. 29, 2017, when he suffered a torn ACL that sidelined him for the rest of the season and yielded a redshirt.

In other words: All that watching — behind Green as a freshman, behind senior transfer Deron Powers in the eight games before Buie got hurt as a sophomore and for half a season behind another transfer, Kenny Wormley, in 2017-18 — paid off handsomely.

“It didn’t matter that I wasn’t on the court,” Buie said. “You just learn from it. Like Juan’ya — I took so much from him, watching him never coming out of the game, how he paced himself through the game, those types of thing. Deron Powers was relentless. He was fast, he knew how to get through creases and cracks. It was great watching him. And Kenny, he was just a good player. Kenny had a great IQ. He had good size. He knew how to play the game. You can take things from anybody.”

Buie began applying those lessons last season, when he emerged as an old-school point guard and led the CAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.8) and steals (2.3 per game) while directing an offense led by Wright-Foreman, who finished second in the nation in scoring at 27.1 points per game, and Eli Pemberton. He also won league defensive player of the year honors.

Even with Wright-Foreman graduating, there was no indication Buie was going to emerge into a superstar, a la Green or Wright-Foreman. But he has scored in doubles figures 27 times, once fewer than he did in his first four seasons, and exceeded 20 points 10 times this season after doing so just three times previously. He keyed the upset of UCLA by scoring a then-career high 29 points in the 88-78 win on Nov. 21. In the first week of CAA play, Buie had 35- and 44-point games against Towson and Elon.

Overall, Buie is averaging 18.3 points, 5.8 assists and 2/1 steals over 37 minutes per game.As a senior in 2015-16, Green averaged 17.8 points, 7.1 assists and 1.6 steals over 37.7 minutes per game.

“It’s not like I came into the season saying ‘I’m going to be the leading scorer,’” Buie said. “I came into this season (thinking) this is my last year, I’m going to work my butt off all summer. Whatever happens, happens, but I’m going to be sure I’m going to make it my business to be doing everything I can to win games. And it just so happened that it came out this way.”

Buie has done all this while continuing to provide leadership on and off the court as well as juggling fatherhood (he has a three-year-old daughter) and his pursuit of a master’s degree in higher education leadership. It is one of the most remarkable careers in memory, one in which Buie has transitioned from the one witnessing history to the one producing it. 

“Man, if you would have told me my freshman year this would be my life when I’m a senior, I never would have imagined it,” Buie said. “But I do this for the people that are behind me, that look up to me — my nephew, my daughter or my community, because where I’m from, people don’t make it out. So I just wanted to do that, to be an example. I just wanted to prove if I can do this, you know what I mean? It’s not magic. You can do it. It’s hard work. You can succeed in life. Just work at something.”

Senior Day: Eli Pemberton

Had Eli Pemberton not busted out for the biggest debut by a Hofstra freshman in more than a decade on Nov. 11, 2016, the whole world might know him as his friends and family in Connecticut know him, or as Joe Mihalich refers to him in press conferences and other public settings.

“People in Connecticut call me Elijah,” Pemberton said this week. “They don’t know where (Eli) came from.”

But precedent on Long Island was set once Pemberton was referred to as Eli while scoring those 20 points — the most by a Hofstra freshman in his debut since Antoine Agudio scored 20 points on Nov. 21, 2004 — to lead the Flying Dutchmen to a 74-72 win over Coppin State.

“I remember (SID) Steve (Gorchov), he was like ‘Do you prefer Eli or Elijah?’” Pemberton said. “I was just like ‘Keep it Eli, keep it Eli.’ Don’t change anything now. Just worked out, don’t change it after that first game.”

The switch from Elijah to Eli served as a symbol of the start of the college maturation process for Pemberton, who has thrived away from home after choosing Hofstra over the more than 30 Division I offers he had coming out of Cheshire Academy, where he attended prep school after graduating high school in 2015.

Pemberton’s 1,885 points are the ninth-most in school history. With a win over James Madison or a loss by William & Mary today, Pemberton will also join a select club of 23 Hofstra players who have been a part of back-to-back regular season conference champions. 

