They're always eating candy in Stony Brook! They love the sweet taste underneath our lemon tree!
Will Saturday night be alright for clinching a double bye and FINALLY beating Stony Brook? Let’s hope so as the Flying Dutchmen put their hot streak to the rest against those pesky lemon tree thieves in the penultimate (once again, best word ever) game of the regular season.
As will hopefully become the routine once again the rest of the season, I ran down the boilerplate material from last Saturday’s win over Northeastern in last night’s Keep It Perky. Today will be about the individual news and notes from that win as well as a preview of the Seawolves. Enjoy!
SPEEDY HITS 100
We usually open with some team-related bits, but Speedy Claxton bats leadoff #WrongSport after reaching another milestone in one of the most unique and successful careers in Hofstra history. Claxton earned his 100th win as Hofstra’s head coach last Saturday, when he became the ninth head coach in school history to reach triple digits and the third-fastest to reach the mark. Butch van Breda Kolff recorded his 100th win in the 135th game of his first stint at Hofstra while Frank Reilly reached 100 wins in 139 games. Pretty good company.
THE CLASS OF 2021 AND 100 WINS
So is this. Speedy Claxton is just the fifth coach hired following the 2020-21 season to record 100 wins with the school that hired him.
Tommy Lloyd, Arizona: 138-35 (.798)
Hubert Davis, North Carolina: 123-51 (.707)
T.J. Otzelberger, Iowa State: 119-49 (.708)
Shaka Smart, Marquette: 108-59 (.647)
SPEEDY CLAXTON, HOFSTRA: 100-62 (.617)
Winthrop’s Mark Prosser (98-60) is on the verge of joining this group, but the Eagles have lost their last two games — both by two points — since the Dutchmen last played last Saturday.
A THOUSAND POINTS, A HUNDRED WINS
Now this is cool and quirky. Speedy Claxton, who as you may know by now scored 2,015 points during his playing career at Hofstra from 1996 through 2000, is the seventh active coach to record at least 100 wins as the head coach of his alma mater after scoring at least 1,000 points for the school. Among these seven men, only Duke’s Jon Scheyer (2,077 points) scored more points during his career than Claxton. Always a Dukie screwing things up.
SPEEDY CLAXTON, Hofstra (2,015 points, 100 wins)
Jon Scheyer, Duke (2,077 points, 115 wins)
Andy Kennedy, Alabama-Birmingham (1,767 points, 143 wins)
LeVelle Moton, North Carolina Central (1,714 points, 281 wins)
Hubert Davis, North Carolina (1,615, 123 wins)
Penny Hardaway, Memphis (1,319, 174 wins)
John Tauer, St. Thomas (1,219, 313 wins)
ONE POSSESSION OBSESSION
The Dutchmen never trailed by more than three points Thursday night, when Northeastern took its lone leads at 22-21 and 24-21 during a 77-second span in the first half. It was the second straight game in which the Dutchmen never trailed by more than one possession and the sixth time they’ve never fallen behind by more than one possession in the last seven games. After earning wire-to-wire wins over Monmouth (73-57 on Jan. 31) and Northeastern (80-63 on Feb. 5), the Dutchmen trailed just once against Towson in a 71-49 win on Feb. 7, trailed five times but never by more than three points in a 66-62 win over Charleston on Feb. 12 and trailed twice by two points in a 79-43 win over Hampton on Feb. 19.
ROLLERCOASTER RIDE
The Dutchmen led by 11 points in the first half before falling behind and then winning by 14 points last Saturday afternoon. That’s the first time — deep breath here — the Dutchmen won by at least 10 points after squandering a double-digit lead and falling behind since Feb. 29, 2024, when the Dutchmen led UNC Wilmington by 13 points in the second half and then fell behind by two points before earning a 69-58 win. That would be two years ago tomorrow, if only tomorrow was Feb. 29. Which it is not. Quirky!
STAYING (within) SINGLE (digits)
The Dutchmen won last Saturday afternoon and thus (obvs) have yet to lose a game this season by more than eight points. They are one of just 10 Division I schools nationwide without a double-digit loss this season — and one of two in the CAA, where UNC Wilmington (22-4) has yet to lose a game by more than nine points. The Dutchmen and Seahawks are two of just four mid-majors who have yet to suffer a double-digit loss and the CAA is the only mid-major league with two such teams.
