Who in the hell is Mel Kiper anyway? (A Towson native apparently)
The Flying Dutchmen are back, baby! Jalen Ray busted out to score all 16 of his points in the second half as the Dutchmen authored their most complete victory of the CAA season by coming back to beat Towson, 71-58. The Dutchmen will look to complete the ECC sweep this afternoon, when they are scheduled to host the Tigers again. Here’s a look back at the win over Towson and a hopeful look ahead to…Towson (yup, still weird).
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
KVonn Cramer and Stafford Trueheart provided the Dutchmen some unexpected help from long distance in the first half before Jalen Ray produced one of his patented runs as the Dutchmen took a 16-point lead and fended off a late Towson comeback. Towson led 35-32 at the half before the Dutchmen scored the first six points of the second half. Ray’s first basket of the game a fast break off his own steal, gave the Dutchmen the lead for good before he drained a jumper on the next trip down the floor. Later, Ray hit back-to-back 3-pointers to begin a 15-0 run in which he finished with 10 points. Towson got within 62-55 with 4:11 to play but missed two shots on its next possession, after which the Dutchmen were never threatened. Cramer finished with 16 points and went 4-of-5 from 3-point land, including 2-of-3 in the first half, when Trueheart also hit both of his attempts from beyond the arc. Isaac Kante (12 points, 12 rebounds) had another double-double while Tareq Coburn (12 points, nine rebounds) barely missed joining him. Caleb Burgess had seven points and a career-high nine assists while Trueheart finished with eight points in just eight minutes.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Towson 1/23)
3: Jalen Ray
2: KVonn Cramer
1: Isaac Kante
SEASON STANDINGS
Jalen Ray 26
Isaac Kante 21
Tareq Coburn 16
Caleb Burgess 13
KVonn Cramer 7
Kevin Schutte 1
COACHSPEAK: “Certainly helps when Jalen Ray does what he did. A lot of growth out of Jalen. I don’t think he does this — going scoreless in the first half, 0-for-6, and then finishes 5-for-14 with 16 points. I don’t think he does that a couple years ago. It really shows the maturity, the leadership, how he’s grown as a person more than even as a player. So terrific job by him, double-double for Isaac, Tareq with a great job on the glass and Stafford great coming in, making shots. And I’m hoping that somebody’s going to ask me about KVonn Cramer and him shooting the basketball, because I’ve heard enough that he shouldn’t be shooting the ball. So I’d love to hear a question about that.”—acting head coach Mike Farrelly
(He got a question about Cramer shooting the basketball)
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
Sigh, no. I’m starting to think we might have run out of scores, guys. Once again, this one wasn’t even a unicorn score for the Joe Mihalich era. The Dutchmen’s previous 71-58 win came over Delaware on Jan. 5, 2015.
And once again, the Dutchmen have yet to record a unicorn score this season. *yet once again makes begging motion* The Dutchmen recorded 13 unicorn score victories last season, three more than in 2018-19, which was when we first started tracking unicorn scores. I don’t think we’re approaching those numbers this season. 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.
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER FOURTEEN GAMES
With Saturday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 8-6, which is tied for the 36th-best start in school history. Eight other teams began 8-6, most recently the 2017-18 squad. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 14 games.
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 7-7
1976-77: 10-4
1999-2000: 9-5
2000-01: 10-4
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 10-4
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 9-5
2004-05: 10-4
2005-06: 11-3
2006-07: 10-4
2015-16: 10-4
2018-19: 11-3 (marked seventh win in the 16-game winning streak)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 10-4
1961-62: 13-1 (most recent 13-1 start)
1962-63: 10-4
1963-64: 12-2 (most recent 12-2 start)
Some other notable 14-game starts:
2016-17: 9-5 (most recent 9-5 start)
2013-14: 4-10 (most recent 4-10 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2012-13: 4-10 (won game no. 14 to snap eight-game losing streak)
2011-12: 6-8 (most recent 6-8 start)
2007-08: 3-11 (most recent 3-11 start)
2002-03: 2-12 (most recent 2-12 start)
1996-97: 5-9 (most recent 5-9 start)
1995-96: 7-7 (most recent 7-7 start, last time at .500)
1994-95: 2-12 (Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 1-13 (VBK’s last team, most recent 1-13 start)
1988-89: 6-8 (win in 14th game was a 48-34 victory over Rider that still stands as the fewest points allowed by Hofstra in the last 32 seasons)
1986-87: 7-7 (last time at .500)
1966-67: 7-7 (last time at .500)
1961-62: 13-1 (most recent 13-1 start)
1959-60: 13-1 (Hofstra’s winningest team, percentage-wise; win in 14th game was third win of season-ending 13-game winning streak)
1937-38: 10-4 (season complete)
Hofstra has never been 14-0 or 0-14 through 14 games.
Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1945-46, 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.
RIDIN’ HIGH UNDER BIDEN
With Saturday’s win, the Dutchmen have now won their first game played following the inauguration of each of the last four Presidents. The last President to be greeted with a Hofstra loss was Bill Clinton, whose Inauguration Ball on Jan. 20, 1993 was ruined by the news the Dutchmen lost that night to South Alabama, 83-69. (That was the season Hofstra had no conference and jetted all around the country as an independent) Even Fleetwood Mac showing up and reuniting couldn’t make things better for poor Bill. True story.
The Dutchmen are 8-3 in their first game following the Jan. 20 inauguration of a new President. This doesn’t include the first games played under Harry S. Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson, who took over following the tragic deaths of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, nor Gerald Ford, who took over after Richard Nixon resigned. Here is the full list of Hofstra’s post-Inauguration Day games:
Dwight Eisenhower: Gettysburg 70-60 W 1/31/53
John F. Kennedy: Army 77-74 L 1/25/61
Richard Nixon: St. Francis (NY) 72-63 W 1/29/69
Jimmy Carter: Drexel 76-70 W 1/22/77
Ronald Reagan: Delaware 70-61 W 1/24/81
George H.W. Bush: Drexel 58-56 L 1/21/89
Bill Clinton: South Alabama 83-69 L 1/20/93
George W. Bush: Maine 67-62 W 1/21/01
Barack Obama: William & Mary 54-44 W 1/21/09
He Who Shall Not Be Named: Northeastern 78-73 W 1/21/17
Joe Biden: Towson 71-58 W 1/23/21
I am available for any American history professorships.
SECOND HALF COMEBACK
The win Saturday marked the second time this season the Dutchmen have come back from a halftime deficit to earn a victory. The Dutchmen beat Fairleigh Dickinson 73-58 (whoa) on Nov. 30 after trailing 40-30 at the half. The Dutchmen trailed at the half in seven victories last season, including the CAA title game win over Northeastern.
ANOTHER FAST START
Before they trailed at the half Saturday, the Dutchmen raced out to an 8-0 lead and forced Towson head coach Pat Skerry to burn an early timeout. It was the third time in seven CAA games the Dutchmen have opened with at least eight unanswered points. The Dutchmen raced out to a 10-0 lead over William & Mary in an 82-73 win on Jan. 3 and a 13-0 lead over Delaware in a 68-67 win last Sunday.
NO SECOND CHANCES…OR AT LEAST NOT AS MANY
The Dutchmen limited famously glass-crashing Towson to 13 offensive rebounds and 12 second chance points. In the previous meeting between the teams last Feb. 27, the Tigers dominated the offensive glass and generated 26 second-chance points off 24 offensive rebounds as they handed the Dutchmen a 76-65 loss — the final defeat of the season for Hofstra.
FROM ICE-COLD TO RED-HOT FOR RAY
Jalen Ray was held scoreless in the first half Saturday, when he was 0-for-6 from the field and missed both his 3-point attempts, before he scored 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, in the second half. Ray is the first Hofstra player to score in double digits following a scoreless first half since Desure Buie scored all 15 of his points after halftime against James Madison on Dec. 28, 2019. Ray’s 16 points are the most by a Hofstra player following a scoreless first half since Justin Wright-Foreman finished with 17 points against Manhattan on Nov. 18, 2016. It was the second time Ray has scored in double figures following a scoreless first half. He finished with 14 points against Princeton on Dec. 19, 2019. And it was also the second straight game in which Towson held Ray scoreless. He didn’t score in the loss to Towson last Feb. 27.
RAY MOVIN’ ON UP
The big second half allowed Ray to make his biggest leap yet up Hofstra’s all-time scoring list. With the 16 second-half points, Ray leapfrogged three players — Mike Moore, Wandy Williams and Nathaniel Lester — and moved into 29th place. He’s 17 points away from moving past Ted Jackson into 28th place.