And a trip to the CAA finals will ensure he plays more games for the Flying Dutchmen than anyone other than teammate Desure Buie, who was Pemberton’s host during an on-campus visit in 2015-16 that convinced Pemberton Hofstra’s low-key atmosphere was the one best-suited for him. 

“There was just something different here,” Pemberton said. “You know, a lot of official visits, they take you out. Sometimes you go party with the team. I’m not much of a going out person and Desure, I knew him, I already played AAU with him. He’s all ‘What do you want to do tonight?’ I was like ‘Honestly, bro, it doesn’t matter.’ He’s like ‘You want to go to the gym?’ Went to the gym. We were here from, I think, 11:30 to 3 AM, just shooting. We played H-O-R-S-E and honestly, three-and-a-half hours go by right here. And I was just like you know what, this is where I want to grow. I saw where everybody’s focus was. They kind of made my decision easier.”

Pemberton opened his career with five straight double-digit scoring efforts, the longest season-opening streak by a freshman since Agudio, who went on to graduate as the Dutchmen’s all-time leading scorer. The 122 starts by Pemberton are the second-most in program history behind only Charles Jenkins, who broke Agudio’s all-time scoring record in 2011.

But the ascension has not been without turbulence for Pemberton, who has endured extended slumps in all four of his seasons. Pemberton scored in single digits in 10 games as a freshman and had three back-to-back stretches in which he was held below 10 points. He ended December 2017 with a four-game stretch in which he shot 31.4 percent (11-for-35) from the floor. As a junior, Pemberton was held in single digits in consecutive games in December and February before being held to two points in the NIT loss to North Carolina State.

Pemberton went through a six-game stretch from Dec. 30 through Jan. 18 in which he was held below 10 points three times, including a two-point effort against Charleston on Jan. 18. 

“Every year of my career, I always go through a little spurt of bad games, and this year my goal was to not do that,” Pemberton said. “It’s just an athlete thing. Sometimes, athletes get in their heads.”

The senior slump led to a meeting with Mihalich in which the coach implored Pemberton to look at his body of work as well as the one thing he’d yet to accomplish.

“I basically just said ‘Listen, you are already going down as one of the all-time greats at Hofstra,’” Mihalich said. “You’re going to score close to 2,000 points. You’re going to be in the top 10 all-time leading scorers. (It’ll) be a while before somebody passes you. You’re winning all these games. The only thing you haven’t done is climb up a ladder. So you just need to take a deep breath, enjoy your senior year and just go play as hard as you possibly can and have fun. And he did.”

It wasn’t the first time Pemberton was on the other end of a stern talking-to. Pemberton said he was quiet as a high schooler and reluctant to speak up on or off the court. Even last season, with Justin Wright-Foreman averaging 27.1 points per game and Buie emerging as the point guard, Pemberton was content to remain in the shadows.

But this season, with Wright-Foreman off to the NBA and Buie entrenched as the Dutchmen’s leader, Pemberton was implored by Buie to take on a bigger role.

“It’s hard to just be a great leader on the court and not be a verbal leader,” Buie said. “He worked on that and now he’s a great leader.”

As Pemberton prepares to pursue a career in professional basketball, there’s little doubt the lessons learned at Hofstra have turned the Nutmeg state native into someone fully identifying himself as a Long Islander. 

“I felt like this was the place I was going to grow more as a person,” Pemberton said. “I’ve been challenged here so much, especially my game. I learned a lot of new things about basketball. I feel like if I went to another place, I probably wouldn’t have been as disciplined. Coming here, I went through my downs, I went through certain things. But it mad me (better) and I feel like just being in that New York atmosphere, everybody’s going to keep it 100 percent with you.”

And as for what he prefers to be called?

“This is my second home,” Pemberton said. “Long Island, I’m Eli.”

Senior Day: Connor Klementowicz

There’s a reason Connor Klementowicz will become only the third Flying Dutchmen player in the last quarter-century to spend four years as a walk-on.

“It’s almost unfair what you want out of a walk-on,” Joe Mihalich said this week. “You want him to know all the plays, be talented enough to guard an all-conference player, work as hard as anybody else, have a great personality, be positive in the locker room. And then understand that you don’t even play and (have to) pay your own way.

“You’re asking for Superman. And Connor was Superman.”