HOFSTRA (19-10)
Miami Ohio (29-0)
Stephen F. Austin (25-4)
UNC Wilmington (25-4)
And I guess here are the other teams yet to suffer a double-digit loss:
Arizona (26-2)
Connecticut (26-3)
Duke (26-2)
Michigan (27-2)
Nebraska (24-4)
Florida (22-6)
Houston and Saint Louis fell off this list on consecutive days earlier this week, when the Cougars lost to Kansas 69-56 on Monday and the Billikens were upset by Dayton 77-62 on Tuesday. Miami’s unbeaten season was’t the only thing in peril Friday, when the RedHawks trailed Western Michigan by nine points with fewer than seven minutes left before storming back to earn a 69-67 win.
This is pretty good company for the Dutchmen, UNC Wilmington and the CAA in general. The only other league with multiple teams who have yet to suffer a double-digit loss is the Big 10.
CRUZ CLIMBING THE LIST
Cruz Davis, playing his third full game as the newest member of the Hofstra 1,000-point club, continued climbing the all-time scoring list last Saturday afternoon, when he finished with a game-high 22 points to increase his career total to 1,074 points and leapfrog Darius Burton and Derrick Flowers into 38th place. Davis enters tonight 17 points shy of surpassing Ameen Tanksley for 37th place.
36.) Richie Swartz 1,107
37.) Ameen Tanksley 1,090
38.) CRUZ DAVIS 1,074
39.) Derrick Flowers 1,069
40.) Darius Burton 1,060
41.) Percy Johnson 1,045
42.) James Shaffer 1,022
43.) John Irving 1,018
CRUZ-IN
Cruz Davis had another impressive all-around game last Saturday afternoon, when he had a game-high 22 points to go along with three assists and three rebounds. Davis, whose career-long streak of 21 straight double-digit scoring efforts ended when he was held to seven points in the 66-64 loss to Charleston on Jan. 29, has 143 points on 51-of-102 shooting from the field, including 16-of-43 from 3-point land, over his last seven games after going 8-of-35 from the field, including 3-of-16 from beyond the arc, against William & Mary and Charleston from Jan. 24-29. Davis has scored in double figures in 49 of the 60 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 31-18 when Davis scores in double figures.
TWENTYSOMETHING DAVIS
As you may have just read, Cruz Davis scored 22 points last Saturday afternoon, It was the third straight game in which Davis scored at least 20 points and the 17th time he’s recorded at least 20 points in a game this season. The 17 games with 20 or more points are the most by a Hofstra player since Tyler Thomas scored at least 20 points 23 times during the 2023-24 season.
PRESTO!
Preston Edmead continued the most impressive freshman season by a Hofstra player this decade — or maybe a lot longer — last Saturday afternoon, when he finished with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists. Edmead has scored in double figures in 23 games this season, the most double-figure scoring efforts by a Hofstra freshman since Charles Jenkins scored in double figures 27 times in 29 games in 2007-08. That’s…that’s pretty good. So is this: Edmead’s 445 points (15.3 ppg) through 29 games are nine more than Jenkins finished with as a freshman in 2007-08, when he played in 29 games, as well as…nine more than Antoine Agudio had through 29 games during his freshman season in 2004-05. Quirky! Speedy Claxton’s freshman season lasted just 27 games in 1996-97, but he finished with 11 fewer points over 27 games than Edmead had over 27 games this season. Pretty good company.
PRESTON VS. SPEEDY
Speaking of pretty good company and something very quirky and cool: Speedy Claxton played the second game of his sophomore season on Nov. 22, 1997, when he scored a team-high 19 points in a 77-64 loss to Fairfield. So that means Claxton and Preston Edmead BOTH have 445 points through 29 games at Hofstra. They also both had 426 points through 28 games. What’d I tell you? Quirky and cool! Not surprisingly, their stats through 29 games are remarkably similar.
