The Flying Dutchmen, as always, like to live dangerously.
If this is already a typically topsy-turvy Hofstra season, imagine the fun that awaits once CAA play begins! Michael Graham’s buzzer-beating layup Sunday night allowed the Dutchmen to avoid a potentially disastrous collapse and lifted them to a 68-66 win over Arkansas State, the highest-ranked team in the Baha Mar Nassau Championship field. The Dutchmen won about 24 hours after failing to hit a buzzer-beater in a 61-59 loss to Tarleton State, the lowest-ranked team in the six-team MTE. Again, the Dutchmen are the Mets who were the Dutchmen.
The Dutchmen will finally return home this morning, when they host St. Joseph’s in their second and final non-Division I game of the season, Here’s a look back at the last-second win over the Red Wolves and a look ahead to the Golden Eagles.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Flying Dutchmen squandered all of a 14-point lead over the final eight-plus before Arkansas State’s Kobe Julien missed a potential go-ahead free throw to set the buzzer-beater by Graham, who capped his first double-double of the season in dramatic fashion. Neither team led by more than four points in a first half that ended with a 29-29 tie before Graham hit layups to open and close a 25-11 run that gave the Dutchmen a 54-40 lead with 8:22 left. Cruz Davis drained a pair of free throws with 5:55 remaining to put the Dutchmen ahead 58-48 before Arkansas State stormed back. The Red Wolves went on an 18-8 run as their full-court press flustered the Dutchmen, who were 3-for-8 with two turnovers during the comeback bid. Arkansas State finally tied the game when Julien hit the first of two free throws with 21 seconds left, but he missed the second one. Graham collected the rebound and the Dutchmen didn’t use one of their timeouts as they headed up the floor. Davis handed the ball off to Jean Aranguren, who drove into the lane and dished to Graham, who hit his now-patented reverse layup and crashed to the floor as time expired. Graham scored all 14 of his points in the second half, when he had six of his 12 rebounds. Davis (24 points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists) had another big all-around game while Aranguren had 10 points and a team-high four assists. Jaquan Sanders added seven points, though his struggles from the field continued as he finished 3-of-14 shooting, including 1-of-6 from 3-point land.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Arkansas State, 12/1)
3: Michael Graham
2: Cruz Davis
1: Jean Aranguren
SEASON STANDINGS
Jean Aranguren 19
Cruz Davis 14
Jaquan Sanders 9
Michael Graham 4
KiJan Robinson 4
Khalil Farmer 2
TJ Gadsden 2
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
No! The Dutchmen’s previous 68-66 win happened Mar. 2, 1986, when they edged Bucknell in the East Coast Conference semifinals to reach the league title game for the first time since 1977. I’ll just assume they beat Drexel to win it all. The win over Bucknell, by the way did not require a buzzer-beater. #TheMoreYouKnow
The Dutchmen have recorded two unicorn score victories this season and 55 unicorn score victories since the start of the 2018-19 season, when we first started tracking unicorn scores.
2024-25: Two unicorn scores
2023-24: Seven unicorn scores
2022-23: 12 unicorn scores
2021-22: 11 unicorn scores
2020-21: Zero unicorn scores (really)
2019-20: 13 unicorn scores
2018-19: 10 unicorn scores
The term unicorn score was coined by Mets superfan, historian and blogger Greg Prince to describe a score by which the Mets had never previously won. You may also know it as a “Scorigami,” a term popularized in the NFL.
WHO HAD THE KEITH HERNANDEZ?
Well, you know the answer to this one! Michael Graham made history with his first Keith Hernandez Sunday night, when he hit the first buzzer-beater of the Hernandez era by draining the layup to give the Dutchmen a 68-66 win. Tyler Thomas had the previous latest Keith Hernandez on Feb. 1, when his jumper with 0.4 seconds left gave the Dutchmen a 71-70 win over Stony Brook.
