I'll Be Quirky: Molloy

Not that Molloy.

The Flying Dutchmen once again flirted with toppling a giant Monday night, when they raced out to a 14-point first half lead before running out of gas and falling to Richmond 81-68. The Dutchmen will finally return home tonight for the first home game of the Speedy Claxton era — and the first home game in front of fans since, well, you know — when they are scheduled to host Division II Molloy at the Arena. Here’s a look back at the loss to Richmond and a look ahead to the *calls up I’ll Be Quirky doc from the last time we played Molloy to find the school’s nickname* Lions.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

The Dutchmen, once again utilizing a small lineup without center Abraham Iyiola, sank their first six shots from the field and led by as many as 14 with under six minutes left in the first half before Richmond began crawling back. The Spiders took the lead with a 15-2 run spanning the halves and never trailed thereafter, though the Dutchmen tied the score at 61-61 on a layup by Zach Cooks with 9:51 left and missed a chance to take the lead on their next possession, when Aaron Estrada missed a layup. A free throw by Kvonn Cramer pulled the Dutchmen within 65-64 with 7:26 left before Richmond ended the game on a 17-4 run. Darlinstone Dubar and Zach Cooks each scored 18 points as they got into double figures for the fifth straight time. Dubar added six rebounds while Cramer posted season highs with 15 points and eight rebounds. Cramer dodged an injury scare when he appeared to jam his neck against Richmond’s Grant Golden late in the first half. Jalen Ray scored just three points and endured an injury scare of his own in the second, when he fell on his left side and remained on the ground for a few minutes. 

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Richmond, 11/22)

3: Darlinstone Dubar

2: Kvonn Cramer

1: Zach Cooks

SEASON STANDINGS

Darlinstone Dubar 9

Zach Cooks 7

Jalen Ray 6

Aaron Estrada 5

Kvonn Cramer 2

Abayomi Iyiola 1

THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER FIVE GAMES

With their third straight loss, the Dutchmen fell to 1-4, which is tied for the 76th-best start in franchise history…or, if you’re a negative Nellie, tied for the third-worst start in program history! Eight other teams began 1-4, most recently the 2007-08 squad. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through five games.

NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1975-76: 2-3

1976-77: 4-1

1999-2000: 3-2

2000-01: 4-1

2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 3-2

NIT TEAMS

1998-99: 2-3

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

NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1958-59: 3-2

1961-62: 4-1

1962-63: 3-2 (over .500 for good)

1963-64: 4-1

Other notable five-game starts:

2020-21: 3-2 (most recent 3-2 start)

2016-17: 2-3 (most recent 2-3 start)

2013-14: 2-3 (Joe Mihalich’s first team)

2012-13: 3-2 (last time over .500 that season because…well, you know)

2010-11: 2-3 (last time under .500)

2008-09: 4-1 (most recent 4-1 start)

1994-95: 1-4 (Jay Wright’s first team)

1993-94: 1-4 (VBK’s last team)

1982-83: 5-0

1978-79: 3-2 (last time over .500)

1974-75: 2-3 (last time under .500)

1973-74: 0-5 (most recent 0-5 start)

1972-73: 2-3 (under .500 for good)

1969-70: 0-5 (first 0-5 start)

1960-61: 5-0

1969-60: 5-0

1955-56: 5-0

1954-55: 5-0

1952-53: 5-0

1951-52: 5-0

1948-49: 5-0

1947-48: 5-0

1950-51: 3-2 (over .500 for good)

1944-45: 2-3 (under .500 for good)

1937-38: 3-2 (over .500 for good)

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.

FIVE FOR SPEEDY

This comes with quite the asterisk — you’ve seen the schedule the Dutchmen have played, right? — but Speedy Claxton is the first head coach in program history to start 1-4 in his first five games. Six coaches have started 2-3: Jack Smith (1943-44), Roger Gaeckler (1972-73), Joe Harrington (1979-80), Dick Berg (1980-81), Mo Cassara (2010-11) and Joe Mihalich (2013-14).

DOUBLE DIGITS NOT ENOUGH

The Dutchmen, who led by 14 points in the first half Monday squandered a double-digit lead in a loss for the second time this season. The Dutchmen led Houston by 13 points in the second half of the 83-75 overtime loss in the season opener. The 14-point lead and 13-point final margin of defeat represents the biggest swing in a loss for the Dutchmen since at least the 2009-10 season, which is as far back as my comebacks/blown leads document goes. The previous biggest swings were 23-point changes against Northeastern on Jan. 25, 2014 (up 10 in a 70-57 loss) and against Old Dominion on Jan. 15, 2011 (up 12 in a 75-64 loss).

NO HARM, NO FOULS

The Dutchmen were whistled for just four fouls Monday, which is almost surely the program’s lowest single-game total in the CAA era (2001-present). I can’t seem to find my game-by-game figures from the 2002-03 season (anyone want to come here and help me clean?) but I’m pretty confident declaring it’s the fewest in at least the last 20-plus years considering there were just two games from 2003-04 through last Friday in which the Dutchmen committed fewer than eight fouls — seven apiece against Elon on Feb. 7, 2019 and Northeastern in the CAA championship game on Mar. 10, 2020.

