A Keep It Perky after a loss? Oh my God, look at this. *whimpering*
Well, the Flying Dutchmen probably couldn’t win forever, and better to get a loss out of the way on the first weekend of March than anytime thereafter, right? The Dutchmen’s four-game winning streak ended last Saturday afternoon, when regular season champion Charleston led nearly wire-to-wire in an 87-76 victory. The loss, coupled with Drexel’s 73-59 win over Northeastern later last Saturday, locked the Dutchmen into the no. 3 seed in the CAA Tournament, where they will begin quarterfinal action tomorrow night. The quarterfinal 3-6 slot, now THAT is worthy of Homer whimpering.
Anyway, that anxiety is for tomorrow. Make sure to stop by then for the in-depth Quirky breakdown of the Dutchmen’s game against the winner of tonight’s Delaware-Hampton second-round game. With that Quirky jam-packed with tournament-related history and the preview of the quarterfinal, this jam-packed, first-ever #Redundant post-loss Keep It Perky will feature not only the boilerplate postgame material but also the usual team-related quirkiness and individual news and notes from the loss to the Cougars. Enjoy!
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Tyler Thomas put the finishing touches on his CAA Player of the Year candidacy #SpoilerAlert by scoring 27 points, but the Dutchmen couldn’t recover from Charleston’s game-opening 16-6 run. The Dutchmen, who fell behind 18-6 in the CAA season opener against the Cougars on Jan. 4, got within three points four times in a span of a little more than four minutes bridging the midway point of the half before Charleston gradually began pulling away and took a 45-36 lead into the locker room. The Cougars began the second half by hitting six 3-pointers in a 20-11 run that extended their lead to 63-45 before Thomas scored the first seven points in an 18-7 surge by the Dutchmen, who pulled within 70-63 on German Plotnikov’s 3-pointer with 9:44 remaining. But Charleston scored the next six points and the Dutchmen got as close as nine just once thereafter. Thomas added four rebounds, two assists and one steal while Darlinstone Dubar had 19 points and four rebounds. Jaquan Carlos (13 points, seven assists) had another solid game as a distributor. Jacco Fritz added 12 points and Plotnikov pulled down a team-high five rebounds.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Charleston, 3/2)
3: Tyler Thomas
2: Darlinstone Dubar
1: Jaquan Carlos
SEASON STANDINGS
Tyler Thomas 64
Darlinstone Dubar 55
Jaquan Carlos 33
Jacco Fritz 14
German Plotnikov 10
Bryce Washington 6
Silas Sunday 2
KiJan Robinson 2
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER THIRTY-ONE GAMES
With last Saturday’s loss, the Dutchmen fell to 19-12. This ties the 2023-24 team for the 13th-best record in school history through 31 games. This is the first time the Dutchmen have opened 19-12 since 2017-18 and the fourth time overall in school history. The Dutchmen were also 14-10 after 24 games, 15-10 after 25 games, 15-11 after 26 games, 16-11 after 27 games, 17-11 after 28 games, 18-11 after 29 games and 19-11 after 30 games for the first time since 2017-18. That’s pretty quirky! Also quirky: Speedy Claxton has been a part of all four 19-11 teams, first as a player in 1997-98 and then as an assistant coach in 2014-15 and 2017-18. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 31 games:
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1999-2000: 24-7 (season ended with an 86-66 loss to Oklahoma State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, only 24-7 start)
2000-01: 26-5 (season ended with a 61-48 loss to UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, which snapped the program-record, single-season 18-game winning streak, best 31-game record in program history)
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 23-8 (most recent 23-8 start, beat James Madison in regular season finale to clinch second straight CAA regular season title)
The 1975-76 team, Hofstra’s first to reach the NCAA Tournament, completed its season in 30 games (18-12), as did the 1976-77 team (23-7). All four Hofstra teams to reach the NCAA Tournament at the Division II level completed their seasons in 30 games or fewer. The 1958-59 team finished 20-7 while the 1961-62 team ended up 24-4, the 1962-63 team finished 23-7 and the 1963-64 team went 23-6.