It’s not the first time Mihalich compared Klementowicz to a one-named icon. Technically speaking, Klementowicz is no longer a walk-on after being surprised with a scholarship for the spring semester prior to a game against Drexel Jan. 25, two days before the beginning of the semester. After the 72-59 win, Mihalich marveled at how popular Klementowicz is around campus.

“All you’ve got to do is say ‘Connor’ and you know who it is,” Mihalich said. “Like Pele or Elvis. You’ve just got to use one name.”

Klementowicz, far too young to remember Pele or Elvis, laughed at the comparison but admitted he’s enjoyed the singular experience as the walk-on who went on to become universally beloved within his team and campus.

“I’m not going to lie, I love it,” Klementowicz said. “I’ll come to practice and then I go and eat lunch and I like to meet people. I like to be friends with kids that are in my finance class all the way to the kids form the band and people that not everybody’s friends with.”

Celebrity status was the furthest thing from Klementowicz’s mind when he visited Hofstra as a high school senior. Klementowicz thought about going to a Division III school where he could play regularly but decided he wanted to try to go DivisionI, where he’d play far less but chase a universal goal.

“I just wanted to be part of something bigger than myself, where I could help my team win a championship,” Klementowicz said.

Mihalich and top assistant Mike Farrelly, who spent four years as a Division I walk-on at St. Joseph’s, were honest about what Klementowicz could expect, especially under an established head coach.

When Tom Marich joined the Dutchmen for the first of four seasons as a walk-on in the fall of 1994, he was playing under a rookie Division I head coach in Jay Wright. Marich played 57 games for the Dutchmen. Matt Grogan walked on to Hofstra in the fall of 2009 because he wanted to play under Tom Pecora, but Grogan ended up playing 53 games over his final two years for Mo Cassara’s undermanned squads.

There would be no paths to similar playing time for Klementowicz, who has played 63 minutes over 26 games.

“Coach Farrelly was a walk-on himself and he explained to me you have to understand, theres a job to do,” Klementowicz said. “It’s not like you’re expected to play or anything like that. This is what you’re going to have to do for four years.”

Klementowicz’s task in practice is to prepare his teammates for games, and his role on game day is to use his personality to lighten the mood. As a freshman, Klementowicz began standing at the free throw line nearest the Hofstra bench and handing out specific handshakes for each member of the starting lineup. For example: The reserved Eli Pemberton gets a simple handshake while the more outgoing Tareq Coburn gets patted down, like he’s going through security.

“You know what everybody’s feeling like,” Klementowicz said. “Eli’s locked in. ‘Rico’ likes to get pumped up. So whatever works with those guys.”

Teammates aren’t the only ones Klementowicz interacts with before and during a game. In the moments prior to the lineup being introduced, Klementowicz will often be seen helping organize the kids and community members who are lined up to exchange high and low fives with the starters as they jog off the bench towards Klementowicz.

Once the game starts, Klementowicz is the first player off the bench with three fingers in the air following a 3-pointer. At home, the final moments of lopsided wins are filled with chants for a Klementowicz appearance, which his parents particularly enjoy.

“It’s not even getting into the game that gets me excited — it’s the whole crowd going crazy, the band, the student section,” Klementowicz said. “For my Mom to say ‘Oh, they cheer for you’ when I get in the game or even on the bench, just hearing that makes me happy. When I get to talk to my parents and they tell me they’re here and that they (are) proud of me for that, that means more to me coming from them than anything.”

There’s a pretty good chance Klementowicz’s parents won’t have to wait as long to see him this afternoon. Marich and Grogan each started on their Senior Day, as did walk-ons Jeff Fox (2001) and Ryan Johnson (2008), and the only Hofstra senior to not start in his home finale over the last decade was the injured Joel Angus III.

No matter how much time Klementowicz sees on the court this afternoon, the finance major knows he’ll take to the real world the lessons learned during a unique four years at Hofstra.

“I hear kids say ‘I want to come out of college and right away start making money, I want to make six figures,’” Klementowicz said. “It’s not realistic. So I’m going to take my experience here and understand that you’ve got to work hard to get promoted or to get where you want to get. And then obviously the biggest thing for me was to see my four years pay off and get that scholarship. I’m going to take that and understand that maybe four or five years of experience in whatever field I (enter), maybe I’ll get that promotion where it’ll boost me up and I’ll start getting a name for myself.”

