R.I.P. Roger Gaeckler.
The Flying Dutchmen climbed back to .500 last Friday, when freshman point guards Preston Edmead continued his emergence and sparked a comeback from an 11-point deficit by scoring 18 of his 23 points in the second half of an 83-77 comeback win over Bucknell. We’ll go over that win and look ahead to tonight’s game against Temple after remembering former Hofstra head men’s basketball coach Roger Gaeckler, who died recently.
RIP ROGER GAECKLER
Hofstra on Sunday announced the death of former men’s basketball coach Roger Gaeckler, who led the men’s basketball team to consecutive East Coast Conference championships and the school’s first two NCAA Tournament appearances as a Division I program in 1976 and 1977. The Dutchmen lost to UConn 80-78 in overtime in 1976 and fell to Notre Dame 90-83 in 1977.
The 1975-76 and 1976-77 teams provided a pivotal foundation for Hofstra as a Division I program and succeeded at a perilous and challenging time for the university, which was dealing with declining enrollment, operating in the red and cutting staff throughout the university during the 1970s economic crisis.
Among the players Gaeckler coached were Rich Laurel, who ranked second in program history with 2,102 points upon his graduation in 1977 and was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 1977 draft. Fellow 1,000-point scorers Ken Rood and John Irving also played their entire careers under Gaeckler. Irving finished his career with 1,186 rebounds, the second-most in program history upon his graduation. Gaeckler also coached Bernard Tomlin, who later served as head coach at Stony Brook and is currently the head coach at Old Westbury.
In addition, Gaeckler recruited David Taylor, who collected 1,818 points and 926 rebounds — the fourth- and third-highest totals in program history upon his graduation — while playing under Gaeckler’s successors Joe Harrington and Dick Berg from 1979 through 1982.
Gaeckler spent seven seasons at Hofstra and went 85-101 before resigning following the 1978-79 season to raise his family and work in private business. His win total ranked fifth in program history upon his departure.
Gaeckler and the 1975-76 team were inducted into the Hofstra Hall of Fame in 2016.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Preston Edmead (23 points, five assists) cemented his grip on a second straight CAA Rookie of the Week award (spoiler alert) by draining four 3-pointers in the second half as the Dutchmen mounted their biggest comeback win in almost two years. Cruz Davis scored seven unanswered points to begin a 9-0 run that gave the Dutchmen a 16-9 lead before Bucknell went on a 34-18 run to take a 45-34 NICE FOOTBALL SCORE lead with 18:50 left. Following a timeout by Speedy Claxton, Edmead drained a pair of 3-pointers in a 45-second span to begin a 10-0 run Biggie Patterson completed with a jumper and two free throws. The teams traded the lead four times in as many possessions, a stretch capped when Edmead hit a 3-pointer to put the Dutchmen ahead for good at 55-53 with 13:30 left. That began a 20-5 run for the Dutchmen, who took their biggest lead at 72-58 on a pair of free throws by German Plotnikov with 7:50 left. Bucknell responded with a 17-7 surge to pull within 79-75 with 1:41 remaining, but the Bison missed their next three 3-pointers and the Dutchmen iced the win by going 4-of-6 from the line. Cruz Davis had 18 points and five assists while Victory Onuetu (11 points, 12 rebounds) posted his second straight double-double in his first start of the season. Patterson had 17 points and seven rebounds and Plotnikov added 10 points as the Dutchmen got five players into double figures for the third straight game.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Bucknell, 11/14)
3: Preston Edmead
2: Cruz Davis
1: Victory Onuetu
SEASON STANDINGS
Preston Edmead 8
Cruz Davis 8
Victory Onuetu 4
Biggie Patterson 2
German Plotnikov 1
Silas Sunday 1
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
No! Disappointing but not surprising with such a normal-looking score. The Dutchmen recorded at least three previous 83-77 victories, most recently over Princeton on Nov. 7, 2022.
