Because this is a family-friendly blog and thus we can't show you Howie's post-St. Elsewhere stand-up specials.
Aaron Estrada struck last in his duel with Xavier Bell Monday afternoon, when Estrada’s fallaway jumper with 48 seconds left provided the last of 23 lead changes and *checks notes* gave the Flying Dutchmen the lead for good in a71-68 instant classic of a win over Drexel. The Dutchmen will (hopefully) look to extend their winning streak to three games this afternoon, when they are slated to open a three-game road trip by visiting Northeastern. Here’s a look back at the win over the Dragons and a look ahead to the Huskies.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
“Mr. Midrange” connected again and again Monday, when Aaron Estrada scored 26 points — once again without the benefit of a 3-pointer — as the Dutchmen outlasted Drexel in a game in which neither team led by more than seven points. Estrada sank three go-ahead or tie-breaking baskets in the second half, including his last two on consecutive Hofstra possessions. In between, Xavier Bell (30 points) hit his fifth go-ahead basket of the half. But Bell turned the ball over with the Dutchmen up 67-66 and Darlinstone Dubar hit two free throws with 16 seconds left. Hempstead native Camren Wynter drove the lane — but didn’t get the foul he was seeking — to pull the Dragons within one point, after which Estrada hit two free throws. Wynter missed a 3-pointer just before the buzzer. Estrada added eight assists and five rebounds in another 40-minute performance while Jalen Ray, coming off the bench again, scored 18 points and hit two of the Dutchmen’s four 3-pointer. Dubar snapped a two-game slump by scoring 15 points while Abayomi Iyiola pulled down nine rebounds.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Drexel, 1/17)
3: Aaron Estrada
2: Jalen Ray
1: Darlinstone Dubar
SEASON STANDINGS
Aaron Estrada 30
Darlinstone Dubar 23
Jalen Ray 20
Zach Cooks 13
Abayomi Iyiola 10
Omar Silverio 8
Kvonn Cramer 4
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
No! That makes two in a row. The momentum with these things can be tough to stop, so let’s get back to unicorn score wins, OK? The Dutchmen’s previous previously earned a 71-68 win on Feb. 7, 2009, when they beat Towson in the first home game after Speedy Claxton’s number was retired. That was the second 71-68 win of the 2008-09 season for the Dutchmen, whose first win of the campaign was earned over Western Michigan by that very score on Nov. 15, 2008.
The Dutchmen have recorded eight unicorn score victories this 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.
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER EIGHTEEN GAMES
With Monday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 11-7, which is tied for the 28th-best start in program history. It’s the second straight season in which the Dutchmen have opened 11-7 since the 2017-18 season but just the sixth time overall in program history. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 18 games.
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 9-9
1976-77: 13-5
1999-2000: 13-5
2000-01: 14-4 (marked fifth win in program-record 18-game winning streak)
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 13-5 (most recent 13-5 start)
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 12-6
2004-05: 12-6
2005-06: 14-4 (most recent 14-4 start)
2006-07: 13-5
2015-16: 12-6 (most recent 12-6 start)
2018-19: 15-3 (most recent 15-3 start, win in 18th game marked 12th win in the 16-game winning streak)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 13-5
1961-62: 16-2 (most recent 16-2 start)
1962-63: 12-6
1963-64: 15-3
Some other notable 18-game starts:
2016-17: 9-9 (most recent 9-9 start, last time at .500)
2013-14: 6-12 (most recent 6-12 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2012-13: 5-13 (most recent 5-13 start)
2003-04: 8-10 (most recent 8-10 start)
1997-98: 10-8 (most recent 10-8 start)
1995-96: 7-11 (most recent 7-11 start, loss in 18th game was fourth loss of Jay Wright-era record nine-game losing streak)
1994-95: 4-14 (most recent 4-14 start, Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 2-16 (only 2-16 start, worst 18-game start in school history, VBK’s last team)
1987-88: 4-14 (loss in 18th game was ninth loss of program-record 12-game losing streak)
1964-65: 9-9 (last time at .500)
1960-61: 16-2 (first 16-2 start)
1959-60: 17-1 (most recent 17-1 start & Hofstra’s winningest team, percentage-wise; win in 17th game was seventh win of season-ending 13-game winning streak)
1956-57: 9-9 (last time at .500)
1955-56: 17-1 (first 17-1 start, first year of VBK’s first stint)
1938-39: 10-8 (lost season finale)
Hofstra has never been 18-0, 3-15, 1-17 or 0-18 through 18 games.
Two seasons were completed in fewer than 18 games:
1937-38: 10-4
1936-37: 7-10
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.
