Possible file photo of me regaling younger Hofstra fans with tales of wins over Stony Brook.
The Flying Dutchmen completed a perfect homestand Saturday, when they overcame an early 10-point deficit and pulled away in the second half to earn an 88-69 win. The Dutchmen will look to make it five in a row tonight, when they trek out to the barren lands of Stony Brook to oppose Long Island’s other Division I program in the only regular season game that matters. Here’s a look back at the win over the Bison and a look ahead to the Patriots.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Aaron Estrada scored a career-high 24 points to lead four players in double figures for the Dutchmen, who survived a hot-and-cold first half before finding a groove in the final 20 minutes. The Dutchmen raced out to an 8-0 lead before giving up an 18-2 run to Bucknell, which extended the lead to 27-17 following a personal 6-0 run by Andrew Funk (28 points). But Abayomi Iyiola scored all eight of his points in an 11-0 run by the Dutchmen, who went ahead for good at 33-32 on Estrada’s jumper with 3:17 left. The Dutchmen never led by fewer than six in the second half and maintained a double-digit lad for the final 9:19. Zach Cooks had 19 points and had six assists to share the team lead in the latter category with Estrada. Omar Silverio (16 points, six rebounds) continued to thrive off the bench while Jalen Ray scored all 12 of this points in the second half while once again leading the Dutchmen in rebounds with seven.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Bucknell, 12/4)
3: Aaron Estrada
2: Zach Cooks
1: Omar Silverio
SEASON STANDINGS
Aaron Estrada 12
Darlinstone Dubar 12
Zach Cooks 11
Jalen Ray 9
Omar Silverio 5
Kvonn Cramer 4
Abayomi Iyiola 1
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
Yes! It’s officially a record-setting run of unicorn scores! The Dutchmen have earned a pair of 87-69 wins — over Northeastern during the 1996-97 season and U.S.M.M.A. during the 1975-76 season — and recorded two 89-69 wins in a four-game span during the 1966-67 campaign over Washington (MO) and Boston University, respectively. But never before had the Dutchmen won 88-69!
This is the fourth straight unicorn score victory for the Dutchmen as well as (checks notes) their fourth of the season. The Dutchmen previously had three three-game unicorn score streaks, all during the 2019-20 season.
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.
11/24/21: 87-49 over Molloy
11/27/21: 98-84 over Detroit Mercy
12/1/21: 81-77 over Princeton
12/4/21: 88-69 over Bucknell
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER NINE GAMES
With Saturday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 5-4, which is tied for the 33rd-best start in program history. This breaks a streak of six straight seasons in which the Dutchmen were 6-3 through nine games. Thirteen other teams began 5-4, most recently the 2010-11 team. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through nine games.
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 5-4
1976-77: 7-2
1999-2000: 5-4 (over .500 for good)
2000-01: 7-2
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 6-3
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 5-4 (over .500 for good)
2004-05: 9-0 (most recent 9-0 start)
2005-06: 7-2
2006-07: 6-3
2015-16: 6-3
2018-19: 6-3 (marked third win in the 16-game winning streak)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 5-4 (over .500 for good)
1961-62: 8-1
1962-63: 7-2
1963-64: 8-1
Some other notable nine-game starts:
2020-21: 6-3 (most recent 6-3 start)
2014-15: 7-2 (most recent 7-2 start)
2013-14: 3-6 (most recent 3-6 start)
2008-09: 8-1 (most recent 8-1 start)
2007-08: 2-7 (most recent 2-7 start)
2003-04: 4-5 (most recent 4-5 start)
2002-03: 1-8 (most recent 1-8 start)
2001-02: 5-4 (over .500 for the last time)
1997-98: 5-4 (over .500 for good)
1994-95: 2-7 (Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 1-8 (VBK’s last team)
1960-61: 9-0
1959-60: 9-0
1958-59: 5-4 (over .500 for good)
1955-56: 9-0
1947-48: 9-0
1938-39: 5-4 (over .500 for good)
The Dutchmen have never opened 0-9.
Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1945-46, 1948-49, 1949-50, 1951-52, 1954-55, 1957-58.
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.
SPEEDY THROUGH NINE
With Saturday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 5-4 as head coach. He is the third head coach to open 5-4 at Hofstra, following in the footsteps of Tom Pecora (2001-02) and Mo Cassara (2010-11), and the seventh to have a winning record through nine games. Jack McDonald steered the Dutchmen to an 8-1 start in the first (and only) season of his second stint while Frank Reilly (1947-48) and Butch van Breda Kolff in his first stint (1955-56) each began 9-0. Van Breda Kolff’s success, Paul Lynner, directed the Dutchmen to a 7-2 start in 1962-63.