The Dutchmen have no unicorn score victories this season and 60 unicorn score victories since the start of the 2018-19 season, when we first started tracking unicorn scores.
2025-26: Zero unicorn scores
2024-25: Seven 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?
IT HAS HAPPENED! Preston Edmead became the first freshman to ever record a Keith Hernandez (or at least since the 2022-23 season) when he drained the 3-pointer that put the Dutchmen ahead for good at 55-53 with 13:30 left. Somehow, that’s the first second-half Keith Hernandez since Jan. 11, when Jean Aranguren converted a nostalgic 3-point play to give the Dutchmen the lead for good in a 66-63 win over UNC Wilmington. The Dutchmen recorded the Keith Hernandez in the first half of their final four wins last season as well as last week’s 95-61 win over Molloy.
SEASON STANDINGS
Preston Edmead 1
German Plotnikov 1
ALL-TIME STANDINGS (or at least since the 2022-23 season)
Tyler Thomas 16
Darlinstone Dubar 14
Jean Aranguren 5
German Plotnikov 4
Aaron Estrada 4
Cruz Davis 3
Michael Graham 3
Warren Williams 3
Silas Sunday 2
Jacco Fritz 2
Jaquan Carlos 2
Preston Edmead 1
Eric Parnell 1
KiJan Robinson 1
Bryce Washington 1
Incredibly, Edmead is the first Hofstra freshman to collect the points that put the Dutchmen ahead for good since Vukasin Masic (!!!!) hit a 3-pointer with 4:34 left in the first half of a 79-74 win over Drexel way back on Feb. 7, 2021. This means the DutchmenDutchmen went 1,740 days in between Keith Hernandezes by freshmen! (We didn’t call it a Keith Hernandez back then, but it was a Keith Hernandez in spirit.)
Most remarkable of all? Masic has played for three schools since then and is STILL PLAYING! He redshirted during the 2022-23 campaign and is using his free pandemic season at San Francisco.
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 FOUR GAMES
The Dutchmen improved to 2-2 with Friday’s win. This ties the 2025-26 team for the 36th-best record in school history through four games! Thirty-two other teams began 2-2, most recently the 2023-24 squad. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through four games:
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 2-2
1976-77: 3-1
1999-2000: 2-2
2000-01: 4-0
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 2-2
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 1-3
2004-05: 4-0
2005-06: 2-1
2006-07: 1-3
2015-16: 3-1
2018-19: 2-2
2022-23: 4-0 (most recent 4-0 start)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 2-2
1961-62: 3-1
1962-63: 2-2
1963-64: 3-1
Other notable four-game starts:
2021-22: 1-3 (most recent 1-3 start)
2017-18: 3-1 (most recent 3-1 start)
2013-14: 1-3 (Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2010-11: 1-3 (Mo Cassara’s first team)
2002-03: 1-3 (loss in fourth game — to future Ton Pecora employer Quinnipiac — was first loss in eight-game losing streak, tied for the longest of the Tom Pecora era)
2001-02: 3-1 (Tom Pecora’s first team)
1994-95: 1-3 (Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 0-4 (VBK’s last team, most recent 0-4 start)
1982-83: 4-0
1974-75: 2-2 (at .500 for the last time)
1973-74: 0-4
1972-73: 2-2 (at .500 for the last time)
1969-70: 0-4
1960-61: 4-0
1959-60: 4-0
1955-56: 4-0 (Butch van Breda Kolff improves to 4-0)
1954-55: 4-0
1952-53: 4-0
1951-52: 4-0
1948-49: 4-0
1947-48: 4-0 (Frank Reilly improves to 4-0)
1944-45: 2-2 (at .500 for the last time)
1936-37: 2-2 (program is at all-time .500 for the first time — albeit after just four games)
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 ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SEVEN
With Friday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 83-54 (.606) as head coach. That’s the fourth-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 137 games at the helm.
