This movie came out in 2003, which means it's much older now than the 1992 Hofstra-Towson ECC title game was back then. We're all old.
The bid to return to the NCAA Tournament takes an old-school turn tonight, when the Flying Dutchmen face Towson with a berth in the CAA championship game on the line. It’s the deepest into a conference tournament the Dutchmen and Tigers have faced one another since Mar. 9, 1992 — which was also a Monday exactly 34 years ago today — when Towson won the East Coast Conference title game, 69-61. Is this long game going to pay off for the Dutchmen? Let’s hope so!
The third clash this season between the longtime rivals was set up during a chaotic Quarterfinal Sunday, when the third-seeded Dutchmen cruised past sixth-seeded William & Mary, 92-61 while seventh-seeded Towson stunned second-seeded Charleston, 81-56.
As will hopefully become the routine once again the rest of the season, I ran down the boilerplate material from Sunday’s win in an overnight Keep It Perky. Today will be about the individual news and notes from that win as well as a look at the Dutchmen’s conference tournament history with Towson and a preview of the Tigers. Enjoy!
WIRE-TO-WIRE WIN
The Dutchmen never trailed Sunday night. It was the Dutchmen’s fifth wire-to-wire win of the season and their first since an 80-63 victory over Northeastern on Feb. 5. The Dutchmen also never trailed in a 92-23 win over Division III Old Westbury on Dec. 10, in a 70-67 victory over Drexel on Jan. 3 and in a 73-57 win over Monmouth on Jan. 31.
HALFWAY TO A HUNDRED
The Dutchmen led 50-33 at the half Sunday night. The 50-point first half was the first for the Dutchmen since Jan. 22, when they scored 53 points in the first half but blew a 13-point halftime lead in a 79-78 loss to North Carolina A&T. Weirdest sport on the planet, don’t ever try to figure it out.
THIS ONE GOES TO ELEVEN
Spinal Tap reference! Eleven players got into the game for the Dutchmen Sunday night, the most players to see the court in one game since 12 players participated in 92-23 win over Division III Old Westbury on Dec. 10. The 11 players to see the court Sunday were the most against a Division I foe since 12 players got into a 78-58 win over Merrimack on Nov. 29.
A DAY OF ROUTS
It’s hard to imagine there’s been a more stunning day in CAA Tournament history than Sunday, when the top two seeds were knocked out in the quarterfinals for the first time ever. No. 9 Campbell stunned no. 1 UNC Wilmington 85-70 in the opening game of the day before no. 7 Towson blitzed no. 2 Charleston, 81-56, to start the evening doubleheader.
In between, no. 4 Monmouth beat no. 5 Drexel 65-57 to ensure all four games wouldn’t be decided by double figures. But the Dutchmen’s lopsided win over no. 6 William & Mary made Sunday just the second day in CAA Tournament history to feature two games decided by 25 or more points.
And ironically, in that it’s a coincidence, Hofstra and Towson won both games the first time it happened! During Quarterfinal Sunday on Mar. 5, 2023, the Dutchmen set a CAA Tournament record for margin of victory with a 94-46 win over William & Mary before Towson beat Delaware, 86-60. Then both the Dutchmen and Tigers lost in the semis. I’m not sure but I don’t think that’s possible tonight.
The Dutchmen’s margin of victory Sunday is the fifth-largest in CAA Tournament history. Here is the list of all 17 CAA Tournament games decided by at last 25 points, in order of margin of victory.
