If only it was this easy to shut off Mr. X.
Well, that finally went much better than the average drive in a Cybertruck. The Flying Dutchmen put together another much-needed strong 40-minute performance Thursday night, when they led almost wire-to-wire in a 74-63 win over Not Twitter Guy. Now all entities with that name have to relinquish their unearned power. Right?
As will hopefully remain the case throughout the CAA season (9-for-9 so far, we’re halfway there, hmm, is there any song with that refrain that could ruin my day), here’s the postgame boilerplate material in Keep It Perky form. The individual news and notes from Thursday’s win and the Campbell preview (them again?!) will be posted early tomorrow morning. Enjoy!
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Joshua DeCady had a breakout first half and Cruz Davis had a terrific second half for the Flying Dutchmen, who also got double-double from Michael Graham and Jean Aranguren in the victory. The Dutchmen trailed just three times before building their first double-digit lead at 25-14 following a 21-10 run NICE FOOTBALL SCORE in which DeCady scored 11 points — as many points as he’d scored all month entering the game. DeCady’s 3-pointer extended the Dutchmen’s lead to 35-21 STILL A NICE FOOTBALL SCORE with 3:58 left before Not Twitter Guy went on a 14-4 run spanning the halves. Nick Dorn and TK Simpkins ended the surge with 3-pointers — Dorn’s beat the buzzer, which yielded all sorts of Barney Gumble reactions — before Davis’ 3-pointer opened an 11-2 run that ended with eight straight points by the Dutchmen to put them up 50-37. The Dutchmen maintained a lead of between seven and 14 points the rest of the way and went 6-of-12 from the field during possessions in which the Phoenix were within single digits. Davis scored 13 of his 18 points after halftime and also added four assists and three rebounds. Graham (15 points, 13 rebounds) had a strong game against his former school while DeCady scored 14 of his career-high 15 points in the first half. Aranguren was 4-of-13 from the field but had 11 points and 12 rebounds. Jaquan Sanders (five points in 24 minutes) saw his most extensive playing time in almost four weeks in place of German Plotnikov, who sat out.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Not Twitter Guy, 1/30)
3: Cruz Davis
2: Michael Graham
1: Joshua DeCady
SEASON STANDINGS
Jean Aranguren 43
Cruz Davis 27
Michael Graham 19
Jaquan Sanders 12
KiJan Robinson 9
German Plotnikov 7
TJ Gadsden 5
Khalil Farmer 5
Silas Sunday 2
Eric Parnell 2
Joshua DeCady 1
Welcome to the all-time 3 Stars of the Game list, Joshua DeCady! This one goes to 11 this season.
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
Yes! Didn’t expect that! The Flying Dutchmen came within two points of a 74-63 final six times previously, most recently in a 73-63 win over Duquesne in Speedy Claxton’s first victory as a head coach on Nov. 13 2021. But they’d never won 74-63 before Thursday!
This is the Dutchmen’s sixth unicorn score of the season.
11/4/24: 89-62 over Old Westbury
11/8/24: 90-76 over Iona
12/6/24: 114-48 over St. Joseph’s
1/4/25: 55-37 over Northeastern
1/23/25: 93-68 over Delaware
1/30/25: 74-63 over Not Twitter Guy
It’s such a 2024-25 thing that the Dutchmen have scored in the 110s, the 50s, the 70s and the 90s in their last four unicorn score wins.
This is also the Dutchmen’s 59th unicorn score victory since the start of the 2018-19 season, when we first started tracking unicorn scores.
2024-25: Six unicorn scores
2023-24: Seven unicorn scores
2022-23: 12 unicorn scores
2021-22: 11 unicorn scores
2020-21: Zero unicorn scores (really)
2019-20: 13 unicorn scores
2018-19: 10 unicorn scores
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. You may also know it as a “Scorigami,” a term popularized in the NFL.
WHO HAD THE KEITH HERNANDEZ?