Jean Aranguren tie-breaking layup vs. Old Westbury, 11/4/24 (19:47 left 2H)
Silas Sunday go-ahead layup vs. Iona, 11/8/24 (17:49 left 1H)
Jean Aranguren go-ahead layup vs. Seton Hall, 11/13/24 (2:19 left 2H)
Jean Aranguren tie-breaking free throw vs. UMass, 11/16/24 (4:58 left OT)
Cruz Davis tie-breaking layup vs. Rice, 11/29/24 (:59 left OT)
Michael Graham tie-breaking layup vs. Arkansas State, 12/1/24 (:00 left 2H)
SEASON STANDINGS
Jean Aranguren 3
Michael Graham 1
Cruz Davis 1
Silas Sunday 1
ALL-TIME STANDINGS (or at least since the 2022-23 season)
Tyler Thomas 16
Darlinstone Dubar 14
Aaron Estrada 4
Jean Aranguren 3
Warren Williams 3
Silas Sunday 2
Jacco Fritz 2
Jaquan Carlos 2
German Plotnikov 2
Michael Graham 1
Cruz Davis 1
Bryce Washington 1
The Keith Hernandez is bestowed upon the player who scores the points that put the Dutchmen ahead for good in a victory. The stat pays homage to Hernandez, the World Series-winning Cardinals and Mets first baseman who had a record 129 game-winning RBIs when the stat was inexplicably discontinued after the 1988 season.
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER NINE GAMES
With Sunday’s dramatic win, the Dutchmen improved to 6-3 this season. This ties the 2024-25 team for the 17th-best record in school history through nine games. It’s the third straight season in which the Dutchmen have opened 6-3 and the 19th time overall in school history. 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)
2022-23: 6-3
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:
2021-22: 5-4 (most recent 5-4 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.
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 ONE HUNDRED AND NINE
With Sunday’s win, Speedy Claxton fell to 72-37 (.661) as head coach. That’s the fourth-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 108 games at the helm.
Butch van Breda Kolff I 75-34 (.688, 109th game was the seventh game of his fifth season in 1959-60)
Frank Reilly 75-34 (.688, 109th game was the ninth game of his fifth season in 1951-52)
Paul Lynner 73-36 (.670, 109th game was the 25th game of his fourth season in 1965-66)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 72-37 (.661, 109th game was the ninth game of his fourth season in 2024-25)
Joe Mihalich 59-50 (.541, 109th game was the eighth game of his fourth season in 2016-17)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 57-52 (.523, 109th game was the 24th game of his fourth season in 1991-92)
Dick Berg 56-53 (.514, 109th game was the 27th game of his fourth season in 1983-84)
Roger Gaeckler 51-58 (.468, 109th game was the seventh game of his fifth season in 1976-77)
Jay Wright 47-62 (.431, 109th game was the 27th game of his fourth season in 1997-98)
Tom Pecora 47-62 (.431, 109th game was the 19th game of his fourth season in 2004-05)
The standings remain the same from game no. 108 as the unbeaten starts to the season continue for VBK I and Reilly. This of course means perpetual slackers Jay Wright and Tom Pecora remain tied for last after winning their 109th games at the helm. Perpetual slackers!
The records are incomplete for Jack McDonald’s first stint from 1936 through 1943 as well as the tenure of Jack Smith (1943-46).
Smith finished 27-32 in his three seasons while Mo Cassara finished 38-59 in his three seasons. Three coaches had one-season tenures lasting at Hofstra. McDonald went 18-6 in the lone season of his second stint in 1946-47 while Joe Harrington went 14-14 in 1979-80 and Mike Farrelly went 13-10 in 2020-21.
