Even Bob Seger can't believe this was his lone no. 1 hit.
The Flying Dutchmen finally returned from their epic season-opening road trip Wednesday afternoon, when they took advantage of a get-right spot by easing past Division II Molloy, 87-49. The Dutchmen will continue a four-game homestand by returning to the land of Division I foes this afternoon, when they are slated to host Detroit Mercy. Here’s a look back at the win over Molloy and a look ahead to *checks Detroit Mercy’s nickname* the Titans.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Jalen Ray, showing no ill effects from his injury scare two nights earlier, scored a game-high 20 points to lead six players in double figures for the Dutchmen, who spotted Molloy a pair of early leads and allowed the Lions to tie the score seven times before Kvonn Cramer and Ray combined to score nine straight points in a decisive run. Cramer (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Darlinstone Dubar (11 points, 12 rebounds) each had double-doubles, with Dubar actually posting a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) in the second half. Zach Cooks and Aaron Estrada each had 14 points while Estrada added seven rebounds. Omar Silverio scored 12 points off the bench.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Molloy, 11/24)
3: Jalen Ray
2: Kvonn Cramer
1: Darlinstone Dubar
SEASON STANDINGS
Darlinstone Dubar 10
Jalen Ray 9
Zach Cooks 7
Aaron Estrada 5
Kvonn Cramer 4
Abayomi Iyiola 1
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
IT HAS HAPPENED! A unicorn score drought spanning 16 wins, 625 days and a whole lot of terrible stuff ended with the 87-49 win. Pop that champagne. Appropriately enough, the closest the Dutchmen came to an 87-49 victory prior to Wednesday was an 87-48 win over another Long Island-based non-Division I opponent, Division III Farmingdale State, on Nov. 20, 2009.
The Dutchmen recorded no unicorn scores last season after recording 13 unicorn scores in 2019-20 and 10 unicorn scores in 2018-19. 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 FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER SIX GAMES
With Wednesday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 2-4, which is tied for the 65th-best start in franchise history…or, if you’re a negative Nellie, tied for the 22nd-worst start in program history! Thirteen other teams began 2-4, most recently the 2013-14 squad, which was Joe Mihalich’s first year at the helm. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through six games.
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 3-3
1976-77: 5-1
1999-2000: 3-3
2000-01: 5-1
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 4-2 (most recent 4-2 start)
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 2-4
2004-05: 6-0 (most recent 6-0 start)
2005-06: 4-2
2006-07: 3-3
2015-16: 4-2
2018-19: 3-3
Some other notable six-game starts:
2020-21: 3-3 (most recent 3-3 start)
2012-13: 3-3 (last time at .500 that season because…well, you know)
2008-09: 5-1 (most recent 5-1 start)
2007-08: 1-5 (most recent 1-5 start)
1994-95: 1-5 (Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 1-5 (VBK’s last team)
1982-83: 6-0
1978-79: 3-3 (last time at .500)
1973-74: 0-6 (most recent 0-6 start, Hofstra won game no. 7 and has never started 0-7)
1969-70: 0-6 (first 0-6 start)
1960-61: 6-0
1969-60: 6-0
1955-56: 6-0
1954-55: 6-0
1952-53: 5-1 (first loss in sixth game)
1951-52: 6-0
1948-49: 6-0
1947-48: 6-0
1943-44: 3-3 (last time at .500)
Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1948-49, 1951-52, 1954-55, 1957-58.
This feature is inspired by Mets superfan and blogger Greg Prince, who measures how the current Mets compare, record-wise, to previous teams through the same point in the season.
SPEEDY THROUGH SIX
With Wednesday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 2-4 as head coach. He is the fourth coach to open 2-4 at Hofstra, following in the footsteps of Roger Gaeckler (1972-73), Dick Berg (1980-81) and Joe Mihalich (2013-14).
101010101010 WINS
The Dutchmen had six double-digit scorers Wednesday for the first time since a 94-74 win over Monmouth on Nov. 9, 2019, when Eli Pemberton and Desure Buie scored 17 points apiece to lead a sextet that included Isaac Kante (15 points), Jalen Ray (14 points), Omar Silverio (13 points) and Tareq Coburn (11 points). As was the case Wednesday, Silverio’s effort was produced as a reserve.
DOUBLE THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE FUN
Kvonn Cramer (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Darlinstone Dubar (11 points, 12 rebounds) became the first Dutchmen teammates to post double-doubles in the same game since Eli Pemberton (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Tareq Coburn (10 points, 12 rebounds) had double-doubles against Stony Brook on Dec. 10, 2019. Te double-double was the fifth of Cramer’s career and the first for Dubar.
ZACH STILL COOKIN’
It took until the final two minutes, but Zach Cooks extended his career-opening (well, at Hofstra, at least) streak of double-digit scoring efforts to six games. Cooks hit a jumper with 1:41 left and then drained a 3-pointer 34 seconds later to finish with 14 points. Cooks is just the fifth player in the last 30 years to begin his Hofstra career by scoring in double figures in at least six straight games and the first since 2014-15, when Juan’ya Green scored in double figures in every game on his way to building a 43-game streak and Ameen Tanksley scored in double figures in his first 19 games.