3/5/23: Hofstra 94, William & Mary 46 (QF)
3/3/23: Monmouth 100, Hampton 64 (1R)
3/2/12: Georgia State 85, Hofstra 50 (1R)
3/2/96: VCU 89, Richmond 55 (QF)
3/8/26: Hofstra 92, William & Mary 61 (QF)
3/9/24: Delaware 80, Hampton 50 (2R)
3/6/10: Old Dominion 86, Towson 56 (QF)
3/4/17: Towson 82, Northeastern 54 (QF)
2/28/97: Richmond 85, George Mason 57 (1R)
3/5/18: Northeastern 79, UNCW 52 (SF)
3/5/23: Towson 86, Delaware 60 (QF)
3/7/15: UNCW 79, Charleston 53 (QF)
3/2/02: Delaware 85, Drexel 59 (QF)
3/5/88: Richmond 67, East Carolina 41 (QF)
3/8/26: Towson 81, Charleston 56 (QF)
2/26/99: George Mason 73, American 48 (QF)
3/5/94: Old Dominion 83, William & Mary 58 (QF)
STAYING (within) SINGLE (digits)
Campbell’s rout of UNC Wilmington ensured this stat would get an update one way or the other. But since the Dutchmen won Sunday, they have (obvs) still yet to lose a game this season by more than eight points. They are one of eight Division I schools nationwide without a double-digit loss this season — and one of just three mid-majors.
HOFSTRA (22-10)
Miami Ohio (31-0)
Stephen F. Austin (27-4)
And I guess here are the other teams yet to suffer a double-digit loss:
Arizona (29-2)
Connecticut (27-4)
Duke (29-2)
Michigan (29-2)
Florida (25-6)
Pretty good company.
Nebraska fell off this list with a 72-52 loss to UCLA last Tuesday, which made the CAA the last league in the country with two teams who’d yet to suffer a double-digit loss prior to UNC Wilmington falling to Campbell.
CRUZ CLIMBING THE LIST
Cruz Davis, the newest member of the Hofstra 1,000-point club, resumed climbing the all-time scoring list Sunday night, when he finished with a game-high 30 points to increase his career total to 1,120 points and snap a tie with Ameen Tanksley for 37th place before leapfrogging Richie Swartz to move into 36th place. Davis enters tonight nine points away from moving past Mike Moore for 35th place, 12 points shy of surging past Wandy Williams for 34th place and 20 points shy away from surpassing Nathaniel Lester for 33rd place.
32.) Ted Jackson 1,159
33.) Nathaniel Lester 1,139
34.) Wandy Williams 1,131
35.) Mike Moore 1,128
36.) CRUZ DAVIS 1,120
37.) Richie Swartz 1,107
38.) Ameen Tanksley 1,090
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 snapped out of his two-game slump in impressive fashion Sunday night, when he scored a game-high 30 points on 9-of-15 shooting — including 5-of-9 from 3-point land — while adding five assists, two steals and one rebound. Davis was held to 16 points — eight points apiece — the previous two games, a span in which he was 6-of-22 shooting, including 1-of-7 from 3-point land. The five 3-pointers Sunday tied a season-high set twice previously, most recently in the 80-73 win over Pittsburgh on Dec. 7. The 30-point effort was the fifth of the season for Davis and the first by a Hofstra player in the CAA Tournament since Tyler Thomas closed out his career by scoring 32 points in a 63-59 loss to Stony Brook in a semifinal game on Mar. 11, 2024. Davis has scored in double figures in 50 of the 63 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 32-18 when Davis scores in double figures.
GERMAN FOR STARTERS
German Plotnikov remained hot at the right time Sunday night, when he scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting — including 5-of-9 from 3-point land — while adding five rebounds and two steals in 22 minutes. Plotnikov has 65 points on 22-of-39 shooting, including 12-of-27 from 3-point land, over the last five games after he had 48 points on 17-of-44 shooting, including 9-of-28 from 3-point land, in his previous six games from Jan. 29 through Feb. 14. Most of that production came in a 66-62 win over Charleston on Fe. 12, in which Plotnikov scored 20 while going 6-of-13 from beyond the arc. The five 3-pointers Sunday marked third time in Plotnikov’s career he’s hit at least five 3-pointers. Plotnikov has scored at least 15 points in a game six times this season after doing so six times in his first 95 games over the previous three seasons.