Butch van Breda Kolff I 101-36 (.737, 137th game was the 11 game of his sixth season in 1960-61)
Frank Reilly 98-39 (.715, 137th game was the eighth game of his sixth season in 1952-53)
Paul Lynner 87-50 (.635, 137th game was the second game of his sixth season in 1967-68)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 83-54 (.606, 137th game was the fourth game of his fifth season in 2025-26)
Joe Mihalich 72-65 (.526, 137th game was the fourth game of his fifth season in 2017-18)
Roger Gaeckler 69-68 (.504, 137th game was the fifth game of his sixth season in 1977-78)
Dick Berg 69-68 (.504, 137th game was the 27th game of his fifth season in 1984-85)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 68-69 (.496, 137th game was the 23rd game of his fifth season in 1992-93)
Tom Pecora 68-69 (.496, 137th game was the 17th game of his sixth season in 2005-06)
Jay Wright 67-70 (.489, 137th game was the 24th game of his fifth season in 1998-99)
DOUBLE-DIGIT COMEBACK
The Dutchmen, who trailed by 11 points early in the second half Friday, overcame a double-digit deficit in a win for the first time this season and the first time since Feb. 1, 2024, when they trailed Stony Brook by 13 points in the second half before Tyler Thomas sank the game-winning shot just before the buzzer in a 72-71 victory. The Dutchmen didn’t win a game in which they trailed by double digits last season for the first time since 2020-21. Under Speedy Claxton, the Dutchmen have won 10 games in which they overcame a double-digit deficit.
1010101010 WINS (again)
Five players reached double figures for the Dutchmen on Friday, when starters Preston Edmead (23 points), Cruz Davis (18 points), Biggie Patterson (17 points), Victory Onuetu (11 points) and German Plotnikov (10 points) all scored at least 10 points. It was the third straight game in which five players scored in double figures for the Dutchmen, the longest such streak since Nov. 29 through Dec 6, 2016, when the Dutchmen went 2-1 against Columbia, Florida Atlantic and St. Bonaventure. Brian Bernardi, Eli Pemberton, Deron Powers, Ty Greer and Jamall Robinson each scored in double figures in the first two games of the streak before Rokas Gustys replaced Robinson in the third game. Strange combo of names there.
That streak is also notable for two reasons. Desure Buie suffered a season-ending knee injury against Columbia, which was the last game he could have played and still used a medical redshirt. That ended up coming in awfully handy three-plus years later. And Justin Wright-Foreman did not reach double figures in any of those three games — the last times he would not score in double figures for the Dutchmen. He ended his career with 88 straight double-digit scoring performances.
After all that, the Dutchmen are now 13-2 under Speedy Claxton when at least five players score in double figures.
PRESTO!
Freshman guard Preston Edmead continued the impressive start to his career Friday, when he finished with 23 points, five assists, two steals and one rebound. Edmead is the first Hofstra freshman to score in double figures in each of his first four games since Eli Pemberton, who had 20 points against Coppin State, 23 points against Sacred Heart, 15 points against Manhattan and 10 points against Bradley from Nov. 11-21, 2016. Pemberton opened his career with five straight double-digit scoring efforts. Edmead is also the first Hofstra freshman to start his first three games since David Green started the first four games of the 2020-21 season. Green, by the way, IS STILL PLAYING COLLEGE BALL! (Much like Vukasin Masic) Green is at Tulsa this year.
THE FRESHMAN 20
Preston Edmead is the first Hofstra freshman to score 20 points in a game since Eli Pemberton scored 26 points in an 86-80 loss to Towson on Jan. 19, 2017. That was the last of Pemberton’s six 20-point games during his freshman season.
THE FRESHMAN 20/5 CLUB
Preston Edmead joined some pretty select company Friday when he collected 23 points and five assists. Edmead is just the sixth Hofstra freshman since the 1994-95 season — the first season in which Hofstra started including assist totals in each player’s game-by-game logs — to finish with at least 20 points and five assists in the same game.
