I'll Be Quirky: Hofstra vs. John Jay

Maybe those criminal justice majors at John Jay can get our lemon tree back from Stony Brook.

Well that wasn’t good at all, was it? The Flying Dutchmen’s four-game winning streak ended with a giant thud Wednesday night, when Stony Brook figuratively dragged the lemon tree out of Hempstead (they couldn’t literally do it because the game was at Stony Brook) with a 79-62 win. The good news is that wasn’t really the local rivalry game the Dutchmen had to win. That arrives today, when the Dutchmen host Division III John Jay. Hey, it’s a rivalry game if I say it is. Here’s a look back at the loss to the Patriots (ugh) and a look ahead to *checks Google* the Bloodhounds? That’s a cool nickname.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Bleeech. The Dutchmen led for a span of 19:58 bridging the halves, which should have been enough for the officials to grant them the victory. Alas, Stony Brook ended the game on a 45-20 run that began right after the Dutchmen took their biggest lead at 42-34 following a nostalgic 3-point play by Zach Cooks. The Dutchmen went 8-for-27 from the field the rest of the way, but the percentage was boosted by going 3-for-5 over the meaningless final 2:27. The Dutchmen finished the game just 5-for-26 from 3-point land — the quartet of Aaron Estrada, Jalen Ray, Zach Cooks and Omar Silverio combined to go 3-for-23, with Cooks and Silverio going a combined 0-for-12 — and allowed Stony Brook to pull down a whopping 20 offensive rebounds. Darlinstone Dubar scored 17 points, including 13 in the first half, while Cooks had 14 points. Ray had just six points, though he once again led the Dutchmen in rebounding with eight boards. Kvonn Cramer had eight points off the bench while Abayomi Iyiola had six points on 3-for-3 shooting and added three rebounds, two steals and two blocks despite playing just 11 minutes.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Stony Brook, 12/8)

3: Darlinstone Dubar

2: Zach Cooks

1: Abayomi Iyiola

SEASON STANDINGS

Darlinstone Dubar 15

Zach Cooks 13

Aaron Estrada 12

Jalen Ray 9

Omar Silverio 5

Kvonn Cramer 4

Abayomi Iyiola 2

THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER TEN GAMES

With Wednesday’s loss, the Dutchmen fell to 5-5, which is tied for the 43rd-best start in program history. The Dutchmen were over .500 through 10 games in each of the previous seven seasons. Ten other teams began 5-5, most recently the 2001-02 team. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 10 games.

NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1975-76: 5-5

1976-77: 7-3

1999-2000: 6-4 

2000-01: 7-3

2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 6-4

NIT TEAMS

1998-99: 6-4

2004-05: 9-1 (most recent 9-1 start, loss to Syracuse in 10th game was first of season)

2005-06: 8-2

2006-07: 6-4

2015-16: 6-4 

2018-19: 7-3 (most recent 7-3 start, marked fourth win in the 16-game winning streak)

NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1958-59: 6-4

1961-62: 9-1

1962-63: 7-3

1963-64: 9-1

Some other notable eight-game starts:

2020-21: 6-4 (most recent 6-4 start)

2013-14: 3-7 (most recent 3-7 start)

2008-09: 8-2 (most recent 8-2 start)

2007-08: 2-8 (most recent 2-8 start)

2003-04: 4-6 (most recent 4-6 start)

2002-03: 1-9 (most recent 1-9 start)

2001-02: 5-5 (at .500 for the last time)

1994-95: 2-8 (Jay Wright’s first team)

1993-94: 1-9 (VBK’s last team)

1960-61: 10-0 (most recent 10-0 start)

1959-60: 10-0

1955-56: 10-0

1947-48: 9-1 (loss to Brooklyn Polytech in 10th game was first of season)

The Dutchmen have never opened a season 0-10.

Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1945-46, 1948-49, 1949-50, 1951-52, 1954-55, 1957-58.

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 TEN

With Wednesday’s loss, Speedy Claxton fell to 5-5 as head coach. He is the third head coach to open 5-5 at Hofstra, following in the footsteps of the man who helped recruit him to Hofstra, Tom Pecora (2001-02), as well as Joe Harrington (1979-80).

NO REALLY THAT WASN’T MUCH FUN AT ALL

The good news: Even with Wednesday’s loss, Hofstra is still 24-6 all-time against Stony Brook. The bad news: The 17-point margin of defeat made it the Dutchmen’s most lopsided defeat against their Long Island rivals. Stony Brook’s four previous wins against Hofstra as a Division I member came by a combined 20 points, and that’s with a 65-52 win on Dec. 21, 2002. Good thing I was only 12 years old and had no idea what a Hofstra or a Stony Brook were when the Flying Dutchmen lost to the Division III Patriots during the 1985-86 season!