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 22-9 (lost to Drexel in America East semifinals)
2005-06: 25-6 (beat Nebraska, 73-62, in the first round of the NIT)
2006-07: 22-9 (most recent 22-9 start, lost to George Mason—PASS THE BALL TO AGUDIO, GREG—in the CAA quarterfinals)
2015-16: 23-8 (beat Drexel in the CAA quarterfinals)
2018-19: 25-6 (most recent 25-6 start, beat Delaware in regular season finale to clinch the outright CAA regular season title)
2022-23: 23-8 (most recent 23-8 start, win in 31st game marked 11th win of 12-game winning streak that continued into the CAA Tournament)
The 2004-05 NIT team completed its season at 21-9.
Some other notable 31-game records — in fact, all of them!
2017-18: 19-12 (most recent 19-12 start, season ended with a loss to UNC Wilmington in the CAA quarterfinals)
2016-17: 15-16 (only 15-16 start, beat James Madison in regular season finale to get within one game of .500 for the fifth time since falling under .500 for good on Jan. 14, last win of season)
2014-15: 19-12 (lost to James Madison in regular season finale)
2013-14: 9-22 (only 9-22 start, beat James Madison in regular season finale, Joe Mihalich's first season)
2012-13: 7-24 (lost to Towson in regular season finale, worst 31-game record in program history)
2011-12: 10-21 (only 10-21 start, beat UNC Wilmington in regular season finale, last win of season)
2010-11: 21-10 (beat William & Mary in CAA quarterfinals, last win of season)
2009-10: 18-13 (only 18-13 start, beat Georgia State in regular season finale)
2008-09: 21-10 (beat UNC Wilmington in CAA first round, last win of season)
2001-02: 12-19 (only 12-19 start, beat George Mason in CAA quarterfinals, hee hee, last win of season)
1997-98: 19-12 (season ended with loss to Delaware in America East semifinals)
Hofstra has never been 31-0, 30-1, 29-2, 28-3, 27-4, 20-11, 17-14, 16-15, 14-17, 13-18, 11-20, 8-23, 6-24, 6-25, 5-26, 4-27, 3-28, 2-29, 1-30 or 0-31 through 31 games.
Sixty-six seasons were completed in fewer than 31 games:
1936-37 (7-10)
1937-38 (10-4)
1938-39 (10-8)
1939-40 (12-9)
1940-41 (13-7)
1941-42 (15-6)
1942-43 (15-6)
1943-44 (7-12)
1944-45 (8-13)
1945-46 (12-7)
1946-47 (18-6)
1947-48 (13-6)
1948-49 (18-8)
1949-50 (17-9)
1950-51 (18-11)
1951-52 (26-3)
1952-53 (20-7)
1953-54 (15-9)
1954-55 (19-7)
1955-56 (22-4)
1956-57 (11-15)
1957-58 (15-8)
1958-59 (20-7)
1959-60 (23-1)
1960-61 (21-4)
1961-62 (24-4)
1962-63 (23-7)
1963-64 (23-6)
1964-65 (11-14)
1965-66 (16-10)
1966-67 (12-13)
1967-68 (13-12)
1968-69 (12-13)
1969-70 (13-13)
1970-71 (18-8)
1971-72 (11-14)
1972-73 (8-16)
1973-74 (8-16)
1974-75 (11-13)
1975-76 (18-12)
1976-77 (23-7)
1977-78 (8-19)
1978-79 (8-19)
1979-80 (14-14)
1980-81 (12-15)
1981-82 (12-16)
1982-83 (18-9)
1983-84 (14-14)
1984-85 (14-15)
1985-86 (17-13)
1986-87 (10-18)
1987-88 (6-21)
1988-89 (14-15)
1989-90 (13-15)
1990-91 (14-14)
1991-92 (20-9)
1992-93 (9-18)
1993-94 (9-20)
1994-95 (10-18)
1995-96 (9-18)
1996-97 (12-15)
2002-03 (8-21)
2003-04 (14-15)
2004-05 (21-9)
2007-08 (12-18)
2020-21 (13-10)
(Well) more than half the previous Hofstra seasons were completed by this point.
Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43.
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 NINETY-EIGHT
With last Saturday’s loss, Speedy Claxton fell to 65-33 (.663) as head coach. That’s tied for the third-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 98 games at the helm.
Paul Lynner 66-32 (.673, 98th game was the 14th game of his fourth season in 1965-66)
Butch van Breda Kolff I 66-32 (.673, 98th game was the 23rd game of his fourth season in 1958-59)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 65-33 (.663, 98th game was the 31st game of his third season in 2023-24)
Frank Reilly 65-33 (.663, 98th game was the 27th game of his fourth season in 1950-51)
Joe Mihalich 53-45 (.541, 98th game was the 31st game of his third season in 2015-16)
Dick Berg 50-48 (.510, 98th game was the 16th game of his fourth season in 1983-84)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 48-50 (.490, 98th game was the 13th game of his fourth season in 1991-92)
Roger Gaeckler 42-56 (.429, 98th game was the 26th game of his fourth season in 1975-76)
Tom Pecora 42-56 (.429, 98th game was the eighth game of his fourth season in 2004-05)
Jay Wright 41-57 (.418, 98th game was the 16th game of his fourth season in 1997-98)
A notable game in Hofstra head coaching annals as Speedy Claxton becomes the 12th-most tenured head coach in program history. And Paul Lynner and Butch van Breda Kolff I win their 98th games as the three-way tie with Claxton breaks. Frank Reilly also won his 98th game to create the tie for third with Claxton. Alas Jay Wright is now the losingest head coach in program history through 98 games. Should probably move on from him!
The records are incomplete for Jack McDonald’s first stint from 1936 through 1943 as well as the tenure of Jack Smith (1943-46). But not Frank Reilly (1947-55) anymore!
Smith finished 27-32 in his three seasons while Mo Cassara finished 38-59 in his three seasons. 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.
A RARE REGULAR SEASON-ENDING LOSS
With last Saturday’s loss, the Dutchmen fell to 16-7 in regular season finales during the CAA era (2001-pres). However, said era began with three straight losses in the regular season finale for the Dutchmen, whose won eight straight regular season finales before dropping the final game of the 2012-13 regular season The Dutchmen also lost their CAA regular season finale in 2015 and 2021, the latter of which, of course, happened two weeks earlier than scheduled because of pandemic-related cancellations.
STUPID SMARCH WEATHER
With last Saturday’s loss, the Dutchmen fell to 3-3 in regular season games played in March in the CAA era. The Dutchmen earned regular season finale wins in March in 2008 (56-48 over Drexel on Mar. 1), 2014 (82-71 over James Madison on Mar. 1) and 2019 (92-70 over Delaware on Mar. 2) and lost regular season finales in March in 2003 (77-46 to Old Dominion on Mar. 1) and 2013 (67-64 to Towson on Mar. 2).
FIRST IMPRESSIONS, LAST LEAD
The Dutchmen led just once last Saturday at 3-0 following Darlinstone Dubar’s 3-pointer 36 seconds after tipoff. It was the first time the Dutchmen have held their lone lead following their first points since a 62-54 loss to James Madison way back on Jan. 5, 2017, when Ty Greer opened the game with a pair of free throws. Ty Greer! That was such a long time ago he was starting over Justin Wright-Foreman, who had 25 points off the bench. It was the penultimate non-start for Wright-Foreman.
A quirky wrinkle back here in 2024: The three-point lead against Charleston wasn’t the Dutchmen’s smallest in a game this season. Dubar opened the scoring with a dunk against Northeastern on Jan. 11, when the Dutchmen fell behind by as many as 19 before taking a trio of one-point second-half leads in an eventual 71-68 loss.
MARATHON MEN
The Dutchmen’s starters all played at least 30 minutes last Saturday It marked the second time this season all five starters have played at least 30 minutes and the first time since Nov. 30, when Bryce Washington joined Jaquan Carlos, Darlinstone Dubar, Jacco Fritz and Tyler Thomas in pulling marathon duty in an 82-63 win over South Florida, which I’m sure will not enter emerge as a top-25 team at any point over the next three months.