Preston Edmead: 23 points/five assists vs. Bucknell, 11/14/25
Eli Pemberton: 21 points/five assists vs. Charleston, 1/7/17
Chaz Williams: 20 points/nine assists vs. Drexel, 2/10/10
Carlos Rivera: 22 points/five assists vs. VCU, 1/31/04
Rick Apodaca: 22 points/seven assists vs. New Hampshire, 2/18/00
Speedy Claxton: 22 points/five assists vs. Maine, 1/26/97
Hey look who started that club! Speaking of Speedy…
PRESTON VS. SPEEDY
Preston Edmead’s first four games as a true freshman point guard have been just as impressive as Speedy Claxton’s first four games as a true freshman point guard way back in 1996-97.
Speedy Claxton: 17.8 points per game/1.8 assists per game/5.8 rebounds per game
Preston Edmead: 17.3 ppg/5.8 apg/0.8 rpg
Pretty quirky and neat!
CRUZ-IN
Cruz Davis had another solid game Monday, when he finished with 18 points and five assists. Davis has scored in double figures in 25 of the 36 games in which he’s played for Hofstra after reaching double figures just five times over 28 games in his first two seasons at Iona and St. John’s. The Dutchmen are 15-11 when Davis scores in double figures.
VICTORY!
Junior newcomer Victory Onuetu continued to offer intrigue Friday, when he drew his first start and finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals over a season-high 29 minutes. As noted by Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov, Onuetu is the first first-year Hofstra player to record a double-double in his first career start since Kvonn Cramer had 10 points and 10 rebounds in an 81-78 overtime loss to Northeastern on Jan. 7, 2021. It was also the second straight double-double for Onuetu, who had 10 points and 12 rebounds against Molly on Nov. 10. He’s the first first-year player to record double-doubles in consecutive games since freshman Jamall Robinson did so against Drexel and Charleston from Jan. 29-Feb. 1, 2014.
BIGGIE COMES UP, WELL, BIG
Biggie Patterson had another impressive game Friday, when he set a season-high 17 points and tied a season-high with seven rebounds over 27 minutes. Patterson has scored in double figures in three straight games for the first time I his two seasons at the Division I level. He reached double figures in back-to-back games on two occasions (great song) for Iona last season. Patterson’s 44 points over the last three games are the second-most points he’s scored over a three-game span in the last two seasons. He had 45 points for Iona against Rice, Sacred heart and Saint Peter’s last Dec. 1-8.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!
After starting the first three games of the season, Silas Sunday came off the bench behind Victory Onuetu on Friday, when Sunday finished with one point, five rebounds and two assists over 11 minutes. While Sunday has just three points over the last two games after scoring 10 points apiece in the first two games, his five rebounds were one shy of his season-high set against Central Florida on Nov. 3. Sunday also has two assists in three of the four games this season after recording two assists just three times in 33 games last season and five times in 65 games over his first two seasons with the Dutchmen.
WHERE THERE’S A WILLS THERE’S A WAY
AJ Wills continued serving as the backup point guard to Preston Edmead on Friday, when he finished with three points in 11 minutes. Wills has played at least 10 minutes in three of the first four games this season.
NO JOSH-IN
Joshua DeCady again saw extensive action off the bench Friday, when he was scoreless with one assist and one steal over 13 minutes. The 13 minutes were a season-low for DeCady, who played more than 10 minutes eight times in 25 games as a freshman last season.
REAVES’ CAMEO
Graduate student Joshua Aaron Reaves was scoreless in two minutes Friday, when he missed his only field goal attempt, a 3-pointer. Reaves played 32 total minutes over the preceding two games.
