Hofstra and George Washington choo-choo-choosed to play one another again!
The pursuit of a perfect season ended Friday night, when the Flying Dutchmen trailed Princeton for the final 18-plus minutes of a 74-67 loss. The Dutchmen will look to bounce back tonight, when they hit the road for the first time this season by visiting George Washington. Here’s a look back at the loss to the Tigers and a look ahead to…the Revolutionaries? The Revolutionaries.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Dutchmen scored eight straight points to take a 16-9 lead after Mitch Henderson’s bizarre ejection early in the first half Friday, but Princeton responded with a 13-0 run and trailed just twice thereafter. Jaquan Carlos and Bryce Washington had five points apiece in a 13-7 run that gave the Dutchmen a 29-28 lead before Caden Pierce’s free throws with 1:17 left put Princeton ahead at the half. Darlinstone Dubar drained a jumper for the first points of the second half before Princeton took control with a 12-2 run. The Dutchmen got as close as four points just once the rest of the way. They cut the Tigers’ lead to five or six points six times in the final 5:05 but allowed a basket on Princeton’s subsequent possession five times. Dubar scored all 18 of his points in the second half while Carlos (11 points, nine assists) flirted with a double-double. Tyler Thomas was limited to 13 points on 4-of-16 shooting, including 2-of-8 from 3-point land. Bryce Washington had eight points and tied Dubar for the team lead with six rebounds while Griffin Barrouk had nine points via a trio of 3-pointers in 13 minutes off the bench. Princeton’s Caden Pierce racked up 26 points and 14 rebounds in a monster performance.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Princeton, 11/10)
3: Darlinstone Dubar
2: Jaquan Carlos
1: Bryce Washington
SEASON STANDINGS
Darlinstone Dubar 4
Jaquan Carlos 4
Tyler Thomas 3
Bryce Washington 1
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER TWO GAMES
As you may have gathered by now, the Dutchmen are 1-1. This ties the 2023-24 team for the 29th-best record in school history through two games! Forty-three other teams began 1-1, most recently the 2021-22 squad. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through two games:
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 1-1
1976-77: 2-0
1999-2000: 1-1
2000-01: 2-0
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 1-1
NIT TEAMS
2005-06: 1-1
2006-07: 0-2
2015-16: 2-0
2018-19: 1-1
2022-23: 2-0
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 1-1
1961-62: 1-1
1962-63: 1-1
1963-64: 2-0
Some other notable two-game starts:
2021-22: 1-1 (Win in second game was Speedy Claxton’s first as head coach)
2020-21: 1-1 (Win in second game was Mike Farrelly’s first as head coach)
2010-11: 1-1 (Loss in second game was Mo Cassara’s first as head coach)
2001-02: 2-0 (Tom Pecora improves to 2-0)
1994-95: 1-1 (Win in second game was Jay Wright’s first as head coach, guess we’ll keep him)
1988-89: 1-1 (Loss in second game was Butch van Breda Kolff’s first in his second stint as head coach)
1980-81: 2-0 (Dick Berg improves to 2-0)
1979-80: 1-1 (Win in second game was Joe Harrington’s first as head coach)
1962-63: 1-1 (Loss in second game was Paul Lynner’s first as head coach)
1955-56: 2-0 (Butch van Breda Kolff improves to 2-0)
1947-48: 2-0 (Frank Reilly improves to 2-0)
1946-47: 1-1 (Loss in second game was Jack McDonald’s first in his second stint as head coach)
1943-44: 1-1 (Win in second game was Jack Smith’s first as head coach)
1936-37: 0-2 (Will we ever win a game?)
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.
NUMBER TEN THROUGH SIXTY-NINE
With Friday’s not nice loss, Speedy Claxton fell to 47-22 (.681) as head coach. That’s the second-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 69 games at the helm. The last 16 games mark the highest Claxton has been in the all-time game-to-game standings since he became head coach in 2021-22.
Paul Lynner 52-17 (.754, 69th game was the 10th game of his third season in 1964-65)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 47-22 (.681, 69th game was the second game of his third season in 2023-24)
Butch van Breda Kolff I 44-25 (.637, 69th game was the 17th game of his third season in 1957-58)
Dick Berg 35-34 (.507, 69th game was the 14th game of his third season in 1982-83)
Mo Cassara 33-36 (.478, 69th game was the fourth game of his third season in 2012-13)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 32-37 (.464, 69th game was the 12th game of his third season in 1990-91)
Joe Mihalich 32-37 (.464, 69th game was the second game of his third season in 2015-16)
Jay Wright 24-45 (.348, 69th game was the 14th game of his third season in 1996-97)
Roger Gaeckler 24-45 (.348, 69th game was the 21st game of his third season in 1974-75)
Tom Pecora 23-46 (.333, 69th game was the eighth game of his third season in 2003-04)
Probably should move on from Tom, it’s not gonna work out.
The records are incomplete for Jack McDonald’s first stint from 1936 through 1943 as well as the tenures of Jack Smith (1943-46) and Frank Reilly (1947-55).