NOT QUITE ON THE REBOUND

Per loyal reader EvanJ, the 54 rebounds by Stony Brook were the most recorded by a Hofstra opponent since James Madison needed three overtimes to collect 55 rebounds in the Dutchmen’s 95-88 win on Feb. 9, 2005. In addition, the 20 offensive rebounds by Stony Brook were the most by an opponent since Towson had 22 offensive rebounds in a 76-65 win on Feb. 27, 2020. Twelve days later the Dutchmen (thought they) were dancing, so there’s that?

DOUBLE THE O-FER “FUN”

Omar Silverio (0-for-7) and Zach Cooks (0-for-5) were each scoreless from 3-point land. It marked the first time two Hofstra players were 0-for from 3-point land (minimum five attempts) since Mar. 17, 2010, when Cornelius Vines (0-for-8) and Chaz Williams (0-for-6) combined to go 0-for-14 in the 74-60 loss to IUPUI in the CBI. You know something wasn’t good when it’s compared to one of the Dutchmen’s CBI experiences. (And that also proved to be the last game at Hofstra for Vines, who was a senior, and Williams, who wasn’t, as well as Tom Pecora. Not a great night)

MISFIRING FROM THREE

The Dutchmen shot 19.2 percent (5-for-26) from 3-point land Wednesday, which marked their poorest performance from beyond the arc (minimum 20 attempts) since they were 4-for-25 (16 percent) in an 88-61 loss to William & Mary on Jan 2, 2020. Things turned out OK after that, though!

SILVERIO’S STREAK STOPPED

Alliteration! Omar Silverio’s streak of double-digit scoring efforts ended at a potentially record-setting four games as he was limited to three points (ironically, in that it’s not ironic at all, collected via a nostalgic 3-point play). Silverio  is the first Hofstra player since at least the 2006-07 season to score in double digits in four consecutive games as a reserve.

ZACH STILL COOKIN’

It wasn’t all bad Wednesday! Zach Cooks scored 14 points as he extended his career-opening (well, at Hofstra, at least) streak of double-digit scoring efforts to 10 games. Cooks is just the third player in the last 30 years to begin his Hofstra career by scoring in double figures in at least 10 straight games and the first since 2014-15, when Juan’ya Green scored in double figures in every game on his way to building a 43-game streak and Ameen Tanksley scored in double figures in his first 19 games.

Juan’ya Green 43 games (start of 2014-15 season through Dec. 9, 2015)

Ameen Tanksley 19 games (2014-15 season)

ZACH COOKS 10 games (2021-22 season)

Seth Meyers 8 games (1995-96 season)

Antoine Agudio 7 games (2004-05 season)***

***freshman

Speedy Claxton’s career-opening double-digit scoring streak lasted three games in 1996-97, while the late great Demetrius Dudley’s streak spanned four games in 1991-92.

RAY MOVIN’ ON UP

More good news/bad news! The good news is that by scoring six points Wednesday, Jalen Ray moved past Leroy Allen into 13th place on the all-time Hofstra scoring list and also spaced out the gradualness of his climb. Of course, that’s also the bad news, as Ray finished the game two points shy of surpassing Frank Walker for 12th place.

12.) Frank Walker 1,437

13.) JALEN RAY 1,436

14.) Leroy Allen 1,435

15.) Rick Apodaca 1,422

Ray has gained at least a half-spot on the all-time Hofstra scoring list in 20 of the 25 games he’s played since joining the 1,000-point club last Dec. 22. Assuming he moves past Walker, it will likely be a while before he catches Norman Richardson, who is 11th all-time with 1,677 points.

Dec. 22, 2020: Tied for 38th place

Jan. 2: 38th place

Jan. 3: 37th place

Jan. 7: 36th place

Jan. 9: 35th place

Jan. 15: 34th place

Jan. 17: 33rd place

Jan. 23: 29th place

Jan. 24: Tied for 28th place

Jan. 30: 28th place

Jan. 31: 25th place

Feb. 6: 23rd place

Feb. 7: 22nd place

Feb. 13: 21st place

Feb. 14: 21st place

Mar. 7: 18th place

Mar. 8: 17th place

Nov. 16: 16th place

Nov. 19: 15th place

Nov. 22: 15th place

Nov. 24: 15th place

Nov. 27: 15th place

Dec. 1: 15th place

Dec. 4: 14th place

Dec. 8: 13th place

REBOUNDING RAY

But really, it might be time to start wondering how many rebounds Jalen Ray needs to average in order to catch former teammate Rokas Gustys, who holds the Hofstra Division I-era rebounding record. Ray led the Dutchmen in rebounding for the third straight game Saturday. He didn’t even hold a share of the team lead in rebounds in any of his first 128 games with the Dutchmen. And now only six players since 2018-19 have led or tied for the team lead in rebounds in a single game more than Ray! (The list: Isaac Kante, Gustys, Jacquil Taylor, Tareq Coburn, Eli Pemberton and Kvonn Cramer) Now THAT’S quirky!

The last player to lead or share the team lead in rebounding for more than three consecutive games was Kante, who held at least a share of the team rebounding lead in the final six games of last season.