SPEEDY OVER .500
And obviously, Saturday’s win lifted Speedy Claxton’s record over .500 for the first time. Just three other Hofstra head coaches needed a longer period of time to get over .500 for the first time, but I suppose all of them turned out OK. Roger Gaeckler, who led the Flying Dutchmen to their first two NCAA Tournament appearances as a Division I program, needed 127 games (almost five full seasons) to get over .500 on Feb. 21, 1977, when the Dutchmen beat American, 89-78. Jay Wright, who led the Dutchmen to their next two NCAA Tournament appearances, needed 143 games (also almost five full seasons) to get over .500 on Feb. 27, 1999, when the Dutchmen beat Vermont, 69-59, in an America East quarterfinal game. And the Dutchmen lost their final two games of the season to drop Wright back under .500 FIRE HIM. And Joe Mihalich, who directed the Dutchmen to their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance (again, it counts to us), got over .500 for the first time in his 87th game on Jan. 24, 2016, when the Dutchmen beat William & Mary, 91-63. Mihalich’s Hofstra head coaching record remained over .500 thereafter.
DOUBLE-DIGIT DEFICIT, DOUBLE-DIGIT DUB
The Dutchmen overcame a double-digit deficit to earn a win for the first time under Speedy Claxton. The win over Bucknell also marked the first time the Dutchmen trailed by double-digits in a game they won by at least 10 points since Nov. 21, 2019, when they trailed UCLA by 13 points in the first half of an 88-78 win. Hey whatever happened to UCLA after that? The 29-point swing — from 10 points down to a 19-point win — is the largest for the Dutchmen in a victory since a 33-point swing on Nov. 9, 2018, when the Dutchmen trailed Mount St. Mary’s by 15 points in the first half of a 79-61 win.
AWARDS FOR AARON
Aaron Estrada was named the CAA’s Player of the Week after scoring 44 points and collecting 13 assists in the wins over Princeton and Bucknell. Estrada is the second Hofstra player to win Player of the Week honors this season (Zach Cooks won the award for the week ending Nov. 14) and the 12th Hofstra player to win Player of the Week honors since 2013-14, which was Joe Mihalich’s first season as head coach. No other CAA school has more than 10 Player of the Week honorees in that span. In addition, Estrada also won the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Player of the Week.
ZACH STILL COOKIN’
Zach Cooks scored 19 points Saturday as he extended his career-opening (well, at Hofstra, at least) streak of double-digit scoring efforts to nine games. Cooks is just the third player in the last 30 years to begin his Hofstra career by scoring in double figures in at least nine 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)
ZACH COOKS 9 games (2021-22 season)
Seth Meyers 8 games (1995-96 season)
Antoine Agudio 7 games (2004-05 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.
SMOKIN' SILVERIO
Omar Silverio continued his emergence as the Dutchmen’s sixth man Wednesday by scoring 16 points. It was the fourth straight double-digit effort from Silverio, who scored in double figures eight times in his first 45 games at Hofstra. The four consecutive double-digit efforts off the bench are the most by a Hofstra player since at least 2009-10 (another research project for tonight?).
RAY MOVIN' ON UP (part one)
Jalen Ray played in his 130th game for Hofstra Saturday, which broke a tie for second place al-time with former teammate Eli Pemberton. Ray ranks behind only another former teammate, Desure Buie, who holds the program record with 141 games played.
RAY MOVIN’ ON UP (part two)
With his 12 points Saturday, Ray moved past Rick Apodaca into 14th place on the all-time Hofstra scoring list. Ray has a chance to gain multiple spots tonight. He’s just six points shy of surpassing Leroy Allen for 13th place and eight points away from moving past Frank Walker into 12th place.
12.) Frank Walker 1,437
13.) Leroy Allen 1,435
14.) JALEN RAY 1,430
15.) Rick Apodaca 1,422
Prior to Saturday, Ray finished each of the previous five games in 15th place on the all-time scoring list — by far the longest he's gone without moving up a spot since he joined the 1,000-point club against Richmond on Dec. 22, 2020. Assuming he catches Walker, it will likely be a while before he catches Norman Richardson, who is 11th all-time with 1,677 points.