(ALMOST) NO BENCH BRIGADE
The Dutchmen came within 19 seconds of receiving all their points from their starters for a second straight game last Saturday, when KiJan Robinson hit both his free throws after he was fouled so Charleston could pull its seniors and starters. Bryce Washington had the only field goal attempt among a group of reserves that also included Washington, Khalil Farmer, Jayden Henriquez and Silas Sunday. The quintet combined for just 15 minutes, the fewest by Hofstra reserves since Mar. 10, 2020, when Kevin Schutte, Stafford Trueheart and Caleb Burgess combined for six minutes in the 70-61 win over Northeastern in the CAA championship game. I’m gonna take that as a good sign. In addition, the two combined points for Hofstra reserves over a two-game span are the fewest since Mar. 9-10, 2010, when Trueheart’s two points against Delaware in a 75-61 win accounted for the only bench points in the final two games of the CAA Tournament. I will also take that as a good sign.
A SECOND-HALF TEAM
The Dutchmen again scored more points in the second half than on the first half last Saturday, when they followed up a 36-point first half with a 40-point second half. The Dutchmen are now averaging 39.7 points per second half (1,232 points overall) and 34.7 points per first half (1,076 points overall). In a quirky twist, the Dutchmen’s first- and second-half averages each remained the same last Saturday. The Dutchmen have scored more points in the first half than in the second half just six times in CAA play and nine times overall this season. (These figures don’t include the nine points the Dutchmen scored in overtime of the 97-92 win over High Point on Nov. 22)
DUBAR MOVIN’ ON UP
Darlinstone Dubar resumed climbing the all-time Hofstra scoring list last Saturday, when he scored 19 points to increase his career total to 1,294 points and move past Mike Tilley into 21st place. Dubar is just three points away from moving past Kenny Adeleke into 20th place and 17 points away from surpassing Desure Buie for 19th place.
18.) Dave Bell 1,330
19.) Desure Buie 1,310
20.) Kenny Adeleke 1,296
21.) DARLINSTONE DUBAR 1,294
22.) Mike Tilley 1,286
23.) TYLER THOMAS 1,268
24.) Roberto Gittens 1,240
25.) Carlos Rivera 1,225
26t.) Demetrius Dudley 1,220
26t.) John Mills 1,220
28.) Aaron Estrada 1,219
THOMAS HOLDS STEADY
Tyler Thomas, who joined Dubar in the 1,000-point club on Jan. 25, remained in 23rd place on the all-time Hofstra scoring list last Saturday, when he scored 27 points to increase his career total to 1,268 points. Thomas is 19 points away from surpassing Mike Tilley for 22nd place, 27 points away from teammate Darlinstone Dubar, who is in 21st place, and 29 points away from moving past Kenny Adeleke who is in 20th place.
20.) Kenny Adeleke 1,296
21.) DARLINSTONE DUBAR 1,294
22.) Mike Tilley 1,286
23.) TYLER THOMAS 1,268
24.) Roberto Gittens 1,240
25.) Carlos Rivera 1,225
26t.) Demetrius Dudley 1,220
26t.) John Mills 1,220
28.) Aaron Estrada 1,219
This marks the first time since Thomas joined the 1,000-point club at Hofstra that he hasn’t gained at least one spot on the all-time list.
Jan. 25: 42nd place
Jan. 27: 40th place
Feb. 1: 39th place
Feb. 3: 37th place
Feb. 8: 36th place
Feb. 10: 35th place
Feb. 15: 32nd place
Feb. 17: 31st place
Feb. 22: 28th place
Feb. 24: 24th place
Feb. 29: 23rd place
(This is the first time I’ve been tracking two 1,000-point scorers playing at the same time, which is sorta neat but also sorta depressing because in the NIL era the first time may be the last time, eat Arby’s)
NO DOUBTING THOMAS
Tyler Thomas bounced back from an off-game (at least by his recent standards) last Saturday, when he scored 27 points two days after being limited to 13 points in a 69-58 win over UNC Wilmington. Thomas was 5-of-12 from 3-point land last Saturday and is 43-of-102 from beyond the arc over his last 11 games — a span in which he’s scored at least 20 points eight times — after going just 34-of-116 from 3-point land in 11 games from Dec. 12-Jan. 25. He has scored in double figures in 23 straight games, 53 of his last 55 games and 61 times overall in the last two seasons.