(If the Dutchmen win the CAA championship and advance to the national championship game, they would play 30 more games. Ray would need to average 32.4 rebounds over those 30 games in order to break Gustys’ Division I-era record of 1,305 rebounds)

IYIOLA ON TARGET

Abayomi Iyiola, who scored eight points on 4-of-4 shooting in the 88-69 win over Bucknell on Dec. 4, scored six points on 3-of-3 shooting Wednesday. He’s the first Hofstra player to enjoy back-to-back perfect shooting games (minimum three attempts) since Jacquil Taylor was 5-for-5 in consecutive games against Towson and James Madison from Feb. 21-23, 2019.

OVER THE AIR

Today’s game will be aired on FloHoops.com (subscription required). Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.

JOHN JAY AND HOFSTRA VS. NON-DIVISION I FOES

John Jay (official school name: John Jay College of Criminal Justice) is a Division III school located in the heart of New York City. The Bloodhounds (again, fantastic nickname) play their home games at The Doghouse (an even more fantastic name for an arena) and compete in the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC). The school is named after former New York governor John Jay, who was the first chief justice of the Supreme Court. Who said I never offer any actual information here??

John Jay is 2-7 after edging Old Westbury, 67-66, on Friday night. Angel Rivera leads the Bloodhounds with 14.1 points per game while Garrison Watkins (11.8 points per game) and Bleron Lata (10.9 points per game) area also averaging in double figures. Dan Kenny is pulling down a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game while Watkins is averaging 6.0 rebounds per game.

John Jay was picked to finish third in the eight-team CUNYAC.

The Flying Dutchmen have won their last 21 games against non-Division I foes dating back to a 70-54 loss to Florida Southern during the 1988-89 seasons. John Jay is the second non-Division I opponent of the season for the Dutchmen, who beat Molloy College, 87-49, on Nov. 24. As far as I can tell, this is the first time the Dutchmen have faced multiple non-Division I squads in a season since 1997-98, when they beat American-Puerto Rico in the Puerto Rico Shootout before beating Stony Brook at the PFC. At least then one of the opponents was in a tournament setting.

Anyway, the Dutchmen have played at least one non-Division I foe six times in the last seven seasons. There were no non-Division I games last season due to the pandemic.

There is no line on this game, because even degenerate gamblers do not bet on Division I vs. non-Division I games. The Dutchmen are 5-4 against the spread this season.

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

Eric Adams bias! (The mayor-elect of New York City graduated from John Jay)

Police Academy bias! (Not that one, the school’s classes were originally held at the NYPD’s Police Academy)

Not the big league outfielder bias! (That’s Jon Jay)

This shouldn’t be this hard bias! (Duh)

I'll Be Quirky: Hofstra vs. Stony Brook

Possible file photo of me regaling younger Hofstra fans with tales of wins over Stony Brook.

The Flying Dutchmen completed a perfect homestand Saturday, when they overcame an early 10-point deficit and pulled away in the second half to earn an 88-69 win. The Dutchmen will look to make it five in a row tonight, when they trek out to the barren lands of Stony Brook to oppose Long Island’s other Division I program in the only regular season game that matters. Here’s a look back at the win over the Bison and a look ahead to the Patriots.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Aaron Estrada scored a career-high 24 points to lead four players in double figures for the Dutchmen, who survived a hot-and-cold first half before finding a groove in the final 20 minutes. The Dutchmen raced out to an 8-0 lead before giving up an 18-2 run to Bucknell, which extended the lead to 27-17 following a personal 6-0 run by Andrew Funk (28 points). But Abayomi Iyiola scored all eight of his points in an 11-0 run by the Dutchmen, who went ahead for good at 33-32 on Estrada’s jumper with 3:17 left. The Dutchmen never led by fewer than six in the second half and maintained a double-digit lad for the final 9:19. Zach Cooks had 19 points and had six assists to share the team lead in the latter category with Estrada. Omar Silverio (16 points, six rebounds) continued to thrive off the bench while Jalen Ray scored all 12 of this points in the second half while once again leading the Dutchmen in rebounds with seven.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Bucknell, 12/4)

3: Aaron Estrada

2: Zach Cooks

1: Omar Silverio

SEASON STANDINGS

Aaron Estrada 12

Darlinstone Dubar 12

Zach Cooks 11

Jalen Ray 9

Omar Silverio 5

Kvonn Cramer 4

Abayomi Iyiola 1

WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?

Yes! It’s officially a record-setting run of unicorn scores! The Dutchmen have earned a pair of 87-69 wins — over Northeastern during the 1996-97 season and U.S.M.M.A. during the 1975-76 season — and recorded two 89-69 wins in a four-game span during the 1966-67 campaign over Washington (MO) and Boston University, respectively. But never before had the Dutchmen won 88-69!

This is the fourth straight unicorn score victory for the Dutchmen as well as (checks notes) their fourth of the season. The Dutchmen previously had three three-game unicorn score streaks, all during the 2019-20 season. 