Speedy Claxton: 15.3 points per game/3.4 assists per game4.54.5 rebounds per game
Preston Edmead: 15.3 ppg/4.8 apg/3.5 rpg
Exact same number of points and Claxton had 29 more rebounds while Edmead has 39 more assists. Wild.
GERMAN FOR STARTERS
German Plotnikov put together a second straight solid glue guy game last Saturday afternoon, when he finished with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting — including 3-of-7 from 3-point land — while adding four rebounds over 40 minutes. Plotnikov has 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including 4-of-12 from 3-point land, over the last two games after he had 21 points on 6-of-18 shooting, including 6-of-15 from 3-point land, in his previous three games from Feb. 7-14. The majority of that production came Feb. 12, when Plotnikov scored a season-high 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting from 3-point land in a 66-62 win over Charleston, Plotnikov has scored in double figures 11 times this season after doing so just 17 times in his first 95 games over the previous three seasons. He also played all 40 minutes last Saturday for the sixth time this season.
DECADY DANCE
Joshua DeCady continued his own emergence as a glue guy last Saturday afternoon, when he finished with nine points, four rebounds and one block over 30 minutes. DeCady did most of his damage in the first half for a third straight game by scoring six points, including the tie-breaking 3-pointer that gave the Dutchmen the lead for good with 6:00 left and provided DeCady his second straight Keith Hernandez. He had five of his seven points in the first half of the 79-43 win over Hampton on Feb. 19 and 11 of his 14 points in the first half of a 70-66 loss to UNC Wilmington on Feb. 14. The Dutchmen are 12-5 when DeCady starts and 6-4 when he comes off the bench.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!
Silas Sunday had what is turning into his usual solid game last Saturday afternoon, when he finished with three points while adding 11 rebounds and three blocks over 27 minutes. The three blocks tied a career-high set 10 times previously, most recently in the 80-63 win over Northeastern on Feb. 5. The 11 rebounds were the most for Sunday since he pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds in an 89-85 loss to ELO on Jan. 17. Sunday has recorded at least 10 rebounds in a game four times this season after reaching double figures in rebounds just once in his first 92 games between Hofstra and Iona. He has scored in all 28 games this season after scoring in 26 of 33 games last season.
SILAS’ BLOCK PARTY
Silas Sunday recorded three blocks in a game last Saturday afternoon for the sixth time this season. The six games with at least three blocks are the most by a Hofstra player in a single season since Nelson Boachie-Yiadom recorded at least three blocks in a game seven times during the 2023-24 season.
BIGGIE OFF THE BENCH
Biggie Patterson continued his quirky hot-and-cold season last Saturday afternoon, when he finished with three points, one rebound and one steal in 10 minutes. Patterson, who hit his only field goal attempt with 12:56 left to give the Dutchmen their biggest lead at 58-36, has scored six points or fewer 12 times in 25 games this season but has also reached double figures 12 times. The 10 minutes last Saturday tied a season-low for Patterson set twice previously, most recently in a 70-66 loss to UNC Wilmington on Feb. 14. The Dutchmen are now 10-1 when Patterson comes off the bench and 7-7 when he starts.
VICTORY!
Junior newcomer Victory Onuetu battled foul trouble and an injury scare last Saturday afternoon, when he had four points and two rebounds while drawing three fouls in eight minutes. Onuetu needed assistance getting off the floor after suffering a lower body injury with 10:56 left, but he appeared to be walking without a limp in a postgame celebration video posted by Hofstra. He has scored four points or fewer in 11 of the 16 CAA games, a span in which he’s fouled out five times and been ejected once while drawing at least three fouls seven other times. In addition Onuetu has recorded two or fewer rebounds four times in CAA play after pulling down at least four rebounds in each of the first 13 games. Onuetu has also come off the bench in each of the last eight games after starting 17 of the first 21 games.