Of course, before that there’s one more goal to achieve — the one that lured Klementowicz to Hofstra instead of a Division III school in the first place. A win over James Madison, or a loss by William & Mary, will lock up a second straight regular season title for the Dutchmen and vault Klementowicz and fellow seniors Pemberton and Desure Buie into a select club at Hofstra.

No seniors have exited Hofstra with an NCAA Tournament banner since 2001, and the possibility of being the rare walk-on to go dancing is one of the few things that leaves the loquacious Klementowicz at a loss for words. 

“That would — I mean, come on man, ever since you’re a kid in kindergarten, everybody wants to make it to the NCAAs,” Klementowicz said. “That would just be — yeah I don’t have any words for that. I would just be so happy. I just want to go dancing, man. That would just be the cherry on top.”

I'll Be Quirky: Towson

Apparently this old-school Towson logo was a knight back in the even older school days.

These Flying Dutchmen might be pretty good. Desure Buie and Eli Pemberton had game-long senior moments Saturday afternoon, when the Dutchmen clinched at least a tie for the CAA regular season championship by pulling away from Delaware for a 78-62 win at the BOB. It felt like old times. The Dutchmen, the winners of eight straight, will look to lock up their second straight outright CAA regular season crown and no. 1 seed tonight, when they host Towson State in the penultimate (best word ever) game of the regular season. Here’s a look back at the win over the Blue Hens and a look ahead to the Tigers.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Desure Buie (27 points) and Eli Pemberton (25 points) each had monster games and combined to score 28 points in a game-ending 38-19 run as the Dutchmen overcame an early (duh) 8-0 deficit to author another statement win. The run began with Buie draining back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 43-43 and then give the Dutchmen the lead for good in a game in which the two teams spent more than 25 minutes separated by no more than six points. Buie and Pemberton combined to score the first 16 points of the run. Buie had nine assists, six rebounds and three steals while Pemberton pulled down nine rebounds and also continued his free throw streak by sinking all 10 of his attempts. Tareq Coburn had 11 points — including the first six of the game of the Dutchmen via consecutive 3-pointers — and eight rebounds while Issac Kante finished with 11 points and four rebounds. 

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Delaware 2/22)

3: Desure Buie

2: Eli Pemberton

1: Tareq Coburn

SEASON STANDINGS

Desure Buie 56

Eli Pemberton 39

Isaac Kante 32

Tareq Coburn 26

Jalen Ray 16

Stafford Trueheart 3

Omar Silverio 2

COACHSPEAK: “First five minutes, we had another one of those games where we had to call a timeout, we were down 8-0 or 10-0. So for the rest of the game, we played pretty good basketball. Really proud of our guys. Everybody helped. It wasn't a one-man show. But I’ll tell you what, Desure Buie was unbelievable today.”

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 Desure And Eli Went Off

WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?

Yes! The Dutchmen beat Fairleigh Dickinson 79-62 to open the 1956-57 season, beat Sacred Heart 78-63 during the 1972-73 season, knocked off VCU 77-62 on Jan. 9, 2002 and won multiple games by scores of 77-61 and 79-61. But they’d never won 78-62 before Saturday. That means this unicorn score counter goes to 11, one more than last year! Woot! It also means the two most recent unicorn scores were 78-64 and 78-62. Wild. 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

12/1/19: 91-69 over Holy Cross

12/2/19: 64-57 over Canisius

12/10/19: 71-63 over SUNY-Stony Brook

1/4/20: 102-75 over Elon

1/30/20: 86-63 over Elon

2/1/20: 83-60 over William & Mary

2/15/20: 78-64 over UNC Wilmington

2/22/20: 78-62 over Delaware

THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER TWENTY-NINE GAMES

With the win over Delaware, the Dutchmen improved to 22-7. This ties the 2019-20 team for the eighth-best record through 29 games among the 34 teams that played at least 29 games. Only one other team was 22-7 through 29 games — the 1976-77 Dutchmen, who reached the NCAA Tournament by winning the ECC championship game in game no. 29. Here is how some other notable Hofstra teams have fared through 29 games:

NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1975-76: 18-11 (win in 29th game came in ECC Tournament championship game, marked sixth win of six-game winning streak and sent the Dutchmen to the NCAAs for the first time as a D-I program)

1976-77: 22-7 (win in 29th game came in ECC Tournament championship game, marked ninth win of nine-game winning streak and sent to the Dutchmen to the NCAs for the second straight season)

1999-2000: 23-6 (win in 29th game came in America East tournament semifinals) 

2000-01: 25-4 (win in 29th game came in America East tournament semifinals and marked 17th win in program-record, single-season 18-game winning streak, only 25-4 start in school history)

NIT TEAMS

1998-99: 21-8 (win in 29th game came in America East quarterfinals, was final win of season)

2004-05: 21-8 (loss in 29th game came in CAA semifinals)

2005-06: 24-5 (win in 29th game came in the CAA semifinals — THE TONY SKINN GAME — and locked up at least an at-large bid for the Dutchmen, or so we thought THANKS TOC, only 24-5 start in school history)

2006-07: 21-8

2015-16: 21-8 (most recent 21-8 start)

2018-19: 23-6 (loss in 29th game came in home finale to James Madison, final regular season loss)

NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1958-59: 20-7 (season ended with third-round loss in NCAAs)

1961-62: 24-4 (season ended with second-round loss in NCAAs) 

1962-63: 23-6 (loss in first round of NCAAs was final loss of season)

1963-64: 23-6 (season ended with first-round loss in NCAAs)

Some other notable 29-game records:

2017-18: 18-11 (most recent 18-11 start)

2016-17: 13-16 (only 13-16 start)

2013-14: 8-21 (most recent 8-21 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)

2012-13: 7-22 (only 7-22 start, win in 29th game was final win for Mo Cassara, worst 29-game record in school history)

2011-12: 9-20 (most recent 9-20 start)

2010-11: 19-10 (most recent 19-10 start)

2009-10: 16-13 (only 16-13 start, win in 29th game marked fourth win of seven-game winning streak)

2007-08: 12-17 (only 12-17 start, win in 29th game was final win of season)

2003-04: 14-15 (most recent 14-15 start, season ended w/loss to Old Dominion in CAA quarterfinals)

2002-03: 8-21 (season ended w/loss to UNC Wilmington in CAA quarterfinals)

2001-02: 10-19 (only 10-19 start, loss in 29th game ended regular season and marked eighth loss of Tom Pecora-era record-tying eight-game losing streak)

1997-98: 18-11 (won regular season finale)

1993-94: 9-20 (ECC champs! Beat Northeastern Illinois in 2 OTs to win ECC title in VBK’s final game)

1991-92: 20-9 (season ended w/loss to Towson State in ECC championship and ended nine-game winning streak, only 20-9 start)

1988-89: 14-15 (season ended w/loss in ECC semifinals)

1985-86: 17-12 (only 17-12 start, win in ECC semifinals was final win of season)

1984-85: 14-15 (season ended w/loss in ECC semifinals)

1951-52: 26-3 (won known season finale, best 29-game record in school history)

1950-51: 18-11 (lost season finale)

Hofstra has never been 29-0, 28-1, 27-2, 15-14, 11-18, 6-23, 5-24, 4-25, 3-26, 2-27, 1-28 or 0-29 through 29 games.

Fifty seasons were completed in fewer than 29 games:

1996-97 (12-15)

1995-96 (9-18)

1994-95 (10-18)

1992-93 (9-18)

1990-91 (14-14)

1989-90 (13-15)

1987-88 (6-21)

1986-87 (10-18)

1983-84 (14-14)

1982-83 (18-9)

1981-82 (12-16)

1980-81 (12-15)

1979-80 (14-14)

1978-79 (8-19)

1977-78 (8-19)

1974-75 (11-13)

1973-74 (8-16)

1972-73 (8-16)

1971-72 (11-14)

1970-71 (18-8)

1969-70 (13-13)

1968-69 (12-13)

1967-68 (13-12)

1966-67 (12-13)

1965-66 (16-10)