The Dutchmen recorded no unicorn scores last season after recording 13 unicorn scores in 2019-20 and 10 unicorn scores in 2018-19. 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. 

11/24/21: 87-49 over Molloy

11/27/21: 98-84 over Detroit Mercy

12/1/21: 81-77 over Princeton

12/4/21: 88-69 over Bucknell

THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER NINE GAMES

With Saturday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 5-4, which is tied for the 33rd-best start in program history. This breaks a streak of six straight seasons in which the Dutchmen were 6-3 through nine games. Thirteen other teams began 5-4, most recently the 2010-11 team. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through nine games.

NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1975-76: 5-4

1976-77: 7-2

1999-2000: 5-4 (over .500 for good)

2000-01: 7-2

2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 6-3

NIT TEAMS

1998-99: 5-4 (over .500 for good)

2004-05: 9-0 (most recent 9-0 start)

2005-06: 7-2

2006-07: 6-3

2015-16: 6-3 

2018-19: 6-3 (marked third win in the 16-game winning streak)

NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1958-59: 5-4 (over .500 for good)

1961-62: 8-1

1962-63: 7-2

1963-64: 8-1

Some other notable nine-game starts:

2020-21: 6-3 (most recent 6-3 start)

2014-15: 7-2 (most recent 7-2 start)

2013-14: 3-6 (most recent 3-6 start)

2008-09: 8-1 (most recent 8-1 start)

2007-08: 2-7 (most recent 2-7 start)

2003-04: 4-5 (most recent 4-5 start)

2002-03: 1-8 (most recent 1-8 start)

2001-02: 5-4 (over .500 for the last time)

1997-98: 5-4 (over .500 for good)

1994-95: 2-7 (Jay Wright’s first team)

1993-94: 1-8 (VBK’s last team)

1960-61: 9-0

1959-60: 9-0

1958-59: 5-4 (over .500 for good)

1955-56: 9-0

1947-48: 9-0

1938-39: 5-4 (over .500 for good)

The Dutchmen have never opened 0-9.

Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1945-46, 1948-49, 1949-50, 1951-52, 1954-55, 1957-58.

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.

SPEEDY THROUGH NINE

With Saturday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 5-4 as head coach. He is the third head coach to open 5-4 at Hofstra, following in the footsteps of Tom Pecora (2001-02) and Mo Cassara (2010-11), and the seventh to have a winning record through nine games. Jack McDonald steered the Dutchmen to an 8-1 start in the first (and only) season of his second stint while Frank Reilly (1947-48) and Butch van Breda Kolff in his first stint (1955-56) each began 9-0. Van Breda Kolff’s success, Paul Lynner, directed the Dutchmen to a 7-2 start in 1962-63.

SPEEDY OVER .500

And obviously, Saturday’s win lifted Speedy Claxton’s record over .500 for the first time. Just three other Hofstra head coaches needed a longer period of time to get over .500 for the first time, but I suppose all of them turned out OK. Roger Gaeckler, who led the Flying Dutchmen to their first two NCAA Tournament appearances as a Division I program, needed 127 games (almost five full seasons) to get over .500 on Feb. 21, 1977, when the Dutchmen beat American, 89-78. Jay Wright, who led the Dutchmen to their next two NCAA Tournament appearances, needed 143 games (also almost five full seasons) to get over .500 on Feb. 27, 1999, when the Dutchmen beat Vermont, 69-59, in an America East quarterfinal game. And the Dutchmen lost their final two games of the season to drop Wright back under .500 FIRE HIM. And Joe Mihalich, who directed the Dutchmen to their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance (again, it counts to us), got over .500 for the first time in his 87th game on Jan. 24, 2016, when the Dutchmen beat William & Mary, 91-63. Mihalich’s Hofstra head coaching record remained over .500 thereafter.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DEFICIT, DOUBLE-DIGIT DUB

The Dutchmen overcame a double-digit deficit to earn a win for the first time under Speedy Claxton. The win over Bucknell also marked the first time the Dutchmen trailed by double-digits in a game they won by at least 10 points since Nov. 21, 2019, when they trailed UCLA by 13 points in the first half of an 88-78 win. Hey whatever happened to UCLA after that? The 29-point swing — from 10 points down to a 19-point win — is the largest for the Dutchmen in a victory since a 33-point swing on Nov. 9, 2018, when the Dutchmen trailed Mount St. Mary’s by 15 points in the first half of a 79-61 win.

AWARDS FOR AARON

Aaron Estrada was named the CAA’s Player of the Week after scoring 44 points and collecting 13 assists in the wins over Princeton and Bucknell. Estrada is the second Hofstra player to win Player of the Week honors this season (Zach Cooks won the award for the week ending Nov. 14) and the 12th Hofstra player to win Player of the Week honors since 2013-14, which was Joe Mihalich’s first season as head coach. No other CAA school has more than 10 Player of the Week honorees in that span. In addition, Estrada also won the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Player of the Week.