Three coaches had one-season tenures lasting at Hofstra. McDonald went 18-6 in the lone season of his second stint in 1946-47 while Joe Harrington went 14-14 in 1979-80 and Mike Farrelly went 13-10 in 2020-21.
D-STONE DOING SECOND HALF WORK
Darlinstone Dubar scored all 18 of his points in the second half Friday. The 18 second-half points following a scoreless first half were the most by a Hofstra player since Nov. 23, 2015, when Juan’ya Green scored all 18 of his points in the second half of a 67-66 loss to Indiana State at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. Alas, Green missed his last two shots in that game, including a jumper just before the buzzer, as the Dutchmen squandered a seven-point lead in the final 1:50. It turned out to be an appropriate result for a uniquely frustrating season.
In addition, Dubar’s 18 second-half points are the most by a Hofstra player after halftime since Tyler Thomas scored 18 points in the second half and overtime of the 88-86 win over Rutgers on Mar. 14. His 18 second-half points are the most in the second half since Aaron Estrada had 20 points in the second half of a 76-72 win over Towson Feb. 2.
D-STONE’S DOUBLE-DOUBLE (sort of)
Darlinstone Dubar led the Dutchmen with 18 points and pulled down six rebounds, which tied him for the team lead with Bryce Washington. It’s the second time Dubar has at least held a share of the team lead in scoring and rebounding and the first time since Dec. 11, 2023, when he led the way with 13 points and seven rebounds in a 71-56 loss to Massachusetts.
JAQUAN’S NEAR DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Jaquan Carlos had another solid complete game Friday, when he finished with 11 points and nine assists. It was the second straight near double-double for Carlos, who had 10 points and eight assists in the season-opening 101-48 win over St. Joseph’s, and the eighth time in the last two years he’s come within one or two assists — or one or two rebounds — of a double-double.
11 points/nine assists vs. Princeton, 11/10/23
10 points/eight assists vs. St. Joseph’s, 11/6/23
19 points/eight assists vs. UNC Wilmington, 3/6/23
11 points/eight assists vs. Northeastern, 2/25/23
10 rebounds/eight assists vs. Hampton 2/16/23
10 rebounds/nine rebounds/nine assists vs. Northeastern, 2/8.23
10 points/8 assists vs. Delaware 12/29/22
8 pts/13 assists vs. Old Westbury 12/22/22
Carlos has one double-double — a 10-rebound, 10-assist performance in a 79-58 win over Stony Brook on Feb. 4.
TYLER’S TORRID STRETCH ENDS
Tyler Thomas looked human Friday night, when he finished with 13 points while shooting just 4-of-16 from the field, including 2-of-8 from 3-point land, and committing four turnovers. The 13 points were the fewest for Thomas since he had 13 points in a 73-43 win over Hampton on Feb. 16. The four turnovers were his most in 37 games at Hofstra and his most since he committed five turnovers for Sacred Heart against Wagner on Feb. 17, 2022. Thomas did extend his streak of double-digit scoring efforts to 17, the longest active streak among Hofstra players.
BRYCE ON THE BOARDS
Bryce Washington had eight points and tied Darlinstone Dubar for the team lead with six rebounds Friday. The six-rebound game was the third for Washington with the Dutchmen. Washington’s career high for rebounds is 10, set for Penn against Saint Joseph’s on Jan. 26, 2019.
WASHINGTON VS. PRINCETON
Barring a rematch in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT (LOL, just kidding, mids can’t play in the NIT any more because it’s SO IMPORTANT for majors to play in the Not Invited Tournament), Bryce Washington concluded a uniquely long career against Princeton on Friday night. Washington, who spent three seasons at the Ivy League’s Penn from 2018-19 through 2021-22, played five games against Princeton, more than he played against any other Ivy League foe. Washington scored 20 points over 64 minutes against the Tigers on Jan. 5-12, 2019 and didn’t oppose Princeton again until his penultimate game with Penn on Mar. 5, 2022, when he had 10 points in 37 minutes in a 93-70 loss. He opened his Hofstra tenure by scoring three points in 16 minutes in an 83-77 win on Nov. 7, 2022 before his solid game Friday.
Washington also started all five games against Princeton. He’s recorded 24 starts in his other 76 games.
PUTTING ON THE FRITZ
Graduate student Jacco Fritz scored his first points for the Dutchmen Friday, when he finished with six points. Fritz, who was scoreless in the 101-48 win over St. Joseph’s on Nov. 6, hadn’t scored since he had eight points for Canisius in a 67-66 overtime loss to Mount St. Mary’s in the MAAC tournament on Mar. 7.
THE KID WAS HOT TONITE
Griffin Barrouk, sporting a headband that made him look like Mike Reno of Loverboy***, scored nine points off the bench Friday while going 3-of-4 from 3-point land. The nine points were two shy of Barrouk’s career-high, established when he had 11 points while also draining three 3-pointers against Massachusetts on Dec. 11, 2022. Barrouk is the only Hofstra player to come off the bench and hit at least three 3-pointers in two games this season.