Cruz Davis joined the select club of players with multiple Keith Hernandezes Thursday night, when he hit the 3-pointer to put the Dutchmen ahead for good at 7-6 NICE FOOTBALL SCORE with 15:20 left in the first half. Davis came within one second of recording the Keith Hernandez at the exact same time German Plotnikov recorded the Dutchmen’s previous Keith Hernandez on Jan. 23. Quirky! Davis is the third player this season with multiple Keith Hernandezes and the 11th in history (or at least since the 2022-23 season).
Jean Aranguren tie-breaking layup vs. Old Westbury, 11/4/24 (19:47 left 2H)
Silas Sunday go-ahead layup vs. Iona, 11/8/24 (17:49 left 1H)
Jean Aranguren go-ahead layup vs. Seton Hall, 11/13/24 (2:19 left 2H)
Jean Aranguren tie-breaking free throw vs. UMass, 11/16/24 (4:58 left OT)
Cruz Davis tie-breaking layup vs. Rice, 11/29/24 (:59 left OT)
Michael Graham tie-breaking layup vs. Arkansas State, 12/1/24 (:00 left 2H)
Jean Aranguren tie-breaking layup vs. St. Joseph’s, 12/6/24 (19:30 left 1H)
KiJan Robinson go-ahead 3-pointer vs. Norfolk State, 12/9/24 (10:33 left 1H)
Michael Graham tie-breaking layup vs. Northeastern, 1/4/25 (19:14 left 2H)
Jean Aranguren go-ahead nostalgic 3-point play vs. UNC Wilmington, 1/11/25 (:31.1 left 2H)
German Plotnikov tie-breaking layup vs. Delaware 1/23/25 (15:21 left 1H)
Cruz Davis go-ahead 3-pointer vs. Not Twitter Guy, 1/30/25 (15:20 left 1H)
SEASON STANDINGS
Jean Aranguren 5
Cruz Davis 2
Michael Graham 2
German Plotnikov 1
KiJan Robinson 1
Silas Sunday 1
ALL-TIME STANDINGS (or at least since the 2022-23 season)
Tyler Thomas 16
Darlinstone Dubar 14
Jean Aranguren 5
Aaron Estrada 4
German Plotnikov 3
Warren Williams 3
Cruz Davis 2
Michael Graham 2
Silas Sunday 2
Jacco Fritz 2
Jaquan Carlos 2
KiJan Robinson 1
Bryce Washington 1
The Keith Hernandez is bestowed upon the player who scores the points that put the Dutchmen ahead for good in a victory. The stat pays homage to Hernandez, the World Series-winning Cardinals and Mets first baseman who had a record 129 game-winning RBIs when the stat was inexplicably discontinued after the 1988 season.
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER TWENTY-TWO GAMES
With Thursday night’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 12-10 this season. This ties the 2024-25 team for the 36th-best record in school history through 22 games. It’s the second straight season the Dutchmen have opened 12-10 and the seventh time overall in school history. Prior to the last two seasons, the Dutchmen hadn’t been 10-9 through 19 games, 11-9 through 20 games or 12-10 through 22 games since 1990-91 — my senior year of high school! Quirky! Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 22 games:
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 12-10 (ended a season-long pattern of never being more than one game over or under .500)
1976-77: 16-6 (win in 22nd game marked second win of nine-game winning streak that carried Dutchmen into the NCAAs)
1999-2000: 17-5 (most recent 17-5 start, win in 22nd game marked final win of 10-game winning streak)
2000-01: 18-4 (win in 22nd game marked 10th win in program-record 18-game winning streak)
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 15-7 (most recent 15-7 start)
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 15-7
2004-05: 15-7
2005-06: 18-4 (most recent 18-4 start)
2006-07: 16-6
2015-16: 16-6 (most recent 16-6 start)
2018-19: 19-3 (most recent 19-3 start, win in 22nd game marked final win in the 16-game winning streak)
2022-23: 14-8 (most recent 14-8 start, win in 22nd game marked second win of 12-game winning streak that continued into the CAA Tournament)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 17-5
1961-62: 19-3
1962-63: 16-6 (fifth win of 11-game winning streak)
1963-64: 18-4