FIVE FROM THREE
Cruz Davis and German Plotnikov were each 5-of-9 from 3-point land Sunday night. It’s the second time this season two Hofstra players have hit at least five 3-pointers in the same game. Preston Edmead (5-of-8) and Jaeden Roberts (5-of-7) each drained five 3-pointers in a 79-78 loss to North Carolina A&T on Jan. 22. What a weird game that was. This is the first season in which the Dutchmen have had two players hit at least five 3-pointers in two games since the 2009-10 campaign, when Charles Jenkins and Cornelius Vines did so against Delaware on Feb. 16, 2010 and again against Georgia State on Feb. 27, 2010. That’s so long ago, Delaware and Georgia State were still in the CAA!
BIGGIE OFF THE BENCH
Biggie Patterson once again provided plenty of energy off the bench Sunday night, when he posted another double-double by finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds while adding two assists over 24 minutes. The double-double was the team-leading fifth of the season for Patterson, who has recorded four of his double-doubles as a reserve. The four double-doubles off the bench are the most by a Hofstra player since Halil Kanacevic posted four of his six double-doubles as a reserve during the 2009-10 season. Long time ago! The 10-point effort continued a quirky season-long statistical trend for Patterson, who has played in 28 games and has 15 double-digit scoring efforts while scoring six points or fewer 12 other times. Speaking of season-long trends, the Dutchmen are now 13-1 when Patterson comes off the bench and 7-7 when he starts. They are also 10-1 when he pulls down at least seven rebounds.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!
Silas Sunday had what is turning into his usual solid game Sunday night, when he finished with seven points, 12 rebounds, two assists and one steal over 27 minutes. Sunday has scored at least seven points 11 times after doing so seven times in his first two seasons at Hofstra. The 12 rebounds Sunday 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 also at least 10 rebounds in a game five times this season after doing so just once over the previous two seasons. In addition, Sunday has logged at least 20 minutes in a game 19 times this season after doing so just seven times over the previous three seasons.
SUNDAY ON SUNDAY
Quirky! Forgot to do this heading into, err, Sunday so thanks to the Dutchmen for winning so I could still do it today! Silas Sunday played on a Sunday for the eighth time in his Hofstra career on, err, Sunday, when he had seven points and 12 rebounds in 27 minutes. Sunday has 37 points and 43 rebounds in those eight Sunday games, during which the Dutchmen have gone 6-2, including 4-0 this season. In a quirky bit of quirkiness we all like around here, Sunday had his first 10-rebound game on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, when he had 11 rebounds in a 60-42 loss to Temple.
TWELVE TIMES TWO
That’s 24! But we’re not doing rudimentary math here. Biggie Patterson and Silas Sunday each pulled down 12 rebounds for the Dutchmen Sunday night. They are the first Hofstra duo to collect at least 12 rebounds in the same game since Michael Graham (13 rebounds) and Jean Aranguren (12 rebounds) did so Jan. 30, 2025 in a 74-63 win over ELO.
JUST JOSH-IN
Graduate student Joshua Aaron Reaves had his most productive game in more than a month Sunday, when he scored six points while shooting 2-of-7 — including 2-of-6 rom 3-point land — and adding one rebound over 22 minutes. Reaves, who hit both of his 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes of the first half, scored his most points and saw his most extensive playing time since Jan. 31, when he set season-highs by scoring 17 points and logging 34 minutes in a 73-57 win over Monmouth. He had 10 points over 67 minutes in his previous eight games entering Sunday. Reaves has 42 points 27 rebounds over the last 12 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 12 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.
DECADY DANCE
Joshua DeCady had another quiet offensive game Sunday night, when he finished with four points, three rebounds and one assist over 27 minutes. The four-point effort was the second straight for DeCady, who was limited to 11 minutes due to foul trouble in last Tuesdays 62-51 win over Drexel, but only the third time he’s scored fewer than five points in the last 10 games. The Dutchmen are 15-5 this season when DeCady starts and 6-4 when he comes off the bench.
WHERE THERE’S A WILLS THERE’S A WAY
AJ Wills played for just the second time in the last 12 games Sunday night, when he scored four points and had one steal while playing the final 6:03 in place of Cruz Davis in the lopsided win. The appearance was the first for Wills since Feb. 19, when he had two points in a 79-43 win over Hampton, while the four points were his most since he scored a season-high 10 points in a 76-71 loss to Stony Brook on Jan. 15 Wills has six points over 16 minutes in the last three games he’s played dating back to Jan. 22 after scoring 23 points over 59 minutes in the four games he played from Jan. 3-17.
