If only I had the Photoshop skills necessary to turn the pancake syrup into Campbell soup cans.
History just keeps on repeating itself this month. The Flying Dutchmen did it yet again Saturday afternoon, when they squandered an 18-point first-half lead and fell to Campbell in overtime, 69-67. Definitely not nice.
But we summarize the good and the bad here, so as will hopefully remain the case throughout the CAA season (8-for-8 so far!), here’s the postgame boilerplate material in Keep It Perky form. The individual news and notes from Saturday afternoon’s agony and the Not Twitter Guy preview will be posted early tomorrow morning. Enjoy! As much as you can, anyway.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Michael Graham had a RUSH BIAS kind of game (21 rebounds, 12 points) to lead five players in double figures, but it was all for naught as the Flying Dutchmen got off to another red-hot start and cooled off entirely in the second half before they changed things up by closing out the collapse and fell victim to a last-second turnover in regulation and a last-second tie-breaking dagger in overtime. Fun! The Dutchmen shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, when they trailed just once — at 3-2 — and scored on six of seven trips to end a 31-14 run NICE FOOTBALL SCORE that extended the lead to 34-16. But Cruz Davis fouled Cam Gregory with one second left — that’s right, more end-of-half doom — and Gregory’s free throw pulled Campbell within 36-20 and began turning the momentum in favor of the Camels. Colby Duggan, limited to two points in the first half, opened the second half on his own 7-0 run for Campbell, which closed within 52-49 with 6:15 left but went 6-of-8 from the free throw line and 0-for-5 from the field over the next six-plus minutes. Graham, Jean Aranguren and German Plotnikov hit key baskets to apparently keep Campbell at bay, but TJ Gadsden turned the ball over following a missed jumper by KiJan Robinson with eight seconds left and Jasin Sinani drained a wide-open corner 3-pointer to finally tie the game at 59-59 and force overtime. There were two ties and two lead changers in overtime before Duggan hit the long jumper with one second left to hand the Dutchmen another demoralizing defeat. The trio of Duggan, Sinani and Nolan Dorsey scored all of Campbell’s 49 points after halftime. Plotnikov scored 14 points and set career highs with five steals over 43 minutes. Jean Aranguren had 14 points, two rebounds and two assists while Khalil Farmer (3-for-3 shooting, 2-for-2 from the free throw line) didn’t miss a shot in an 11-point performance. Davis, who flirted with a triple-double in last Thursday;S win over Delaware, flirted with a QUADRUPLE-DOUBLE Saturday, when he had 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to go with seven turnovers.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Campbell, 1/25)
3: Michael Graham
2: German Plotnikov
1: Jean Aranguren
SEASON STANDINGS
Jean Aranguren 43
Cruz Davis 24
Michael Graham 17
Jaquan Sanders 12
KiJan Robinson 9
German Plotnikov 7
TJ Gadsden 5
Khalil Farmer 5
Silas Sunday 2
Eric Parnell 2
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER TWENTY-ONE GAMES
With Saturday’s loss, the Dutchmen fell to 11-10 this season. This ties the 2024-25 team for the 42nd-best record in school history through 21 games. It’s the second straight season the Dutchmen have opened 11-10 and the seventh time overall in school history. Prior to the last two seasons, the Dutchmen hadn’t been 11-10 since 1984-85, when I was in sixth grade. Nor had they been 10-9 through 19 games or 11-9 through 20 games since 1990-91 — my senior year of high school! Quirky! Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 21 games:
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 11-10 (over .500 for good)
1976-77: 15-6 (win in 21st game marked first win of nine-game winning streak that carried Dutchmen into the NCAAs)
1999-2000: 16-5 (win in 21st game marked ninth win of 10-game winning streak)
2000-01: 17-4 (win in 21st game marked ninth win in program-record 18-game winning streak)