JAEDEN JUMPS INTO ACTION
Freshman Jaeden Roberts made a timely contribution in his return to his home city last Saturday afternoon, when he scored all four of his points in the final 1:28 of the first half to close out a 7-0 run by the Dutchmen. Roberts logged seven minutes in his most extensive action since he played 12 minutes in an 89-82 loss to William & Mary on Jan, 24. The four points last Saturday were the most for Roberts since he scored a career-high 20 points in a 79-78 loss to North Carolina A&T on Jan. 22. Roberts, who didn’t play in consecutive games against Charleston and UNC Wilmington from Feb. 12-14, has six points over 22 minutes in the last six games in which he’s appeared after averaging 7.5 points over 13.6 minutes per game in the 11 previous games in which he played from Dec. 7 through Jan. 24. The Dutchmen are 16-4 in Roberts’ appearances.
ALEX ANSWERS THE CALL
Graduate student Alex Tsynkevich returned after a one-game absence last Saturday afternoon, when he was scoreless with one rebound and one foul over five minutes. Tsynkevich has six points and nine rebounds in 33-plus minutes over the last six games in which he’s played after collecting six points and 12 rebounds over 29 minutes in his first seven appearances of the season.
JUST JOSH-IN
Graduate student Joshua Aaron Reaves had another quiet game last Saturday afternoon, when he was scoreless with one rebound in two minutes. Reaves has been scoreless in four of the last six games since he scored a season-high 17 points in a 73-57 win over Monmouth on Jan. 31. He has 33 points and 23 rebounds over the last nine games after recording just 10 points — all against non-Division I foes — over 71 minutes in his first 12 appearances of the season. Reaves played in each of the Dutchmen’s first five games this season before sitting out 10 of the next 15 games from Nov. 28 through Jan. 22. The nine consecutive appearances for Reaves marks his longest streak since he played in all 32 games for Mount St. Mary’s during the 2023-24 season.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game is slated to be carried live on FloHoops.com (subscription required, click here for options) as well as on MSG2 if you are in the New York area and/or somehow paid one billion dollars (approx) for the Gotham Sports app. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
SCOUTING STONY BROOK
The Seawolves, under seventh-year head coach Geno Ford, are 17-12 overall and 9-7 in CAA play after falling to Monmouth, 82-69, on Thursday night. It was a costly defeat for Stony Brook, whose hopes for a double bye took a hit before they lost star guard Erik Pratt, who was suspended for tonight’s game after he spit on a fan. No snark here, because in this wonderful world, every player is one loudmouth acting with impunity away from doing something regrettable.
The Dutchmen and Seawolves had one common opponent during non-league play. Hofstra fell to Columbia 72-70 on Dec. 3, six days before the Seawolves ended the Lions’ eight-game winning streak with a 77-73 overtime win at Stony Brook. In CAA play, both teams swept Northeastern and beat Campbell and lost to UNC Wilmington and William & Mary. The Dutchmen swept Monmouth, who swept Stony Brook, and beat Hampton and Drexel, each of whom split with the Seawolves. Hofstra split with Charleston, who fell to Stony Brook, and beat Towson, who defeated Stony Brook. Hofstra lost to North Carolina A&T and ELO, each of whom Stony Brook defeated.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish tied for eighth in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked a CAA-best 94th at KenPom.com. That’s 68 spots higher than they were to open the season but one spot lower than their season-high entering last Saturday. The Seawolves, who were picked to finish 11th, are ranked 222nd, 67 spots higher than their preseason ranking as well as 25 spots lower than their season-high entering their game against Albany on Dec. 17 and nine spots lower than their CAA season-high entering their game against Towson on Feb. 12.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank first in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (115.1 points per 100 possessions) and sixth in defensive efficiency (103.9 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 64.5 possessions per 40 minutes, the 12th-most in league play. The Seawolves rank seventh in the CAA in offensive efficiency (108.2 points per 100 possessions) and ninth in defensive efficiency (108.6 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 66.0 possessions per 40 minutes, the ninth-most in the league play.
The Seawolves return three players from last year’s team. Graduate student Erik Pratt, who opened his career with two seasons at Seward County Community College, one season at Texas A&M and two seasons at Milwaukee, will miss Saturday’s game due to his one-game suspension but leads Stony Brook with 19.4 points and 3.7 assists per game while ranking second with 4.8 rebounds per game. Fellow graduate student Rob Brown III, who played one season apiece at Niagara and Butler Community College before spending two years at Nicholls State, is averaging 10.4 points per game. True freshman Andrej Shoshkikj is averaging 9.9 points per game. Sophomore Richard Goods, who played last season at CAA rival Hampton, is averaging 8.2 points and leads the Seawolves with 6.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore Collin O’Connor, a preseason all-CAA second team selection and a member of the CAA’s all-rookie team last season, averaged 7.5 points over eight games before suffering a season-ending foot injury on Nov. 28.