VICTORY!
Junior newcomer Victory Onuetu once again battled foul trouble Sunday night, when he had one point and two rebounds while collecting three fouls over six minutes. Onuetu, who committed his first two fouls while scoring his point in a span of fewer than two minutes early in the first half, logged his fewest minutes since he was ejected after playing 1:15 in a 66-64 loss to Charleston on Jan. 29. He has either fouled out, drawn at least three fouls or been ejected 16 times in 19 CAA games. Onuetu has also come off the bench in each of the last 11 games after starting 19 of the first 21 games.
ALEX ANSWERS THE CALL
Graduate student Alex Tsynkevich played the final 3:25 Sunday night, when he pulled down one rebound and drew two fouls. Tsynkevich has six points and 10 rebounds in 38-plus minutes over the last eight games in which he’s played after collecting six points and 12 rebounds over 29 minutes in his first seven appearances of the season.
JAEDEN JUMPS INTO ACTION
Freshman Jaeden Roberts also played the final 3:25 Sunday night, when he missed his only field goal attempt while drawing one foul. Roberts has scored just six points total while playing fewer than 10 minutes in each of his nine appearances dating back to Jan. 29 after he averaged 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 19-4 in Roberts’ appearances this season.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game is slated to be carried live on CBS Sports Network, which is channel 215 in the Optimum/Altice Are Our Overlords Universe, at least until our Optimum/Altice overlords decide to drop CBSSN in a carriage dispute. Oh thank goodness we’re done with Flo for the season. Unless the Dutchmen play in the CBI, which…yeah, let’s aim higher. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
BACK IN THE SEMIS
The Dutchmen are in the CAA semifinals for the first time since 2024, the sixth time in the last eight seasons, the eighth time in the last 12 seasons and the 12th time since joining the league prior to the 2001-02 season. Pretty good run!
Hofstra fell in the semifinals in 2002, 2005, 2011, 2015, 2021, 2023 and 2024, reached the title game before losing in 2006, 2016 and 2019 and, of course, won it all in 2020.
This is the Dutchmen’s 17th trip to the conference semifinals dating back to 1994. Hofstra fell in the America East semifinals in 1998 and 1999 and won it all in the ECC in 1994 and in the America East in 2000 and 2001.
SCOUTING TOWSON
The Tigers, under 15th-year head coach Pat Skerry, advanced to the semifinals by routing Charleston, 81-56, in the third quarterfinal Sunday night. Tyler Tejada (30 points) had a second straight monster game for Towson, which improved to 19-14. The Tigers, who earned the no. 7 seed by going 9-9 after they were picked to finish first, began tourney play Saturday, when Tejada scored 35 points in a 74-68 win over 10th-seeded Hampton.
The Dutchmen and Tigers had one common opponent during non-league play. The Dutchmen opened their season Nov. 3 with an 82-78 loss to Central Florida, which beat Towson 86-61 on Dec. 7. In regular season CAA play, both teams beat Campbell and lost to William & Mary, North Carolina A&T and UNC Wilmington. The Dutchmen swept Northeastern, whom Towson beat; Monmouth, which swept the Tigers, and Drexel, which split with Towson. Hofstra defeated Hampton, which split with Towson, and split with Stony Brook, whom Towson swept. The Dutchmen lost to ELO, whom the Tigers swept, and split with Charleston, whom Towson defeated.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish tied for eighth in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked a CAA-best and a season-high 84th at KenPom.com. That’s 78 spots higher than they were to open the season, 33 spots higher than they were while carrying a five-game losing streak into the Jan. 31 game against Monmouth and a whopping eight spots higher than entering Sunday’s game. The Tigers, who were picked to finish first, are ranked 157th — 15 spots lower than their preseason ranking and 37 spots lower than their season-high entering a game against UC San Diego on Nov. 26 but also 22 spots higher than they were while carrying a four-game losing streak into the Jan. 10 game against Northeastern and an even more whopping 17 spots higher than entering Sunday’s game.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank second in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (113.8 points per 100 possessions) and second in defensive efficiency (102.0 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 64.4 possessions per 40 minutes, the 12th-most in league play. The Tigers rank 11th in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (103.8 points per 100 possessions) and fourth in defensive efficiency (103.0 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 64.4 possessions per 40 minutes, the 11th-most in league play.