1964-65 (11-14)

1961-62 (14-14)

1960-61 (21-4)

1959-60 (23-1)

1958-59 (20-7)

1957-58 (15-8)

1956-57 (11-15)

1955-56 (22-4)

1954-55 (19-7)

1953-54 (15-9)

1952-53 (20-7)

1949-50 (17-9)

1948-49 (18-8)

1947-48 (13-6)

1946-47 (18-6)

1945-46 (12-7)

1944-45 (8-13)

1943-44 (7-12)

1942-43 (15-6)

1941-42 (15-6)

1940-41 (13-7)

1939-40 (12-9)

1938-39 (10-8)

1937-38 (10-4)

1936-37 (10-7)

We’re getting to the point where seasons are completed every game now! (And more than half the Hofstra seasons were completed by this point)

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.

EIGHT ISN’T ENOUGH

The Dutchmen’s eight-game winning streak is the 21st winning streak of at least eight games in school history. It is the second straight season in which the Dutchmen have enjoyed a winning streak of at least eight games. Hofstra, of course, won 16 straight last season. This is the first time the Dutchmen have had winning streaks of at least eight games in back-to-back seasons since the 1999-2000 team had a 10-game winning streak and the 2000-01 squad recorded a single-season school-record 18-game winning streak.

SELECT COMPANY FOR THE DUTCHMEN (part one)

This stat will last at least two games! As you likely know, the Dutchmen have had just two losing streaks, both of the two-game variety, since the start of the 2018-19 season. That makes Hofstra one of just 15 Division I teams in that span with two or fewer losing streaks, neither of which have lasted more than two games. Some pretty decent company here:

Houston (0)

Duke (1)

Gonzaga (1)

Kansas (1)

Kentucky (1)

Liberty (1)

Murray State (1)

New Mexico State (1)

Vermont (1)

Buffalo (2)

Cincinnati (2)

East Tennessee State (2)

HOFSTRA (2)

UNC Greensboro (2)

San Diego State (2)

SELECT COMPANY FOR THE DUTCHMEN (part two)

The Dutchmen’s 22 wins make them one of just 20 Division I school to record at least 22 wins in each of the last two seasons. The most recent member of the club? Villanova, which won its 22nd game last night. It’s meant to be! Here is the list through last night (this year’s win total listed first)

Gonzaga 27-33

Liberty 26-29

East Tennessee State 26-24

Kansas 25-26

Auburn 24-30

Florida State 24-29

Furman 24-25

Duke 23-32

Kentucky 23-30

UNC Greensboro 23-29

Utah State 23-28

Maryland 23-23

Saint Mary’s 23-22

New Mexico State 22-30

HOFSTRA 22-27

Belmont 22-27

Vermont 22-27

Villanova 22-26

Colgate 22-24

South Dakota State 22-24

A DESURE THING

Desure Buie had another big game Saturday, when he racked up 27 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals. Per CollegeBasketballReference.com, he is just the fourth Division I player this season to finish with at least 27 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals in a game. In addition, Buie is the third Hofstra player since 2010-11 (the first season of the Play Index at CollegeBasketballReference.com) to record at least 25 points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals in a game. The pretty good combo of Charles Jenkins and Juan’ya Green did it twice each.

BUIE’S CLIMB CONTINUES

Desure Buie leaped multiple spots on the all-time Hofstra scoring list for a second straight game Saturday, when he scored 27 points against Delaware to leapfrog Demetrius Dudley and John Mills, who were tied for 22nd place, and Carlos Rivera into 21st place with 1,234 points. Buie enters tonight just seven points away from surpassing Roberto Gittens and moving into the top 20.

20.) Roberto Gittens 1,240 (1997-2001)

21.) DESURE BUIE 1,234 (2015-present)

22.) Carlos Rivera 1,225 (2003-07)

23t.) Demetrius Dudley 1,220 (1991-93)

23t.) John Mills 1,220 (1941-43, 1946-47)

25t.) Brian Bernardi 1,186 (2014-17)

25t.) Juan’ya Green 1,186 (2014-16)

27.) Rokas Gustys 1,184 (2014-18)

Since joining the 1,000-point club on Jan. 4, Buie has gained at least one spot on the all-time scoring list in every game but one. 