***he’d better keep wearing the headband because I’ve got SO MANY Loverboy song puns in mind
TOMASCO TIME
Christian Tomasco played a career-high 13 minutes as Jacco Fritz’s backup Friday, when he had a rebound and an assist. With Silas Sunday sitting out, Fritz and Tomasco were the only centers to play against Princeton. Tomasco hadn’t played more than nine minutes in a game since his collegiate debut — which was also against Princeton on Nov. 7, 2022.
POTENT PIERCE
Princeton’s Caden Pierce did it all for the Tigers on Friday night, when he finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds. He’s the first opponent to score at least 25 points and record at least 15 rebounds since future NBA champion Devontae Cacok had 25 points and 16 rebounds for UNC Wilmington in a 90-70 win over the Dutchmen on Feb. 10 2018. Pretty good company. Also, any Devontae Cacok reference automatically gives me the shakes.
BEAT IT, MITCH
Princeton coach Mitch Henderson earned a super-rare and super-early ejection Friday, when he said a whole lot of words a Princeton alum shouldn’t be saying and got tossed a mere 7:57 into the game. I haven’t been able to fully confirm this, but I’m pretty sure Henderson is the first coach ejected from a game at Hofstra Arena since Tom Pecora got tossed in the waning minutes of his last game, the CBI loss to IUPUI on Mar. 17, 2010. Lucky guy.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game will be carried on ESPNPlus, which you have if you have the Disney Bundle, which you have if you have a child under the age of 18. Hofstra will also provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
GEORGE WASHINGTON AND THE ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE
George Washington, under second-year head coach Chris Caputo (whom you may remember from being one of the assistants to SAAAAAYTAN at George Mason), is 2-0 this season after beating William & Mary 95-89 on Saturday afternoon.
George Washington was picked to finish ninth in the 15-team Atlantic 10 (math is hard). Graduate student guard James Bishop IV, who was named to the preseason all-Atlantic 10 first team, leads the Revolutionaries (more on that shortly) with 18.5 points and 5.0 assists per game. Garrett Johnson (18.0 ppg), Maximus Edwards (17.9 ppg), Darren Buchanan Jr. (11.0 ppg) and Benny Schroder (10.5 ppg) are also averaging in double figures in the early going while Edwards is averaging 9.0 rebounds per game.
The Dutchmen and Revolutionaries have two common opponents this season. Hofstra is slated to host William & Mary on Jan. 25 and will visit the Atlantic 10’s Saint Louis on Dec. 9.
George Washington leads the all-time series, 3-2, though the Dutchmen won the most recent meeting between the teams, 85-80, last Nov. 14. Hey! That’s exactly one year ago!
The Revolutionaries had won the previous three meetings, including two in the 2010s that were memorable for all the wrong reasons for the Dutchmen. An 80-56 loss on Nov. 24, 2012 was the final game for the Dutchmen before four players were arrested and the bottom fell out of the season. And the Juan’ya Green era ended Mar. 16, 2016, when George Washington beat Hofstra, 80-78, at the buzzer of a first-round NIT game. The Colonials went on to win the championship, but Mike Lonergan was fired months later following an investigation into his conduct and the two men to stroll the sidelines — Maurice Joseph and Jamion Christian — lasted just three seasons apiece. Good luck, Chris!
This marks the 11th straight season in which Hofstra has faced at least one A-10 school. Hofstra is 39-109 all-time against current Atlantic 10 schools, a membership that includes former conference foes George Mason as well as La Salle (ECC) and VCU (CAA).
At KenPom.com this afternoon, Hofstra is ranked 138th while George Washington is ranked 193rd. KenPom.com predicts an 82-81 loss for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 1 1/2-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 0-1 against the spread this season.
THE DUTCHMEN ON THIS DATE
New feature! At least if I can catch up on the rest of the calendar over the next few weeks. Anyway, I thought it’d be fun to see how the Dutchmen have historically fared on each of the days in which they are scheduled to play this season.
Thus, I am here to report the Dutchmen are 3-1 all-time on Nov. 14. They’ve won each of their last three games on Nov. 14. If these trends continue…
11/14/08: 98-69 L Clemson
11/14/14: 94-61 W Jacksonville
11/14/18: 92-72 W North Carolina A&T
11/14/22: 85-80 W George Washington
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
You changed your nickname bias! (George Washington unveiled Revolutionaries in May to replace Colonials, which was protested by students given the history of colonization)
Meet The Press bias! (Chuck Todd, the former host of the Sunday morning show, unveiled the nickname on Twitter)
Congressional charter bias! (Per Wikipedia, which is never wrong, George Washington University is one of six universities in the nation with a congressional charter)
Randy Levine cross pollination bias! (The Yankees president got his undergrad degree from George Washington before getting his law degree from Hofstra, boy, we both are just shaking our heads at that one)
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