D-STONE’S BACK
Darlinstone Dubar had another solid game last Saturday when he finished with 19 points. He has scored in double figures in 30 of 31 games this season after doing so 42 times over 67 games in his first two seasons with the Dutchmen. Dubar has scored 101 points in the last five games since his streak of consecutive double-digit scoring efforts was snapped at 27 games when he was limited to nine points in a 79-77 loss to Drexel on Feb. 15.
JAQUAN’S 7/10 SPLIT
Bowling reference! Jaquan Carlos finished with 13 points and seven assists last Saturday — the 10th time this season he’s recorded at least 10 points and seven assists in a single game. Carlos had just three such games last season, his first as the Dutchmen’s starting point guard.
CARLOS KEEPS CRACKING HIS SLUMP
Jaquan Carlos continued emerging from his slump last Saturday, when he finished with 13 points, three rebounds and seven assists. Carlos has 52 points, 31 rebounds and a whopping 45 assists in his last five games after collecting just 34 points, 23 rebounds and 21 assists in his previous five games.
FREEBIES FOR FRITZ (part one)
Jacco Fritz scored 12 points last Saturday, when he was 8-of-12 from the free throw line. The 12 free throw attempts were tied for the most in a single game this season in the Speedy Claxton era — Darlinstone Dubar was 10-of-12 from the line in an 86-77 win over Hampton on Jan. 18 — and just the third time a Hofstra player has taken at least 10 field goal attempts under Claxton. Tyler Thomas was 10-for-10 from the line in the 97-92 overtime win over High Point on Nov. 22. Another way to put it: A Hofstra player has attempted at least 10 free throws in a game as many times in the last 98 games as in the shortened 23-game 2020-21 season, when Tareq Coburn (twice) and Jalen Ray combined for three such games.
FREEBIES FOR FRITZ (part two)
The 12 free throw attempts for Jacco Fritz were the second-most of his career and his most since way back on Feb. 12, 2021, when he was 10-for-13 from the line for Canisius against Quinnipiac. Hofstra connection!
PUTTIN’ ON THE FRITZ
Jacco Fritz scored in double figures last Saturday for the fourth time in the last seven games after scoring in double figures just twice in his first 23 games. The Dutchmen are 4-2 when Fritz scores at least 10 points.
GERMAN FOR STARTERS
German Plotnikov had three points and five rebounds in 34 minutes last Saturday, when the Dutchmen fell to 11-3 since he moved into the starting lineup. Plotnikov is averaging 8.9 points and 2.6 rebounds over 29 minutes per game as a starter after averaging 3.7 points and 2.0 reboudns over 14 minutes per game in his first 13 appearances of the season.
FIVE IS FINE
German Plotnikov led the Dutchmen with five rebounds last Saturday. It was the first time the Dutchmen’s leading rebounder recorded fewer than five boards since Jan. 26, 2023, when Darlinstone Dubar had five rebounds in an 82-65 win over Not Twitter Guy.
SEVEN WISHES?
Bryce Washington’s quiet stretch continued last Saturday, when he was missed his lone field goal attempt while recording one rebound, one assist and one turnover in seven minutes. He has gone scoreless in consecutive games in which he’s played for the first time since Dec. 29, 2022-Jan. 11. 2023 when he went scoreless in three straight games The Dutchmen are now 7-2 in the last nine games in which Washington scores fewer than seven points after going 0-8 when he scored fewer than seven points as a starter this season.
SUNDAY QUIET SUNDAY
Silas Sunday also continued his quiet stretch last Saturday, when he had three rebounds in five minutes. Sunday is scoreless in each of his last three games, a span in which he’s pulled down five rebounds in just 16 total minutes. He had 18 points and 26 rebounds in his previous six games from Feb. 3-22, a span in which he played at least 13 minutes per contest.
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