Jan. 4: 38th place

Jan. 9: 36th place

Jan. 16: 35th place

Jan. 18: 34th place

Jan. 23: 33rd place

Jan. 25: 32nd place

Jan. 30: 31st place

Feb. 1: 29th place

Feb. 8: T27th place

Feb. 13: 27th place

Feb. 15: 27th place

Feb. 20: 24th place

Feb. 22: 21st place

PERFECT PEMBERTON

Eli Pemberton went 10-for-10 from the line last Saturday. It was the second time this season a Hofstra player was perfect from the line while taking at least 10 free throws. Desure Buie finished 13-of-13 in the 88-78 upset of UCLA on Nov. 21. It was also the second time in his career Pemberton has been perfect from the line while taking at least 10 attempts. He was also 10-for-10 in an 88-82 win over Rider on Dec. 9, 2017. He is the first Hofstra player in the CAA era (2001-present) to have two perfect games from the free throw line while taking at least 10 attempts.

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE

Pemberton’s big game from the free throw line also extended his streak of consecutive made free throws to 34 dating back to Feb. 2. That’s the second-longest streak of the Joe Mihalich era — and the second-longest streak of the season behind Desure Buie, who sank 35 straight free throws from Nov. 21 through Dec. 7. Pemberton’s streak marks the fifth tie a Hofstra player has converted at least 30 straight free throws under Mihalich. In addition, Pemberton’s streak is tied for the 10th-longest in CAA history. 

Desure Buie, 35-for-35 (11/21/19-12/7/19)

ELI PEMBERTON, 34-for-34 (2/1/20-present)

Brian Bernardi, 32-for-32 (12/11/16-2/25/17)

Desure Buie, 31-for-31 (11/11/18-12/28/18)

Justin Wright-Foreman, 31-for-31 (2/11/17-11/10/17)***

***spanned two seasons

THE DEFENSE ISN’T RESTING

The Dutchmen allowed 75 points or fewer for the 13th straight time Saturday, the longest such streak under Joe Mihalich. The Dutchmen allowed 75 points or fewer in nine straight games — all wins — from Dec. 1, 2018 through Jan. 5, 2019. Hofstra, which is 11-2 in the last 10 games, is 20-3 when allowing 75 points or fewer this season and a whopping 103-25 when allowing 75 points or fewer under Mihalich. The Dutchmen haven’t allowed 75 points or fewer in at least 14 consecutive games since a 15-game streak from Jan. 1 through Feb. 18, 2012, when a squad depleted by dismissals went just 3-12.

BUIE CHASES THE TRIPLE CROWN

Desure Buie enters today leading the Dutchmen in scoring (18.7 ppg), assists (5.7 apg) and steals (2.1 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: Green (17.8 ppg/7.1 apg/1.6 apg)

2014-15: 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

ROUGH DAY FOR RAY

Jalen Ray was the lone starter held to single digits Saturday, when he scored four points while going 1-for-11 from the field. It was the second time this season Ray hit one field goal while taking at least 10 shots. He was 1-for-10 against St. Bonaventure on Dec. 7. Ray is the first Hofstra player to have one field goal or fewer in 10 or more attempts twice in a season since 2012-13, when Taran Buie went 1-for-11 against Delaware on Jan. 9 and 0-for-11 against Towson on Feb. 16.

BENCH BLANKINGS

Hofstra’s starters combined to score all the points for the second straight game Saturday, when Stafford Trueheart, Kevin Schutte, Omar Silverio and Caleb Burgess didn’t attempt a field goal in 27 minutes of action. It was also the second straight game in which the reserves didn’t attempt a field goal. The Dutchmen last had their starters account for all their points in consecutive games on Mar. 5-6, 2006, when Antoine Agudio, Aurimas Kieza, Carlos Rivera, Loren Stokes and Adrian Uter scored all the points in a 58-49 win over George Mason in the Tony Skinn Game (or the CAA semifinals) and a 78-67 loss to UNC Wilmington in the CAA championship game.

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 Desure Buie’s streak ending at 22 games on Feb. 15, the longest such streak now belongs to Eli Pemberton, who has nine 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 (15.2 percentage of minutes).