The Tigers return five players from last year’s team, including Tyler Tejada and Dylan Williamson, each of whom made the all-CAA third team after being on the preseason all-CAA first team. Tejada, a true junior who has spent his entire career at Towson and won Player of the Year honors last season before being picked to repeat, leads the Tigers with 17.4 points per game and ranks second with 2.3 assists per game. Williamson, a redshirt junior who has also played his entire career for Towson, is averaging 14.6 points and a team-high 3.4 assists per game. Graduate student Jack Doumbia Jr., who played one season apiece at Cloud County Community College and Tallahassee Community College before spending two years at Norfolk State and one year at Wright State, is third on the Tigers with 10.8 points and second with 5.6 rebounds per game. True sophomore Caleb Embeya, another returnee, is averaging a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game.
KenPom.com predicts a 69-63 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 3 1/2-point favorites. Interesting gap in spreads there. The Dutchmen are 19-11 against the spread this season.
HOFSTRA VS. TOWSON IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
Tonight marks the fourth time the Dutchmen have opposed Towson in a conference tournament, which is kind of quirky for two teams who have spent 41 of the last 44 seasons within the same league.
The Dutchmen are 1-2 against Towson in conference tournaments, sandwiching a 72-52 win in the first round of the 2002 CAA Tournament around a 69-61 loss in the 1992 East Coast Conference title game (hi Litos) and an 81-66 loss in a 2008 CAA first-round game. The Dutchmen have played 13 different foes in the CAA Tournament since they last opposed Towson, including Delaware SEVEN times.
ALL-TIME VS. TOWSON
Hofstra is 50-31 against Towson in a series that began during the 1982-83 season, when both schools were in the East Coast Conference. The Dutchmen swept the regular season series by earning a 78-67 win in Towson on Jan. 8, when Cruz Davis scored 32 points, and by recording a 71-49 victory at Winter Homecoming on Feb. 7, when Biggie Patterson collected 20 points off the bench.
Hofstra and Towson opposed one another in the ECC and the North Atlantic Conference/America East before moving together to the CAA for the 2001-02 school year. Hofstra has faced only two opponents as often as it’s faced Towson: Fellow longtime ECC/NAC/A-East/CAA rival Drexel as well as Delaware. Sigh.
Last year marked just the third time since 1982-83 that Hofstra and Towson were in the same conference but played each other just once in the regular season. The teams also played once apiece due to the unbalanced schedule in 2011-12 and 2023-24.
ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES A VICTORY?
As you may have just read, the Dutchmen swept Towson in regular season action this year. Hofstra is 12-5 all-time when facing in a conference tournament a team it beat twice in the regular season but has lost its last two rematches to Charleston in 2022 and Stony Brook in 2024.
2024: Lost to Stony Brook
2022: Lost to Charleston
2020: Beat Drexel
2020: Beat Northeastern
2019: Beat Delaware
2017: Lost to Delaware
2016: Beat Drexel
2016: Beat W&M
2014: Beat UNCW
2011: Beat W&M
2009: Beat UNCW
2001: Beat Vermont (America East)
2001: Beat Maine (America East)
2000: Beat Boston U. (America East)
2000: Beat Drexel (America East)
1992: Beat UMBC (East Coast Conference)
1991: Lost to UMBC (East Coast Conference)
1984: Lost to Lafayette (East Coast Conference)
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Pat Skerry is getting into it with Charleston fans bias! (And we love it)
Lee Warner’s son goes to Towson bias! (But we know who Dad is rooting for)
This isn’t 1992 bias! (At least we hope not)
You have more NIL than us bias! (I mean, it’s true)
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