BRINGING HOME THE HARDWARE
Freshman Preston Edmead was named the CAA Rookie of the Week for the second time in as many weeks this season after he collected *checks notes* 23 points, five assists, two steals and one rebound against Bucknell. He’s so good he doesn’t even need two games to win an award! Edmead is the first Hofstra player to win consecutive Rookie of the Week honors since Amar’e Marshall opened the 2022-23 season by winning it three straight times from Nov 14-28, 2022.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game is slated to be carried live on ESPNPlus, which you have if you have the Disney Bundle, which you have if you have a child under 18. (Alas mine mostly watches Max, Netflix and YouTube, sigh) Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
TEMPLE AND THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Temple, under third-year head coach Adam Fisher, is 2-1 this season after falling to Boston College, 76-71, on Saturday afternoon.
Temple was picked to finish sixth in the 13-team American. The Owls (yup, there are still three teams nicknamed the Owls in the American) return just four players and 288 points from last year’s squad, including sophomore Aiden Tobiason, who ranks second on the team with 17.0 points per game. Senior Derrian Ford, who spent the previous two seasons at Arkansas State, leads Temple with 18.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Ford opposed the Dutchmen last season, when he led Arkansas State with 17 points in Hofstra’s 68-66 win over the Red Wolves in the final game of the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship in the Bahamas on Dec. 1. Junior Gavin Griffiths, who spent a season apiece at Rutgers and Nebraska, is averaging 14.0 points per game and shares the team lead with 5.0 rebounds per game. Senior Jordan Mason, who was a teammate of Joshua Aaron Reaves at Illinois-Chicago last season, is averaging 10.7 points per game and leads Temple with 4.0 assists per game. Sophomore returnee Babatunde Durodola and senior Masiah Gilyard, who spent last season at Manhattan, are each averaging 5.0 rebounds per game.
Per KenPom.com, Temple ranks 98th nationally in offensive efficiency (111.5 points per 100 possessions) and 174th in defensive efficiency (107.9 points per 100 possessions) while ranking 195th in tempo (70.3 possessions per 40 minutes).
The Dutchmen and Owls have one common opponent this season. Temple earned a 90-63 win over La Salle on Nov. 11. The Dutchmen are slated to open play in the Cathedral Classic against the Explorers on Nov. 28. Also, this means the Dutchmen’s next two games are against the teams Hofstra beat in consecutive ECC title games in 1976-77 to earn the program’s first two NCAA Tournament bids as a Division I program under the late Roger Gaeckler. Eerie.
The Dutchmen are 6-12 all-time against Temple in a series that dates back to the 1964-65 season. But the Owls’ 60-42 win last Dec. 15 marked the first game between the teams since Jan. 16, 1982, which was the year before the late legendary John Chaney took over at Temple.
The Flying Dutchmen are 19-26 all-time against schools currently in the American, which has been a symbol of rapid realignment since it formed once the Big East dropped football following the 2012-13 season. Temple is one of just three current American schools the Dutchmen have played when it was in the American with Rice, whom the Dutchmen beat 68-63 in overtime in the first-ever #Redundant meeting between the schools last Nov. 29, and South Florida, against whom the Dutchmen improved to 1-3 all-time with an 82-63 win on Nov. 30, 2023.
This marks the fourth straight season in which the Dutchmen have faced at least one American team. Cincinnati earned its final win as a member of the American Mar. 18, 2023, when the Bearcats ended the Dutchmen’s season with a 79-65 win in the second round of the NIT at the Arena.
At KenPom.com this afternoon, Hofstra is ranked 148th while Temple is ranked 123rd. KenPom.com predicts a 78-73 loss win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 5 1/2-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 1-1 against the spread this season.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Always Sunny pilot bias! (Mac and Charlie fought over a girl at Temple in the second pilot, I won’t bore you here with details of the first pilot)
Rick Brunson bias! (Jalen’s Dad scored 1,493 points while helping Temple to four straight NCAA Tournaments from 1992-95, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 1993)
Quinta Brunson bias! (Wow, two Brunsons! Quinta stars in Abbott Elementary, which crossed over this year with Always Sunny)
Klecko family bias! (Hall of Famer and Jets icon Joe Klecko and his son Dan, who played for the Colts, both went to Temple)
Toby Fienderson bias! (The Office character had a degree from Temple)
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