ZACH STILL COOKIN’

Zach Cooks scored 19 points Saturday as he extended his career-opening (well, at Hofstra, at least) streak of double-digit scoring efforts to nine games. Cooks is just the third player in the last 30 years to begin his Hofstra career by scoring in double figures in at least nine straight games and the first since 2014-15, when Juan’ya Green scored in double figures in every game on his way to building a 43-game streak and Ameen Tanksley scored in double figures in his first 19 games.

Juan’ya Green 43 games (start of 2014-15 season through Dec. 9, 2015)

Ameen Tanksley 19 games (2014-15 season)

ZACH COOKS 9 games (2021-22 season)

Seth Meyers 8 games (1995-96 season)

Antoine Agudio 7 games (2004-05 season)***

***freshman

Speedy Claxton’s career-opening double-digit scoring streak lasted three games in 1996-97, while the late great Demetrius Dudley’s streak spanned four games in 1991-92.

SMOKIN' SILVERIO

Omar Silverio continued his emergence as the Dutchmen’s sixth man Wednesday by scoring 16 points. It was the fourth straight double-digit effort from Silverio, who scored in double figures eight times in his first 45 games at Hofstra. The four consecutive double-digit efforts off the bench are the most by a Hofstra player since at least 2009-10 (another research project for tonight?).

RAY MOVIN' ON UP (part one)

Jalen Ray played in his 130th game for Hofstra Saturday, which broke a tie for second place al-time with former teammate Eli Pemberton. Ray ranks behind only another former teammate, Desure Buie, who holds the program record with 141 games played.

RAY MOVIN’ ON UP (part two)

With his 12 points Saturday, Ray moved past Rick Apodaca into 14th place on the all-time Hofstra scoring list. Ray has a chance to gain multiple spots tonight. He’s just six points shy of surpassing Leroy Allen for 13th place and eight points away from moving past Frank Walker into 12th place.

12.) Frank Walker 1,437

13.) Leroy Allen 1,435

14.) JALEN RAY 1,430

15.) Rick Apodaca 1,422

Prior to Saturday, Ray finished each of the previous five games in 15th place on the all-time scoring list — by far the longest he's gone without moving up a spot since he joined the 1,000-point club against Richmond on Dec. 22, 2020. Assuming he catches Walker, it will likely be a while before he catches Norman Richardson, who is 11th all-time with 1,677 points.

Dec. 22, 2020: Tied for 38th place

Jan. 2: 38th place

Jan. 3: 37th place

Jan. 7: 36th place

Jan. 9: 35th place

Jan. 15: 34th place

Jan. 17: 33rd place

Jan. 23: 29th place

Jan. 24: Tied for 28th place

Jan. 30: 28th place

Jan. 31: 25th place

Feb. 6: 23rd place

Feb. 7: 22nd place

Feb. 13: 21st place

Feb. 14: 21st place

Mar. 7: 18th place

Mar. 8: 17th place

Nov. 16: 16th place

Nov. 19: 15th place

Nov. 22: 15th place

Nov. 24: 15th place

Nov. 27: 15th place

Dec. 1: 15th place

Dec. 4: 14th place

RAY’S SECOND HALF SURGE

Jalen Ray, who scored eight points against Princeton on Dec. 1, scored all 12 of his points in the second half Saturday. He hasn’t scored in single digits in back-to-back games since he had four points against Delaware on Feb. 22, 2020 before being held scoreless against Towson five days later.

REBOUNDING RAY

Is it time to start wondering how many rebounds Jalen Ray needs to average in order to catch former teammate Rokas Gustys, who holds the Hofstra Division I-era rebounding record? Ray led the Dutchmen in rebounding for the second straight game Saturday. He didn’t even hold a share of the team lead in rebounds in any of his first 128 games with the Dutchmen. Yet now he’s led the team in rebounding more than Hunter Sabety and as often as Stafford Trueheart and Kevin Schutte. Now THAT’S quirky!

(Assuming the Dutchmen win the CAA championship and advance to the national championship game, Ray would need to average 31.6 rebounds over those 31 games in order to break Gustys’ Division I-era record of 1,305 rebounds)

IYIOLA ON TARGET

Abayomi Iyiola scored eight points on 4-of-4 shooting Saturday. He’s the first Hofstra player to enjoy a perfect shooting game off the bench (minimum four attempts) since Kvonn Cramer was 6-of-6 against Richmond on Dec. 22, 2020.

OVER THE AIR

Tonight’s game will be carried live on SNY, which is channel 60 in the Optimum Rules With An Iron Fist Universe, as well as on ESPN3, which you have if you have the Disney Bundle, which you have if you have a child under the age of 18. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.

SUNY-STONY BROOK AND THE AMERICA EAST

SUNY-Stony Brook, under third-year head coach Geno Ford, is 3-4 this season after a 78-49 loss to Wagner on Saturday. That dropped the Patriots 42 spots in the KenPom.com rankings. Hey don’t look at me like that, I’m just reporting the facts.