NUMBER TEN THROUGH EIGHTEEN
With Monday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 11-7 as head coach. He is the second straight coach to open 11-7 at Hofstra, following Mike Farrelly, and the eighth to post a winning record through 18 games in his first season (or the first season of a second stints). Jack McDonald steered the Dutchmen to a 14-4 start in the first (and only) season of his second stint while Frank Reilly (1947-48) began 12-6 and Butch van Breda Kolff began 17-1 in his first stint (1955-56). Paul Lynner opened 12-6 in 1962-63. Joe Harrington started 10-8 in his lone season in 1979-80 and Mo Cassara opened 12-6 in 2010-11.
AFTER 30 YEARS, FINALLY A SERIES LEAD
With the win Monday, the Dutchmen took a 48-47 lead over Drexel in the all-time series between the schools. Just how long had it been since the Dutchmen led their second-most frequent foe in the all-time series? How about 30 years and five days? The Dutchmen took a 17-16 all-time series lead with a 78-71 win over Drexel in an ECC game (hi Litos) at the PFC on Jan. 12, 1991. But Drexel won the next eight games in the series — which was interrupted for three years when Drexel decided the ECC wasn’t a real thing and went to the North Atlantic Conference — and the Dutchmen didn’t snap the skid until sweeping the series under fourth-year head coach Jay Wright (and second-year point guard Speedy Claxton) in 1997-98. Drexel opened up a 12-game lead in the series following a sweep in 2013-14, but the Dutchmen have won 15 of the last 17 meetings to take that long-awaited lead. Now that’s what I call quirky!
CLOSELY CONTESTED
The Dutchmen and Drexel were never separated by more than seven points Monday, when the Dragons held trio of seven-point leads and the Dutchmen led once by six points. It marked the third time this season the Dutchmen played an entire game in which neither team led by more than seven points. The Dutchmen never led by more than four nor trailed by more than seven in a 69-67 loss to Maryland on Nov. 19 and never led by more than four nor trailed by more than six in a 63-62 loss to William & Mary on Dec. 29. Finally, a win in one of these things.
WHO NEEDS THREES? (Part one)
The Dutchmen went 4-of-16 from 3-point land Monday. The four 3-pointers were the fewest in a win for the Dutchmen since they were 3-of-17 from beyond the arc in a 68-67 win over Delaware on Jan. 17, 2021. Hey! That was exactly one year earlier!
WHO NEEDS THREES? (Part two)
After scoring 30 points without hitting a 3-pointer against Delaware last Saturday, Aaron Estrada scored 26 points without a 3-pointer on Monday. He is the first Hofstra player to score 20 points in back-to-back games without hitting a 3-pointer since Isaac Kante had 23 points against UNC Wilmington and 20 points against Drexel on Feb. 15-20, 2020.
More remarkably, Estrada is the first non-center — in other words, the first Hofstra player who has made, never mind attempted, a 3-pointer in his career — to score 20 points in back-to-back games without hitting a 3-pointer since Loren Stokes, who had three straight such games from Jan. 13-20, 2007. Stokes scored 30 points against Northeastern, 25 points against Towson and 30 points against William & Mary, respectively.
Stokes hit 35 two-point field goals during his streak, a stretch in which he shot 56.8 percent (42-of-74) from inside the arc. Estrada has been even more efficient during his streak, in which he is shooting 63.4 percent (23-of-36) from inside the arc. Estrada’s most recent 3-pointer was his final field goal against Towson on Jan. 11.
THE 20/5/5 CLUB
Aaron Estrada finished with 26 points, five rebounds and eight assists Monday. It marked the third time this season he’s had at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in a game. The last Hofstra player with four such games in a season was Desure Buie, who had *checks his math* four 20/5/5 games in 2019-20. Charles Jenkins (2010-11) and Juan’ya Green (2015-16) also had four 20/5/5 games while Justin Wright-Foreman had five 20/5/5 games in each of his final two seasons (2017-18 and 2018-19).
JALEN RAY IS VINNIE JOHNSON (Google it, Crain!)
Jalen Ray continued to thrive off the bench Monday, when he scored 18 points and hit half of the Dutchmen’s four 3-pointer. Ray, who scored 23 points in his first game this season as a reserve last Saturday, is the first Hofstra player to score at least 18 points off the bench in back-to-back games since Justin Wright-Foreman, whose emergence began in earnest from Jan. 2-5, 2017, when he scored 30 points against William & Mary and 25 points against James Madison, respectively.
TWO MORE TO BE NO. 2 IN THREES
OK, maybe *some* people on the Dutchmen still like 3-pointers. His pair of treys Monday increased Jalen Ray’s career total to 276 3-pointers, one behind Justin Wright-Foreman for second place on the all-time Hofstra list. As much as we all like seeing Ray in a Hofstra uniform, he’s probably not going to get the eligibility needed to catch Antoine Agudio, whose 357 3-pointers might just be the untouchable modern-day version of Bill Thieben’s rebounding record.
OVER THE AIR
If today’s game is played, it will be carried live on FloHoops.com (subscription required). Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN
The Huskies, under 16th-year head coach Bill Coen, are 6-11 overall and 0-6 in the CAA after falling to Delaware, 82-76, in overtime on Monday night. Three of Northeastern’s CAA losses have been by three points or fewer or in overtime.