28.) Ted Jackson 1,159
29.) JALEN RAY 1,143
30.) Nathaniel Lester 1,139
31.) Wandy Williams 1,132
32.) Mike Moore 1,128
33.) Richie Swartz 1,107
34.) Ameen Tanksley 1,090
35.) Derrick Flowers 1,069
36.) Darius Burton 1,060
37.) Percy Johnson 1,045
38.) James Shaffer, 1,022
39.) John Irving 1,018
Since joining the 1,000-point club on Dec. 22, Ray has gained at least a half-spot on the all-time scoring list in every game.
Dec. 22: 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
ISAAC KAN DO
Isaac Kante posted his fifth double-double of the season Saturday, when he finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds. It was his first double-double since Jan 3, when he posted his fourth straight double-double by collecting 13 points and 14 rebounds against William & Mary.
UNLIKELY CONTRIBUTORS
Perhaps all the Dutchmen needed to snap out of their 3-pointer slump was a jolt from a pair of unlikely long-distance shooters. KVonn Cramer (2-for-3) and Stafford Trueheart (2-for-2) combined to hit four of the six 3-pointers in the first half for the Dutchmen, who drained five or fewer 3-pointers in each of the last four games. Cramer entered Saturday just 1-for-18 from beyond the arc in his freshman season while Trueheart was just 4-of-32 from 3-point land dating back to the start of last season and hadn’t hit multiple 3-pointers in a game since he hit a pair against Elon on Feb. 7, 2019.
SURGING STAFFORD
The Dutchmen got valuable minutes off the bench Saturday from Trueheart, who missed the first 11 games due to injury. His eight points against Towson were as many points as he scored in his previous 10 games dating back to last Feb. 15 and were the most he’s scored in a game since he finished with 11 points against Princeton on Dec. 19, 2019.
CALEB COUNTING THE DIMES
Sophomore point guard Caleb Burgess finished with a career-high nine assists. It marked the third time this season he’s broken his career-high in assists. Burgess, whose freshman season single-game high in assists was five against Division II New York Tech on Nov. 15, 2019, had seven assists against Iona on Dec. 5 and eight assists against Northeastern on Jan. 7.
OVER THE AIR
Today’s game will be aired on FloHoops.com (subscription required). Hofstra will provide a radio feed and live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
SCOUTING TOWSON
The Tigers, under 10th-year head coach Pat Skerry, are 3-6 this season and 2-6 in CAA play after Saturday’s loss.
The Dutchmen and Tigers had no common foes in non-league play.
The Dutchmen, who were picked first in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 172nd at KenPom.com. The Tigers, who were picked third, are ranked 239th.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank second in the CAA in offensive efficiency (102.1) and third in defensive efficiency (103.1). The Tigers are fifth in the CAA in offensive efficiency (100.6) and ninth in defensive efficiency (107.5).
Senior guard Zane Martin, who spent his first two years at Towson before transferring to New Mexico and then transferring back to Towson last summer, led the Tigers with 17 points and four assists Saturday and leads the team this season with 16.6 points and 3.4 assists per game. Junior guard Nicholas Timberlake, who scored 10 points Saturday, is averaging 11.2 ppg and sophomore Charles Thompson is just shy of double figures at 9.8 ppg. Sophomore forward Solomon Uyaelunmo is averaging a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game. His older brother Victor ranks second in rebounding at 5.7 rpg.
KenPom.com predicts a 73-67 win for the Dutchmen. (He predicted a74-69 win Saturday) As of the overnight hours, the wise guys in Vegas had not yet offered a line, for entertainment purposes only. I’ll do my best to check before tip, for entertainment purposes only. The Dutchmen covered Saturday to break a six-game losing streak with the wise guys to improve to 6-8 against the spread this season, including 1-6 in CAA play. You should still never bet, kids.
ALL-TIME VS. TOWSON
Hofstra is 45-27 against Towson in a series that began during the 1982-83 season, when both schools were in the East Coast Conference. The Dutchmen are looking to sweep the regular season series for the fourth time in the last six years.
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: Longtime conference rivals Delaware and Drexel.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Nicholas Timberlake’s Dad was kinda sorta a conference rival too bias! (Jeff Timberlake graduated from Boston University in 1989, five years before Hofstra joined Boston U. in the NAC)
Mel Kiper Jr. bias! (Per Wikipedia, which is never wrong, the NFL Draft guru is from Towson)
Jerrelle Benimon bias! (Duh)
Michael Phelps bias! (The record-setting Olympic gold medal swimmer grew up in Towson)
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