Second halves for the Dutchmen lately.
History repeated itself in depressing fashion Monday afternoon for the Flying Dutchmen, who again raced out to a double-digit first-half lead, again went cold in the second half and again frittered away said double-digit lead in a 60-55 loss to Drexel. Ahh well, at least this was the only example of history repeating itself in depressing fashion Monday. Right?
Anyway, as will hopefully remain the case throughout the CAA season (6-for-6 so far!), here’s the postgame boilerplate material in Keep It Perky form. The individual news and notes from Thursday night and the Delaware preview will be posted early tomorrow morning. Enjoy! (As much as you can, anyway)
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Michael Graham (eight points, 13 rebounds) flirted with a double-double and Jean Aranguren (14 points, seven rebounds, five assists) once again filled up the stat sheet, but the Flying Dutchmen’s second-half struggles cropped up again as Drexel inched back from a 12-point deficit and held on for the win. The Dutchmen were scoreless from the field in the first 4:15 before scoring on 14 of their next 18 possessions, a span in which they outscored Drexel 34-21. The teams combined to go 1-for-13 from the field over the final four minutes of the half before the Dutchmen took a 37-26 lead into the locker room. Drexel opened the second half with a 17-5 run by scoring on nine of its first 12 second-half possessions, a stretch in which the Dutchmen were 2-of-13 with one turnover. Aranguren hit a pair of 3-pointers over a span of a little under two minutes to give the Dutchmen a 52-51 lead with 5:37 left, but the Dutchmen turned the ball over on their next three possessions and didn’t hit another field goal. They somehow had a chance to tie the game with six seconds remaining, but KiJan Robinson stepped out of bounds while being fouled on an errant 3-point attempt. Cruz Davis finished with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals but scored just three points, all from the free throw line, in the second half. Davis, Graham and Aranguren were 5-of-16 in the second half while combining for 14 of the Dutchmen’s 18 points. TJ Gadsden had seven points, three assists and two steals while German Plotnikov and Silas Sunday finished with six points apiece.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Drexel, 1/20)
3: Michael Graham
2: Jean Aranguren
1: Cruz Davis
SEASON STANDINGS
Jean Aranguren 41
Cruz Davis 21
Michael Graham 14
Jaquan Sanders 12
KiJan Robinson 9
TJ Gadsden 5
Khalil Farmer 5
German Plotnikov 3
Silas Sunday 2
Eric Parnell 2
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER NINETEEN GAMES
With Monday’s loss, the Dutchmen fell to 10-9 this season. This ties the 2024-25 team for the 41st-best record in school history through 18 games. It’s the second straight season the Dutchmen have opened 10-9 and the eighth time overall in school history. Prior to the last two seasons, the Dutchmen hadn’t been 10-9 through 19 games since 1990-91 — my senior year of high school! Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 19 games:
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 10-9
1976-77: 14-5
1999-2000: 14-5
2000-01: 15-4 (marked seventh win in program-record 18-game winning streak)
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 14-5 (most recent 14-5 start)
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 13-6
2004-05: 13-6
2005-06: 15-4 (most recent 15-4 start)
2006-07: 14-5
2015-16: 13-6 (most recent 13-6 start)
2018-19: 16-3 (most recent 16-3 start, win in 19th game marked 13th win in the 16-game winning streak)
2022-23: 12-7 (most recent 12-7 start)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 14-5
1961-62: 17-2 (most recent 17-2 start)
1962-63: 13-6
1963-64: 16-3
Some other notable 19-game records:
2016-17: 9-10 (most recent 9-10 start, under .500 for good; loss in 19th game marked fifth loss of Mihalich-era record six-game losing streak)
2013-14: 7-12 (most recent 7-12 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2012-13: 5-14 (most recent 5-14 start)
2011-12: 6-13 (most recent 6-13 start)
2003-04: 8-11 (most recent 8-11 start)
1995-96: 7-12 (loss in 19th game marked fifth loss of Wright-era record nine-game losing streak)
1994-95: 5-14 (win in 19th game marked second win of three-game winning streak, the first streak in Wright’s first year)
1997-98: 11-8 (most recent 11-8 start)
1993-94: 3-16 (only 3-16 start, 84-76 win over Central Connecticut in 19th game was lone regular season ECC win and also the first game I ever covered, VBK’s last team)
1987-88: 4-15 (only 4-15 start, loss in 19th game was ninth loss of program-record 12-game losing streak)
1985-96: 10-9 (over .500 for good)
1964-65: 9-10 (under .500 for good)
1960-61: 17-2 (first 17-2 start)
1959-60: 18-1 (most recent 18-1 start & Hofstra’s winningest team, percentage-wise; win in 19th game was eighth win of season-ending 13-game winning streak)
1956-57: 9-10 (under .500 for good)
1955-56: 18-1 (VBK’s first year, first 18-1 start)
1947-48: 13-6 (won season finale)
1945-46: 12-7 (won season finale)
1943-44: 7-12 (won season finale)
Hofstra has never been 19-0, 2-17, 1-18 or 0-19 through 19 games.
Three seasons were completed in fewer than 19 games:
1936-37: 10-7
1937-38: 10-4
1938-39: 10-8
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 NINETEEN
With Thursday’s loss, Speedy Claxton fell to 76-43 (.639) as head coach. That’s the fourth-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 119 games at the helm.
Butch van Breda Kolff I 84-35 (.706, 119th game was the 17th game of his fifth season in 1959-60)
Frank Reilly 83-36 (.697, 119th game was the 19th game of his fifth season in 1951-52)
Paul Lynner 77-42 (.647, 119th game was the ninth game of his fifth season in 1966-67)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 76-43 (.639, 119th game was the 19th game of his fourth season in 2024-25)
Joe Mihalich 63-56 (.529, 119th game was the 18th game of his fourth season in 2016-17)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 63-56 (.529, 119th game was the fifth game of his fifth season in 1992-93)
Dick Berg 62-57 (.521, 119th game was the ninth game of his fifth season in 1984-85)
Roger Gaeckler 57-62 (.479, 119th game was the 17th game of his fifth season in 1976-77)
Tom Pecora 55-64 (.462, 119th game was the 29th game of his fifth season in 2004-05)
Jay Wright 52-67 (.437, 119th game was the sixth game of his fifth season in 1998-99)
The Dutchmen’s win in the fifth game of the ’92-93 season creates a tie fifth-place between VBK II and Joe Mihalich. Spoiler alert: The ’92-93 Dutchmen are going to lose their next six games, so this is as close as VBK II will get to sole possession of fifth place. Twelve years later, the Dutchmen squander a double-digit lead in the CAA semifinals against Old Dominion in Tom Pecora’s 119th game, which keeps him three games ahead of fellow perpetual slacker Jay Wright. 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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