A hard-luck season began in the spring for the Huskies when superstar point guard Tyson Walker — known forever in these parts as the guy who might have flipped the 2020 title game result if he was anywhere close to 100 percent healthy — transferred to Michigan State. Highly touted UNC Wilmington transfer Joe Pridgen wasn’t granted immediate eligibility and the Huskies have had just two players — Jahmyl Telfort and Jason Strong — appear in every game this season.
The Dutchmen and Huskies had two common foes in non-league play. Hofstra beat Duquesne 73-63 and defeated Detroit Mercy 98-84 on Nov. 27 while Northeastern also earned double-digit victories over the Dukes (71-55 on Nov. 19) and Titans (66-56 on Nov. 30), respectively. In the CAA, both teams have lost to William & Mary and Towson while Hofstra has beaten James Madison, Drexel and Delaware, all of whom have defeated Northeastern.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish fifth in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 120th at KenPom.com. The Huskies, who were picked to finish second, are ranked 231st.
According to KenPom.com. the Dutchmen rank second in the CAA in offensive efficiency (109.0) and sixth in defensive efficiency (105.0). The Huskies rank ninth in offensive efficiency (99.3) and fourth in defensive efficiency (104.2).
Redshirt senior guard Shaquille Walters, who missed four games from Dec. 29 through Jan. 11 and has come off the bench in the last two games, leads the Huskies with 13.3 points per game. Telfort, a sophomore guard, ranks just behind Walters with 13.2 points per game while graduate student guard Nikola Djogo is third in scoring at 12.2 points per game and second in rebounding at 5.4 rebounds per game. Redshirt junior forward Chris Doherty is averaging 10.8 points per game and a team-high 9.4 rebounds per game, but he was injured at the end of the loss to Drexel last Saturday In addition, graduate student guard Tyreek Scott-Grayson, who was averaging 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in six games, is expected to miss the rest of the season with an injury.
KenPom.com predicts a 72-70 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 2 1/2-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 8-8 against the spread this season.
ALL-TIME VS. NORTHEASTERN
Hofstra is 26-25 against Northeastern in a series that began during the 1949-50 season. All but three of the meetings have come in conference play since the 1994-95 season, when Hofstra joined the North Atlantic Conference. The Dutchmen were swept last season in their lone home-and-home of the pandemic season, when Northeastern stormed back from a 19-point deficit to earn an 81-78 overtime win at the Arena on Jan. 7 before the Huskies squandered a 12-point first-half lead before overcoming an eight-point second-half deficit to record a 67-56 victory in Boston two days later. The sweep was the first for Northeastern since since 2014-15.
THE BARONE BOWL
The Barone Bowl was established by me and Northeastern graduate Mike Brodsky during the 2009-10 season, after Northeastern and Hofstra dropped football within two weeks of one another (Hofstra’s decision, of course, was reached after a multi-year study, wink wink nudge nudge).
The Barone Bowl pays homage to the episode of Everybody Loves Raymond in which a Hofstra kicker boots a 68-yard field goal against Northeastern but Frank Barone catches the ball and refuses to give it up. Apparently that wasn’t the type of publicity either school liked. Anyway.
Northeastern leads the Barone Bowl series, 15-12, and regained possession of the trophy with last year’s sweep. I’ll note here again we had it before that because Hofstra swept the 2019-20 regular season series before beating Northeastern in the CAA championship game. Hofstra must sweep the regular season series — and/or win the title game against Northeastern — in order to grab back the Barone Bowl hardware. This, unfortunately, is a purely symbolic trophy, one which you will not find displayed by either school. But you can find me and Brodsky talking about it on Twitter!
THE BARONE BOWL, SPONSORED BY BARBASOL
Not really, but Brodsky and I are always open to talking sponsorship deals! Nineteen of the 35 games Hofstra and Northeastern have played since 2005-06 — when the Huskies joined the CAA — have been decided by six points or fewer or in overtime, including five of the last 10. And two of the four recent games that were decided by a wider margin were the last two CAA title games, both of which were tight contests well into the second half. Included in this current stretch of close finishes are a pair of buzzer-beating wins for the Dutchmen, who beat Northeastern 75-72 on Justin Wright-Foreman’s running 35-footer on Jan. 5, 2019 and 74-72 on Eli Pemberton’s layup on Jan. 9, 2020.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Michael Wacha bias! (The former Mets pitcher — really, he pitched for them in 2020 — signed with the Red Sox shortly before the never-ending lockout began)
All of America enjoyed watching that 47-10 beatdown last week bias! (You know)
Jamie Oleksiak bias! (The Seattle Kraken defenseman played cawledge hockey at Northeastern)
Howie Mandel and Denzel Washington got their starts in St. Elsewhere bias! (True stories)
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