Stony Brook (look, it’s been a strange couple years, let’s be nice to our turnip juice-drinking neighbors to the east and mostly call them by the name they prefer) was picked to finish first in the America East preseason poll, just ahead of Vermont. Senior guard Elijah Olaniyi, who was named to the all-America East team twice while playing his first three seasons at Stony Brook before transferring to Miami last season, returned to the Patriots for his bonus season and was named to the all-America East preseason team. Anyone who leaves Miami is OK by us. 

However, Olaniyi has missed the Patriots’ last four games due to injury. Guard Anthony Roberts leads Stony Brook with 15.0 points per game while guard Jahlil Jenkins ranks second with 12.2 points per game. Guard Tykei Greene is averaging 9.1 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game.

The Dutchmen and Patriots have no common opponents. 

Hofstra is 24-5 all-time against Stony Brook, including 6-1 since the series resumed in 2014. The Dutchmen won their fifth straight game in the series a year ago tomorrow, when they beat the Patriots, 72-67, at the Arena. Tonight’s game marks the final game of a four-year contract between the schools. Let’s hope the series is renewed, this is fun.

Hofstra is 33-24-1 in all sports against SUNY-Stony Brook since the two schools began scheduling each other again in the spring of 2014, including 28-13-1 since the 2016-17 school year began. 

Hofstra is 84-33 all-time against current America East schools. Since joining the CAA in 2001-02, the Dutchmen have faced at least one America East opponent every season except 2012-13. Stony Brook, which was a Division III school for decades, completed its transition to Division I and joined the America East upon Hofstra’s departure.

At KenPom.com this afternoon, Hofstra is ranked 133rd while Stony Brook is ranked 231st. KenPom.com predicts a 75-72 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 4-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 5-3 against the spread this season.

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

631 bias! (516 is the one true Long Island area code and Stony Brook starts a lot of its home games at 6:31, which is just dorky)

Daniel Zamora bias! (The former Mets reliever went to Stony Brook)

You still have fewer America East titles than us bias! (It’s funny cause it’s true)

You want our lemon tree bias! (As always, it’s a Simpsons thing)

I'll Be Quirky: Bucknell

I saved this JUST IN CASE I needed it for a blog 27 years later! Never let anyone tell you hoarding is a bad idea.

The Flying Dutchmen got back to .500 in surprisingly nail-biting fashion Wednesday night, when they expanded a 16-point halftime lead to 19 points before hanging on to edge Princeton, 81-77, to retain possession of the VBK Kup (which might really exist only in my head, unlike the ECC). The Dutchmen will look to extend their winning streak to four games and move over .500 for the first time under Speedy Claxton this afternoon, when they’re scheduled to host Bucknell, another alma mater of a little-known former Hofstra head coach. Here’s a look back at the win over the Tigers and a look ahead to the Bison.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Aaron Estrada collected 18 of his 20 points in the first half as the Dutchmen raced out to a fast start against Princeton before fending off a furious second-half comeback. The Dutchmen led by double digits for more than 20 minutes bridging the halves before Princeton got within a possession three times in the final 2:05 and cut the lead to one with 48 seconds left. But Jalen Ray, who missed eight of his first 10 field goal attempts, banked in a 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer with 18 seconds remaining before Princeton missed a 3-pointer on its next possession. Estrada added seven assists while playing all 40 minutes. Omar Silverio continued emerging as a bench weapon by scoring 17 points in 34 minutes. Darlinstone Dubar had 15 points while going 7-of-8 from the field. Zach Cooks (13 points, seven assists, four steals) had another solid all-around game. Ray finished with eight points, as did Kvonn Cramer who was limited to seven minutes by what appeared to be an ankle injury.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Princeton, 12/1)

3: Aaron Estrada

2: Darlinstone Dubar

1: Omar Silverio

SEASON STANDINGS

Darlinstone Dubar 12

Aaron Estrada 9

Zach Cooks 9

Jalen Ray 9

Omar Silverio 4

Kvonn Cramer 4

Abayomi Iyiola 1

WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?

Yes! Whoohoo! The Dutchmen came within a point of an 81-77 victory eight previous times, most recently an 80-77 win over Drexel on Feb. 28, 2019 and most notably the 82-77 upset win over Florida State on Nov. 20, 2015. And because this is apparently a thing now, one of the near 81-77 wins was over Wagner in an 81-78 win on Feb. 16, 1980.

This is the third straight unicorn score victory for the Dutchmen as well as (checks notes) their third of the season. This is the fourth time since we began tracking unicorn scores in 2018-19 that the Dutchmen have won three straight games by unicorn scores. The previous three times all happened during the 2019-20 season, which means the Dutchmen are going to win the CAA. Don’t look at me, I don’t make the rules. The Dutchmen have not won four straight games by unicorn scores in this unicorn score era.

The Dutchmen recorded no unicorn scores last season after recording 13 unicorn scores in 2019-20 and 10 unicorn scores in 2018-19. 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. 