Some other notable 22-game records:
2021-22: 13-9 (most recent 13-9 start)
2020-21: 13-9 (win over Delaware in the CAA quarterfinals was the final win of the season)
2016-17: 10-12 (most recent 10-12 start)
2013-14: 7-15 (most recent 7-15 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2012-13: 5-17 (most recent 5-17 start, tied for worst 22-game record in school history)
1995-96: 7-15 (loss in 22nd game marked eighth loss of Jay Wright-era record nine-game losing streak)
1994-95: 7-15 (Jay Wright’s first year)
1993-94: 5-17 (wins in games 21-22 were the first back-to-back wins all season; VBK’s last year)
1992-93: 6-16 (most recent 6-16 start)
1991-92: 14-8 (win in 22nd game was third in nine-game winning streak that ended in ECC title game)
1988-89: 9-13 (most recent 9-13 start)
1987-88: 5-17 (win in 22nd game snapped program-record 12-game losing streak)
1986-87: 8-14 (most recent 8-14 start)
1985-86: 13-9 (first and only other 13-9 start)
1984-85: 11-11 (most recent 11-11 start)
1981-82: 11-11 (at .500 for the last time, fourth loss of eight-game losing streak)
1978-79: 8-14 (last win of season and last win of Roger Gaeckler’s tenure)
1974-75: 8-13 (last loss of season)
1973-74: 6-16 (last win of season)
1972-73: 8-13 (last win of season)
1971-72: 11-11 (at .500 for the last time, first loss of season-ending four-game losing streak)
1970-71: 14-8 (first win of season-ending five-game winning streak)
1959-60: 21-1 (only 21-1 start & Hofstra’s winningest team, percentage-wise; win in 22nd game was 11th win of season-ending 13-game winning streak)
1955-56: 20-2 (only 20-2 start)
1946-47: 16-6 (last loss of season)
Hofstra has never been 22-0, 4-18, 3-19, 2-20, 1-21 or 0-22 through 22 games.
Eleven seasons were completed in fewer than 22 games:
1936-37: 10-7
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
1947-48: 13-6
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 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-TWO
With Thursday night’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 78-44 (.639) as head coach. That’s the fourth-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 122 games at the helm.
Butch van Breda Kolff I 87-35 (.713, 122nd game was the 20th game of his fifth season in 1959-60)
Frank Reilly 85-37 (.697, 122nd game was the 22nd game of his fifth season in 1951-52)
Paul Lynner 79-43 (.648, 122nd game was the 12th game of his fifth season in 1966-67)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 78-44 (.639, 122nd game was the 22nd game of his fourth season in 2024-25)
Joe Mihalich 64-58 (.525, 122nd game was the 21st game of his fourth season in 2016-17)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 63-59 (.516, 122nd game was the eighth game of his fifth season in 1992-93)
Dick Berg 63-59 (.516, 122nd game was the 12th game of his fifth season in 1984-85)
Roger Gaeckler 59-63 (.484, 122nd game was the 20th game of his fifth season in 1976-77)
Tom Pecora 56-66 (.459, 122nd game was the second game of his sixth season in 2005-06)
Jay Wright 55-67 (.451, 122nd game was the ninth game of his fifth season in 1998-99)
The top four remains the same while the 2016-17 team snaps the longest losing streak of the Joe Mihalich era in his 122nd game to snap the three-way tie with Dick Berg and Butch van Breda Kolff II. Roger Gaeckler’s second straight NCAA Tournament team suffers its final loss of the 1976-77 regular season while Tom Pecora’s lead over fellow perpetual slacker Jay Wright slips to one game as Pecora loses game no. 122 at the helm while Wright wins game no. 122 at the helm. Perpetual slackers!
The records are incomplete for Jack McDonald’s first stint from 1936 through 1943 as well as the tenure of Jack Smith (1943-46).
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.