OVER THE AIR

Today’s game will be aired on FloHoops.com (subscription). Hofstra will carry live audio and offer live stats here.

THE CAA RACE

It’s as simple as it gets: With one win in their final two games, the Dutchmen (13-3) are the outright regular season champs and the no. 1 seed in the CAA Tournament, which is scheduled to begin next Saturday. Hofstra has never clinched an outright regular season title at home. History awaits?

The Dutchmen can also earn the no. 1 seed with two losses and a loss by William & Mary to Elon in the Tribe’s season finale Saturday But let’s not do that, shall we? Should Hofstra and William & Mary tie for first place at 13-5, the Tribe would get the top seed by virtue of their sweep of Delaware.

Five of the six first-round byes are locked up by the Dutchmen, William & Mary, Towson (10-6), Delaware (10-6) and Charleston (9-7). Northeastern (8-8) will clinch the final bye with a win over James Madison tonight. Elon (7-10) and Drexel (6-10) still have outside chances at finishing sixth while UNC Wilmington (4-12) has an outside shot at finishing eighth. James Madison (2-14) is locked into one of the final two seeds.

SCOUTING TOWSON

The Tigers, under ninth-year head coach Pat Skerry, are 17-12 this season and 10-6 in CAA play after beating Elon, 84-71, last Saturday. Towson won three of its last four league games and four of five overall (the Tigers beat Division III Regent, 71-55, on Feb. 12).

The Dutchmen and Tigers had no common foes in non-league play.

Both teams have swept UNC Wilmington, Drexel and Elon and split with Delaware and William & Mary, The Dutchmen split with Charleston, which swept Towson, and swept Northeastern, which beat Towson on Dec. 28 and hosts the Tigers in the regular season finale Sunday. Towson swept James Madison, whom Hofstra beat on Dec. 28 and hosts in the home finale Saturday.

The Dutchmen, who were picked first in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 107th at KenPom.com. The Tigers, who were picked sixth, are ranked 168th at KenPom.com.

According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank first in the CAA in league-only offensive efficiency (112.9) and second in defensive efficiency (101.1). The Tigers rank second in the CAA in league-only offensive efficiency (108.2) and fourth in defensive efficiency (102.9).

Senior Brian Fobbs, who was named to the all-CAA preseason first team, leads the Tigers in scoring (15.9 ppg). Senior Nakye Sanders is puling down a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game while sophomore Allen Betrand is averaging 14.2 ppg. 

KenPom.com predicts a 74-67 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 7.5-point favorites as of early this morning. The Dutchmen are 19-8-1 against the spread this season.

SCOUT SEZ

“That was an impressive win on Saturday. Pemberton and Buie look like first-team All-CAA players.”

THE ECC RACE

I almost forgot this! How could I do that? The Dutchmen can do the most important thing of all tonight, when a win over Towson would lock up the mythical outright ECC title for the third straight season. Even with a loss, the Dutchmen will still share the ECC crown. Stop looking at me like that, this is a real thing.

HOFSTRA 4-1

Towson 3-2

Delaware 3-3

Drexel 1-5

ALL-TIME VS. TOWSON

Hofstra is 44-26 against Towson in a series that began during the 1982-83 season, when both schools were in the East Coast Conference. The Dutchmen came back from a 12-point second-half deficit to earn a 75-67 win in the first meeting of the  season between the teams Dec. 30 in Towson. Hofstra is looking to sweep theTigers for the fourth time in the last five years.

Hofstra and Towson opposed one another in the ECC and the North Atlantic Conference/America East before moving together to the CAA for the 2001-02 school year. Hofstra has faced only two opponents as often as it’s faced Towson: Longtime conference rivals Delaware and Drexel.

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

We haven’t forgotten the 1992 ECC title game loss bias! (Can you never forget something that happened before you began paying attention?)

You used to be the Knights bias! (True story, Baseball Hall of Fame exec and Towson grad John Schuerholz was behind changing the nickname to the Tigers)

Pat Skerry coached at a bunch of CAA schools bias! (He was an assistant at Northeastern, William & Mary and Charleston)

John Harbaugh bias! (duh)