Dec. 22, 2020: Tied for 38th place
Jan. 2: 38th place
Jan. 3: 37th place
Jan. 7: 36th place
Jan. 9: 35th place
Jan. 15: 34th place
Jan. 17: 33rd place
Jan. 23: 29th place
Jan. 24: Tied for 28th place
Jan. 30: 28th place
Jan. 31: 25th place
Feb. 6: 23rd place
Feb. 7: 22nd place
Feb. 13: 21st place
Feb. 14: 21st place
Mar. 7: 18th place
Mar. 8: 17th place
Nov. 16: 16th place
Nov. 19: 15th place
Nov. 22: 15th place
Nov. 24: 15th place
Nov. 27: 15th place
Dec. 1: 15th place
Dec. 4: 14th place
RAY’S SECOND HALF SURGE
Jalen Ray, who scored eight points against Princeton on Dec. 1, scored all 12 of his points in the second half Saturday. He hasn’t scored in single digits in back-to-back games since he had four points against Delaware on Feb. 22, 2020 before being held scoreless against Towson five days later.
REBOUNDING RAY
Is it time to start wondering how many rebounds Jalen Ray needs to average in order to catch former teammate Rokas Gustys, who holds the Hofstra Division I-era rebounding record? Ray led the Dutchmen in rebounding for the second straight game Saturday. He didn’t even hold a share of the team lead in rebounds in any of his first 128 games with the Dutchmen. Yet now he’s led the team in rebounding more than Hunter Sabety and as often as Stafford Trueheart and Kevin Schutte. Now THAT’S quirky!
(Assuming the Dutchmen win the CAA championship and advance to the national championship game, Ray would need to average 31.6 rebounds over those 31 games in order to break Gustys’ Division I-era record of 1,305 rebounds)
IYIOLA ON TARGET
Abayomi Iyiola scored eight points on 4-of-4 shooting Saturday. He’s the first Hofstra player to enjoy a perfect shooting game off the bench (minimum four attempts) since Kvonn Cramer was 6-of-6 against Richmond on Dec. 22, 2020.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game will be carried live on SNY, which is channel 60 in the Optimum Rules With An Iron Fist Universe, as well as on ESPN3, which you have if you have the Disney Bundle, which you have if you have a child under the age of 18. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
SUNY-STONY BROOK AND THE AMERICA EAST
SUNY-Stony Brook, under third-year head coach Geno Ford, is 3-4 this season after a 78-49 loss to Wagner on Saturday. That dropped the Patriots 42 spots in the KenPom.com rankings. Hey don’t look at me like that, I’m just reporting the facts.
Stony Brook (look, it’s been a strange couple years, let’s be nice to our turnip juice-drinking neighbors to the east and mostly call them by the name they prefer) was picked to finish first in the America East preseason poll, just ahead of Vermont. Senior guard Elijah Olaniyi, who was named to the all-America East team twice while playing his first three seasons at Stony Brook before transferring to Miami last season, returned to the Patriots for his bonus season and was named to the all-America East preseason team. Anyone who leaves Miami is OK by us.
However, Olaniyi has missed the Patriots’ last four games due to injury. Guard Anthony Roberts leads Stony Brook with 15.0 points per game while guard Jahlil Jenkins ranks second with 12.2 points per game. Guard Tykei Greene is averaging 9.1 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game.
The Dutchmen and Patriots have no common opponents.
Hofstra is 24-5 all-time against Stony Brook, including 6-1 since the series resumed in 2014. The Dutchmen won their fifth straight game in the series a year ago tomorrow, when they beat the Patriots, 72-67, at the Arena. Tonight’s game marks the final game of a four-year contract between the schools. Let’s hope the series is renewed, this is fun.
Hofstra is 33-24-1 in all sports against SUNY-Stony Brook since the two schools began scheduling each other again in the spring of 2014, including 28-13-1 since the 2016-17 school year began.
Hofstra is 84-33 all-time against current America East schools. Since joining the CAA in 2001-02, the Dutchmen have faced at least one America East opponent every season except 2012-13. Stony Brook, which was a Division III school for decades, completed its transition to Division I and joined the America East upon Hofstra’s departure.
At KenPom.com this afternoon, Hofstra is ranked 133rd while Stony Brook is ranked 231st. KenPom.com predicts a 75-72 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 4-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 5-3 against the spread this season.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
631 bias! (516 is the one true Long Island area code and Stony Brook starts a lot of its home games at 6:31, which is just dorky)
Daniel Zamora bias! (The former Mets reliever went to Stony Brook)
You still have fewer America East titles than us bias! (It’s funny cause it’s true)
You want our lemon tree bias! (As always, it’s a Simpsons thing)
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