Juan’ya Green 43 games (start of 2014-15 season through Dec. 9, 2015)
Ameen Tanksley 19 games (2014-15 season)
Seth Meyers 8 games (1995-96 season)
Antoine Agudio 7 games (2004-05 season)***
ZACH COOKS 6 games (2021-22 season)
***freshman
Speedy Claxton’s career-opening double-digit scoring streak lasted three games in 1996-97, while the late great Demetrius Dudley’s streak spanned four games in 1991-92.
(Correction: I had Darlinstone Dubar down as having scored in double figures in each of his first five games in Wednesday’s I’ll Be Quirky, but he had just nine points in the season opener against Houston. I blame my editor. My editor is me.)
NO HARM, NO FOULS
The Dutchmen had a historic second consecutive efficient game in at least one regard Wednesday, when they were whistled for just five fouls against Molloy. Remarkably, that’s one more foul than they earned two nights earlier against Richmond. (Another way to look at it: They fouled 20 percent more on Wednesday than on Monday)
The nine fouls in back-to-back games are surely the fewest the Dutchmen have committed in a two-game span dating back to at least the 2003-04 season. Prior to Monday, the Dutchmen had committed fewer than 10 fouls just six times since 2003-04.
In addition, per research by Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov, the Dutchmen are just the 10th team since 2010-11 — the start of the Play Index era at College Basketball Reference — to commit five or fewer fouls in two games and the first to do it in back-to-back contests.
FOUR FOR THE FRESHMEN
Jaquan Carlos recorded the first points this season by a Hofstra freshman when he scored on back-to-back fast breaks late in the second half. This marks just the fourth time in the CAA era (2001-present) that the first points by a freshman have been scored in the sixth game or later. Kevin Schutte was the first freshman to score in the 2018-19 season, when he had six points against Rosemont in the seventh game of the campaign on Dec. 22, 2018. The Dutchmen didn’t have any freshmen score in 2006-07, when Mantas Leonavicius was scoreless in 11 games, or in 2008-09, when there were no freshmen on the roster.
BLOWOUTS ARE BORING (but sometimes they happen anyway)
The Dutchmen’s lopsided win Wednesday snapped their streak of games behind decided by 20 points or fewer at 38, the longest among Division I programs, dating back to an 83-60 win over William & Mary on Feb. 1, 2020.
OVER THE AIR
Today’s game will be aired on FloHoops.com (subscription required). Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
http://streamwrhu.net/newPlayer/?hawc/newPlayer/?hawc=
http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=369181&vislive=hofs
DETROIT MERCY AND THE HORIZON LEAGUE
Detroit Mercy, under fourth-year head coach Mike Davis (yup, that Mike Davis), is 0-4 this season after falling to Louisville, 73-67, last Saturday. Did you know Louisville’s interim head coach is Mike Pegues? Mike Davis, getting a tour of the turn-of-the-century America East! Detroit Mercy’s four opponents all entered today in the top 130 at KenPom.com. The Titans’ first nine games are all on the road.
Detroit Mercy was picked to finish fifth in the Horizon League. Senior guard Antoine Davis, the son of Mike, was selected as the preseason Horizon League player of the year. Antoine Davis who ranked third in the country in scoring at 24.0 points per game last season, leads the Titans with 20.0 points per game this year. Junior forward Madut Akec ranks second with 14.5 points per game and leads Detroit Mercy with 8.8 rebounds per game. Graduate student Kevin McAdoo Jr. is averaging 10.8 points per game.
The Dutchmen and Titans have one common opponent. Detroit Mercy’s next game is scheduled for Tuesday at Northeastern, whom Hofstra is slated to face in CAA play on Jan. 22 and Feb. 19.
Today marks the first time Hofstra and Detroit Mercy have ever played in any sport — the first time a men’s basketball game marks Hofstra’s first athletic competition against another Division I school since the Flying Dutchmen beat North Carolina A&T, 92-72, on Nov 14, 2018.
The Dutchmen are 4-4 all-time against current Horizon League schools.
At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 142nd while Detroit Mercy is ranked 220th. KenPom.com predicts a 76-68 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 8-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 3-2 against the spread this season.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Almost won the national championship at Indiana bias! (Davis, pressed into the head coaching job when Bobby Knight finally pushed Indiana too far in 2000, led the Hoosiers to the title game in 2002)
Keegan-Michael Key bias! (The actor and comedian went to Detroit Mercy)
Bob Seger bias! (How can you not have a Bob Seger bias when opposing a Detroit-based school?)
Susan Poser used to oppose you all the time bias! (Hofstra’s new president spent the previous five years at the Horizon League’s Illinois-Chicago)
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