11/24/21: 87-49 over Molloy

11/27/21: 98-84 over Detroit Mercy

12/1/21: 81-77 over Princeton

THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER EIGHT GAMES

With Wednesday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 4-4, which is tied for the 39th-best start in program history…or, if you’re a negative Nellie, tied for the 27th-worst start in program history! The gap between those numbers is closing. Seventeen other teams began 4-4, most recently the 1999-2000 team — which was Speedy Claxton’s senior year, which ended with a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Again, it's meant to be, folks. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through eight games.

NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1975-76: 4-4

1976-77: 6-2

1999-2000: 4-4

2000-01: 6-2

2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 5-3

NIT TEAMS

1998-99: 4-4

2004-05: 8-0 (most recent 8-0 start)

2005-06: 6-2

2006-07: 5-3 (over .500 for good)

2015-16: 6-2 (most recent 6-2 start)

2018-19: 5-3 (marked second win in the 16-game winning streak)

NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1958-59: 4-4

1961-62: 7-1

1962-63: 6-2

1963-64: 7-1

Some other notable eight-game starts:

2020-21: 5-3 (most recent 5-3 start)

2013-14: 2-6 (most recent 2-6 start)

2012-13: 3-5 (most recent 3-5 start)

2008-09: 7-1 (most recent 7-1 start)

2002-03: 1-7 (most recent 1-7 start)

1994-95: 2-6 (Jay Wright’s first team)

1993-94: 1-7 (VBK’s last team)

1960-61: 8-0

1959-60: 8-0

1955-56: 8-0

1951-52: 8-0

1947-48: 8-0

The Dutchmen have never opened 0-8.

Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1948-49, 1951-52, 1954-55, 1957-58.

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.

SPEEDY THROUGH EIGHT

With Wednesday's win. Speedy Claxton improved to 4-4 as head coach. Only one other coach — Joe Harrington in his lone season in 1979-80 — to open 4-4 at Hofstra.

ZACH STILL COOKIN’

Zach Cooks scored 13 points Wednesday night as he extended his career-opening (well, at Hofstra, at least) streak of double-digit scoring efforts to eight games. Cooks is just the fourth player in the last 30 years to begin his Hofstra career by scoring in double figures in at least eight straight games and the first since 2014-15, when Juan’ya Green scored in double figures in every game on his way to building a 43-game streak and Ameen Tanksley scored in double figures in his first 19 games.

Juan’ya Green 43 games (start of 2014-15 season through Dec. 9, 2015)

Ameen Tanksley 19 games (2014-15 season)

Seth Meyers 8 games (1995-96 season)

ZACH COOKS 8 games (2021-22 season)

Antoine Agudio 7 games (2004-05 season)***

***freshman

Speedy Claxton’s career-opening double-digit scoring streak lasted three games in 1996-97, while the late great Demetrius Dudley’s streak spanned four games in 1991-92.

ESTRADA'S 20/20 VISION

Aaron Estrada established a season-high for points scored Wednesday night, when he tied his career-high with 20 points. Estrada also scored 20 points for Saint Peter’s against Fairfield on Feb. 16, 2020.

NO STONE OF HANDS FOR DUBAR

Darlinstone Dubar was 7-of-8 from the field Wednesday night, including 6-for-6 from inside the 3-point line. Dubar is 9-for-9 on 2-point attempts in his last two games, which is the first time a Hofstra player has been perfect from inside the arc in back-to-back games (minimum three attempts per game) since Feb. 21-23, 2019, when Jacquil Taylor was 5-for-5 against both Towson and James Madison.

SMOKIN' SILVERIO

Omar Silverio continued his emergence as the Dutchmen’s sixth man Wednesday by scoring 17 points in 34 minutes. It was the third straight double-digit effort from Silverio, who’d scored at least 10 points in back-to-back games just once previously at Hofstra. In addition, the 34 minutes by Silverio were the most by a true reserver since Jalen Ray played 34 minutes against Delaware in the CAA semifinals on Mar. 11, 2019. Tareq Coburn played 35 minutes as a reserve against James Madison on Feb. 29, 2020, but he came off the bench on Senior Day so that Connor Klementowicz could earn the start.

REBOUNDING RAY

Here’s a fun stat for you inspired by a game note from Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov: While Jalen Ray struggled from the field Wednesday night, he pulled down a team-high seven rebounds — the first time in 129 career games he has even held a share of the team lead in rebounds. Seventeen other players have led or shared the team lead in rebounds in a single game during Ray’s five-year career. Here they are! Look at some of these deep cut names. (If a player shared the team lead, I gave him half a point…and the total adds up to 131 because Ray missed the first two games this season)

Isaac Kante 33.5

Rokas Gustys 27.5

Jacquil Taylor 22.5

Tareq Coburn 13

Eli Pemberton 10.5

Kvonn Cramer 6.5

Abraham Iyiola 2.5

Joel Angus II 2

Kevin Schutte 2

Stafford Trueheart 2

Justin Wright-Foreman 2

Desure Buie 1.5

Aaron Estrada 1.5

Zach Cooka 1

Dan Dwyer 1

Darlinstone Dubar 1

Hunter Sabety 0.5

RAY MOVIN' ON UP (part one)

Jalen Ray played in his 129th game for Hofstra Wednesday night, tied for second-most all-time with former teammate Eli Pemberton. As long as he plays tonight, Ray will move into sole possession of second place behind another former teammate — Desure Buie, who holds the program record with 141 games played.