KenPom.com predicts a 76-65 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 12 1/2-point favorites. Me thinks that’s a post-Pratt suspension boost. The Dutchmen are 17-10 against the spread this season after covering (and winning) five of their last six games.
THE CAA RACE
The math is incredibly simple for the Dutchmen: Win tonight and they’re the third seed in the conference tournament. Lose and they’ll need to win and get some help Tuesday night just to secure fourth place and the final double bye.
UNC Wilmington 14-2
Charleston 13-4
HOFSTRA 10-6
Drexel 10-7
Monmouth 9-7
Stony Brook 9-7
William & Mary 8-8
Towson 7-9
Campbell 7-9
Hampton 6-10
ELO 6-10
North Carolina A&T 4-12
Northeastern 2-14
If the Dutchmen win tonight, they’ll be assured of finishing with a better record than Stony Brook and no worse than the same record as Monmouth, whom they swept. Drexel can also finish 11-7 with a win over the Dutchmen on Tuesday, but the Dutchmen would have the tiebreaker by virtue of beating no. 2 seed Charleston. So just win, thanks.
Monmouth is the current no. 5 seed by virtue of sweeping Stony Brook. Towson and Campbell are tied for eighth and play each other in their lone regular season meeting this afternoon, but the Tigers are ahead at the moment by virtue of their win over current no. 2 seed Charleston. This may not matter, because if the teams finish eighth and ninth, it’ll just be a matter of laundry in the second round. And Hampton is 10th over ELO by virtue of the Pirates’ double overtime win in the lone meeting between the teams on Feb. 5. The unbalanced schedule does nobody any favors…especially Drexel, which opened CAA play by dropping its lone contests against Charleston and UNC Wilmington.
Speaking of UNC Wilmington, the Seahawks can officially clinch the no. 1 seed with a win in either of their final two games, including Sunday against Charleston. UNC Wilmington is well-positioned to win any tiebreaker with the Cougars thanks to the latter’s losses to the Dutchmen and Stony Brook, each of whom are currently ahead of William & Mary, the only team to defeat the Seawolves in CAA play thus far.
Northeastern is locked into the 12-13 game on Friday while North Carolina A&T will cement its spot there with one more loss.
ALL-TIME VS. STONY BROOK
Hofstra is 28-10 all-time against Stony Brook, including 10-6 since the series resumed in 2014. However, the Dutchmen have lost the last four games to the Seawolves — their longest active skid against a CAA foe. Stony Brook won the first clash between the rivals this season on Jan. 15, when Preston Edmead scored a game-high 22 points but the Dutchmen trailed nearly wire-to-wire in a 76-71 defeat that sparked a five-game losing streak. The Seawolves are seeking their second straight season sweep.
Hofstra is 61-63-3 in all sports against Stony Brook since the two schools began scheduling each other again in the spring of 2014, including 57-52-3 since the 2016-17 school year began. Hofstra has lost all three basketball games this winter, including a 66-41 loss for the Flying Dutchwomen at the Arena on Jan. 16 and a 52-49 defeat at Stony Brook on Jan. 30. So, you know, let’s start winning, and stuff.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
You have more alums on staff than we do bias! (Aaron Clarke and Tyler Stephenson-Moore, who combined for 35 points in the 63-59 upset of the Dutchmen in the 2024 CAA Tournament semifinals, are the Seawolves’ director of player personnel and director of basketball operations, respectively)
Your games are on SNY bias! (Easier to remember where they are on the dial, at least)
Travis Jankowski bunted in his final big league plate appearance bias! (The Stony Brook alum, who played in his last game on July 8, is now a coach with the Texas Rangers,)
Lemon tree bias! (I hate saying this, PLEEEEEASE don’t make me say it again anytime soon)
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