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 14-7 (most recent 14-7 start)
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 14-7
2004-05: 14-7
2005-06: 17-4 (most recent 17-4 start)
2006-07: 16-5 (most recent 16-5 start)
2015-16: 15-6 (most recent 15-6 start)
2018-19: 18-3 (most recent 18-3 start, win in 21st game marked 15th win in the 16-game winning streak)
2022-23: 13-8 (most recent 13-8 start, win in 21st game marked first win of 12-game winning streak that continued into the CAA Tournament)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 16-5
1961-62: 18-3 (only other 18-3 start)
1962-63: 15-6 (fourth win of 11-game winning streak)
1963-64: 17-4
Some other notable 21-game records:
2020-21: 12-9 (most recent 12-9 start, loss in 21st game marked the unplanned and unexpected regular season finale because of, well, you know)
2016-17: 10-11 (most recent 10-11 start; win in 21st game snapped Mihalich-era record six-game losing streak)
2013-14: 7-14 (most recent 7-14 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2012-13: 5-16 (most recent 5-16 start)
2009-10: 9-12 (most recent 9-12 start, season-low three games under .500)
2001-02: 10-11 (last time within one win of .500, Tom Pecora’s first team)
1996-97: 10-11 (under .500 for good)
1995-96: 7-14 (loss in 21st game marked seventh loss of Jay Wright-era record nine-game losing streak)
1994-95: 6-15 (most recent 6-15 start, Jay Wright’s first year)
1993-94: 4-17 (most recent 4-17 start, VBK’s last year)
1991-92: 13-8 (win in 21st game was second in nine-game winning streak that ended in ECC title game)
1988-89: 8-13 (most recent 8-13 start)
1987-88: 4-17 (loss in 21st game was 11th loss of program-record 12-game losing streak)
1974-75: 8-13 (last loss of season)
1972-73: 8-13 (last win of season)
1971-72: 11-10 (over .500 for the last time, last win of season)
1970-71: 13-8 (last loss of season)
1960-61: 19-2 (only 19-2 start)
1959-60: 20-1 (most recent 20-1 start & Hofstra’s winningest team, percentage-wise; win in 21st game was 10th win of season-ending 13-game winning streak)
1955-56: 20-1 (first 20-1 start)
1944-45: 8-13 (lost season finale)
1939-40: 12-9 (won season finale)
Hofstra has never been 21-0, 3-18, 2-19, 1-20 or 0-21 through 21 games.
Seven seasons were completed in fewer than 21 games:
1936-37: 10-7
1937-38: 10-4
1938-39: 10-8
1940-41: 13-7
1943-44: 7-12
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-ONE
With Saturday’s loss, Speedy Claxton fell to 77-44 (.636) as head coach. That’s the fourth-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 121 games at the helm.
Butch van Breda Kolff I 86-35 (.711, 121st game was the 19th game of his fifth season in 1959-60)
Frank Reilly 84-37 (.694, 121st game was the 21st game of his fifth season in 1951-52)
Paul Lynner 79-42 (.653, 121st game was the 11th game of his fifth season in 1966-67)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 77-44 (.636, 121st game was the 21st game of his fourth season in 2024-25)
Joe Mihalich 63-58 (.521, 121st game was the 20th game of his fourth season in 2016-17)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 63-58 (.521, 121st game was the seventh game of his fifth season in 1992-93)
Dick Berg 63-58 (.521, 121st game was the 11th game of his fifth season in 1984-85)
Roger Gaeckler 59-62 (.488, 121st game was the 19th game of his fifth season in 1976-77)
Tom Pecora 56-65 (.463, 121st game was the first game of his sixth season in 2005-06)
Jay Wright 54-67 (.446, 121st game was the eighth game of his fifth season in 1998-99)
While Speedy Claxton remains in fourth place, Dick Berg’s win in his 121st game at the helm creates a three-way tie for fifth with Butch van Breda Kolff II and Joe Mihalich. Tom Pecora’s most memorable season kicks off #WrongSport #WeStillHadItBackThenThough with a win over Florida International, though he and his fellow perpetual slacker Jay Wright remain two games apart while bringing up the rear. 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.
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