RAY MOVIN’ ON UP (part two)

With his eight points Wednesday, Ray remained in 15th place on the all-time Hofstra scoring list. Ray has a chance to gain multiple spots this afternoon. He’s just five points shy of surpassing Rick Apodaca for 14th place all-time as well as 18 points shy of surpassing Leroy Allen for 13th place and 20 points away from moving past Fran Walker into 12th place.

12.) Frank Walker 1,437

13.) Leroy Allen 1,435

14.) Rick Apodaca 1,422

15.) JALEN RAY 1,418

16.) Ken Rood 1,368

Ray has finished each of the last five games in 15th place on the all-time scoring list — by far the longest he's gone without moving up a spot since he joined the 1,000-point club against Richmond on Dec. 22, 2020. Assuming he catches Walker, it will likely be a while before he catches Norman Richardson, who is 11th all-time with 1,677 points.

Dec. 22, 2020: Tied for 38th place

Jan. 2: 38th place

Jan. 3: 37th place

Jan. 7: 36th place

Jan. 9: 35th place

Jan. 15: 34th place

Jan. 17: 33rd place

Jan. 23: 29th place

Jan. 24: Tied for 28th place

Jan. 30: 28th place

Jan. 31: 25th place

Feb. 6: 23rd place

Feb. 7: 22nd place

Feb. 13: 21st place

Feb. 14: 21st place

Mar. 7: 18th place

Mar. 8: 17th place

Nov. 16: 16th place

Nov. 19: 15th place

Nov. 22: 15th place

Nov. 24: 15th place

Nov. 27: 15th place

Dec. 1: 15th place

10-FOR-10 WINS

The Dutchmen were a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line Wednesday. It was the first time the Dutchmen were perfect from the line (minimum 10 attempts) since they went 15-for-15 in a 79-60 win over Delaware on Feb. 26, 2011.

OVER THE AIR

Today’s game will be aired on FloHoops.com (subscription required). Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.

BUCKNELL AND THE PATRIOT LEAGUE

Bucknell, under seventh-year head coach Nathan Davis, is 2-6 this season after falling to St. Francis (PA), 93-67, on Wednesday.

Bucknell was tied for sixth in the Patriot League’s preseason poll. Senior guard Andrew Funk (great name) leads the Bison with 18.1 points per game. Junior guard Xander Rice is averaging 13.6 points per game while junior center Alex Timmerman (11.5 points per game. 7.5 rebounds per game) and senior center Andre Screen (11.0 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game) rank third and fourth in scoring and first and second in rebounding, respectively. Screen is 7-feet tall while Timmerman is 6-foot-9, which could present the undersized Dutchmen some issues.

The Dutchmen and Bison have two common opponents. In addition to beating Princeton on Wednesday, Hofstra fell to Richmond, 81-68, on Nov. 22. Bucknell is slated to visit Princeton on Tuesday before trekking to Richmond on Dec. 22. 

The Dutchmen are 10-20 all-time against Bucknell, which was an East Coast Conference rival long before I made up the league upon arriving at Hofstra. Bucknell won the most recent game between the schools Nov. 13, 2019, when the host Bison earned an 86-71 win.

Hofstra is 91-82 all-time against current Patriot League schools, which include five former conference foes (American, Bucknell, Lafayette and Lehigh in the East Coast Conference and Boston University in the NAC/America East).

At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 135th while Bucknell is ranked 310th. KenPom.com predicts an 84-69 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 13.5-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 4-3 against the spread this season.

FROM THE VBK KUP TO...THE JAY JUG?

For the second straight game, the Dutchmen will oppose the alma mater of one of the school’s legendary coaches. Jay Wright played three seasons at Bucknell and graduated from the school in 1983– just 11 years before he was hired at Hofstra to replace Butch van Breda Kolff, who graduated from Princeton in 1946. This means we are further from Wright’s college graduation now than Wright was from van Breda Kolff’s in 1983. Welp. Anyway, I guess this means next we have to play La Salle (Joe Mihalich’s alma mater) or Adelphi (Tom Pecora’s alma mater) or maybe Hofs…oh yeah.

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

Jay Wright bias! (Again, stick with the classics)

Greg Schiano bias! (The former and now again Rutgers head football coach graduated from Rutgers)

The ECC was real and spectacular bias! (Again, the classics)

You’re just mad we owned you in I-AA football bias! (Hofstra won its last five football games against Bucknell, including a 45-21 victory on Sept. 10, 1994 in the first Hofstra road game I ever covered/attended in any sport. I got up at 5 AM to catch the fan bus there. Really! I got up before dawn!)