I’m doubly comfortable about that given that just 14 teams have been whistled for four or fewer fouls since 2010-11, the start of the Play Index Era at College Basketball Reference. The Dutchmen were just the eighth Division I team to be called for four or fewer fouls against a fellow D-I foe and the second this season, joining Cinderella’s darlings, UMBC, which committed four fouls against Longwood on Saturday.

In addition, Richmond committed just nine fouls Monday, meaning the two teams combined for just (I was told there’d be no math) 13 fouls. That’s almost certainly the most whistle-free game in the CAA era. At the least, it marked just the third time in the Play Index Era that a Dutchmen opponent committed fewer than 10 fouls. Charleston committed nine fouls in a 76-72 win over the Dutchmen on Feb. 16, 2017, as did Drexel in the Dutchmen’s 61-43 win in the CAA quarterfinals on Mar. 8, 2020. The Dutchmen committed 13 fouls against Charleston and eight against Drexel.

FIVE WITH AT LEAST TEN

Darlinstone Dubar and Zach Cooks continued their fast starts in their first (and in Cooks’ case, surely only) season with the Dutchmen Monday, when both players scored 18 points. Dubar and Cooks have scored in double figures in each of their first five games with the Dutchmen, making them just the sixth and seventh players  to author such a streak in the last 30 years and the second teammate tandem to do so. (Fellow transfer Aaron Estrada scored in double figures in his first four games before being limited to four points Monday)

The previous player to open his Hofstra career with at least five straight double-digit scoring efforts was Eli Pemberton, who became the second freshman in the last 30 years to achieve the feat in 2016-17. The previous teammate tandem to begin their Dutchmen careers with at least five straight double-digit scoring efforts was the 1-2 punch of Juan’ya Green (43 games from the start of the 2014-15 season through Dec. 9, 2015) and Ameen Tanksley (19 games in 2014-15).

The only other players to open their careers with at least five straight double-digit scoring efforts over the last 30 years Seth Meyers (eight games in 1995-96) and freshman Antoine Agudio (seven games in 2004-05). 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.

ROUGH NIGHT FOR RAY

Graduate student Jalen Ray, who missed time in the second half Monday night after landing hard on his left side, was limited to just three points on 1-of-6 shooting. It marked just the 13th time he’s scored in single digits since becoming a full-time starter at the beginning of the 2019-20 season.

BLOWOUTS ARE BORING

While the never-two-games-under-.500 streak ended last Friday, at least one more quirky streak is intact for the Dutchmen, who played their 38th straight game decided by fewer than 20 points Monday night. That’s the longest active streak in the country and the longest since South Florida’s streak of 38 straight games decided by fewer than 20 points ended with a 98-52 loss to Houston on Feb. 28, 2021. That means we’re 28 points better than South Florida — whose streak, it should be noted, began immediately after an 81-61 win over Drexel on Dec. 15, 2019. Everything’s connected to the CAA!

(I decided to get this note in here because let’s face it, the streak will be decidedly imperiled if things go as planned this afternoon)

MAKE THE BIG BOYS SWEAT

Not gonna lie, it’d be more fun to have a win or two, but this is pretty neat nonetheless: The Dutchmen are the only mid-major program in the nation this season with two losses to Top 25 foes, both of which came either in overtime or by three points or fewer. The Dutchmen are likely to face a third top 25 opponent on Dec. 18, when they are slated to visit Arkansas, which entered this week ranked 13th in the AP poll and 12th in the coaches’ poll.

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.

WELCOME HOME

The Dutchmen will play their first home game of the season this afternoon, which marks the end of the program’s longest season-opening road trip since the 2006-07 squad began the season with six straight games away from Hempstead (including three at the Great Alaska Shootout, which is about as far away from Hempstead as possible). It will also be the first home game in front of fans in 633 days — since Feb. 29, 2020, when the Dutchmen locked up the regular season CAA title and the top seed in the conference tournament by beating James Madison 97-81. 

MOLLOY COLLEGE AND HOFSTRA VS. NON-DIVISION I FOES

Molloy College is a Division II school located in Rockville Centre, a mere three or so miles down Hempstead Turnpike so from Hofstra. The Lions play in the East Coast Conference, which, again, I’ve been telling you all is a real thing for like 25 years now.

Molloy is 0-3 after an 80-59 loss to New Haven Nov. 17. William Muller leads the Lions with 17.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Darren Fergus (13.3 points per game) and Kendell Ogilive (10.7 points per game) are also averaging in double figures.

Molloy was picked to finish fourth in the 10-team ECC.

The Dutchmen are 2-0 all-time against Molloy and recorded a 107-72 win in the most recent meeting between the schools on Nov. 30, 2017.

The Flying Dutchmen have won their last 20 games against non-Division I foes dating back to a 70-54 loss to Florida Southern during the 1988-89 seasons. This marks the sixth time in the last seven seasons the Dutchmen have faced a non-Division I foe. There were no non-Division I games last season due to the pandemic. The Dutchmen last played a non-DI foe on Nov, 15, 2019, when they beat New York Tech, 111-69.

There is no line on this game, because even degenerate gamblers do not bet on Division I vs. non-Division I games. 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

Not my daughter’s school bias! (That’s Molly)

Tyler Botte bias! (Tyler, the son of our friend and longtime New York sportswriter Peter Botte, starred in men’s soccer at Hofstra and is now the head men’s soccer coach at Molloy)

Not the home improvement company bias! (This might be a very uniquely Farmingdale thing to yell)

Let's not make this so difficult bias! (Duh)