BUZZER-BEATING GRAHAM
Michael Graham joined some select company Sunday night, when he hit the Dutchmen’s first true game-winning, buzzer-beating shot since Jan. 5, 2019, when Justin Wright-Foreman legendarily drained a running 34-foot 3-pointer to lift the Dutchmen past Northeastern 75-72. As noted this week by ace SID Stephen Gorchov, Graham’s game-winning shot is the 10th last-second game-winner by the Dutchmen since the 2003-04 season. Here is the list, courtesy of Stephen:
12/1/24: Michael Graham vs. Arkansas State, 68-66***
2/1/24: Tyler Thomas vs. Stony Brook, 71-70
1/9/20: Eli Pemberton vs. Northeastern, 74-72
1/5/19: Justin Wright-Foreman vs. Northeastern, 75-72***
1/11/18: Jalen Ray vs. Towson, 76-73***
11/21/16: Deron Powers vs. Bradley, 92-90
2/15/11: Charles Jenkins vs. William & Mary, 81-78 (OT)***
1/28/09: Arminas Urbutis vs. UNC Wilmington, 80-78***
2/2/06: Aurimas Kieza vs. Old Dominion, 65-63***
12/6/03: Carlos Rivera vs. Columbia, 58-55***
***buzzer-beater
TEAM BARBASOL
The last-second win over Arkansas State on Sunday marked the third straight game in which Hofstra or its opponent had the ball with a chance to win as time expired in regulation. KiJan Robinson missed a 3-pointer as time expired in regulation of last Friday’s 68-63 overtime win over Rice before Cruz Davis missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer of Saturday’s 61-59 loss to Tarleton State.
The Dutchmen last played at least three straight games in which a team had the ball with a chance to win as time expired from Jan. 9-23, 2020, when, the Dutchmen went 2-2 against Northeastern, UNC Wilmington, Charleston and Delaware. Hat sequence began with Eli Pemberton hitting the game-winning layup with 0.4 seconds let in a 74-72 win and the Dutchmen preventing the Seahawks from getting off a final shot in a 74-72 win before the Dutchmen didn’t get a shot off in a 69-67 loss to Charleston and Kevin Anderson drained the game-winning basket as time expired to lift the Blue Hens to a 73-71 win.
EVERYONE’S GONNA SCORE TONIGHT
Grease 2 reference! All nine players who took the court Sunday for the Dutchmen scored, which marked the third straight game in which every Dutchman player who saw the court scored. Nine players scored for the Dutchmen in last Friday’s 68-63 overtime win over Rice while 10 players scored in Saturday’s 61-59 loss to Tarleton State.
Last weekend marked the first time the Dutchmen had all their players on the floor score in three straight games since Feb. 2-9, 2017, when starters Brian Bernardi, Eli Pemberton, Deron Powers, Hunter Sabety and Justin Wright-Foreman as well as reserves Ty Greer and Jamall Robinson all scored in each game as the Dutchmen went 2-1 against Delaware, Drexel and Towson.
FIT TO BE TIED
The Dutchmen and Arkansas State were tied 29-29 at the half Sunday, This is the second time this season the Dutchmen have been tied at the half and the first time since the season opener Nov. 4, when they were tied 34-34 with Division III Old Westbury. I bet no other team in the nation has been tied at the half against a Division I AND a Division III team this season! Anyway, the Dutchmen are now 2-0 in games in which they were tied at the half this season and 16-10 in such games dating back to the 2002-03 season.
HONORS FOR DAVIS
Cruz Davis, who had 51 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists during the three games of the Baha Mar Nassau Championship, was named the CAA’s Player of the Week for the week ending Sunday. Davis’ first honor with Hofstra makes the Dutchmen the first team this season with two honorees — Jean Aranguren shared the award with Monmouth’s Abdi Bashir Jr. for the week ending Nov. 10 — while adding to their historical dominance within the category.
A Hofstra player has won at least one Player of the Week award in each of the last 22 seasons dating back to 2003-03, which is easily the longest active streak in the CAA. Another way to put that is that a Hofstra player has earned Player of the Week honors in every single season the school’s been in the CAA EXCEPT 2002-03. Another way to put that: Even the 2012-13 team had an honoree (alas, he is one of The Those Who Shall Not Be Named).
In addition, with Davis taking home the honors last week, Hofstras now had a whopping 28 players combine to earn 85 Player of the Week awards dating back to the school’s first season in the CAA in 2001-02. That’s the most players to earn a Player of the Week award and the most Player of the Week awards earned by any CAA school in that span. Delaware ranks second in both categories, but their 25 honorees have combined for 47 awards — barely half that of Hofstra. Devon Saddler is the most-honored Delaware player with six Player of the Week awards, a total matched or exceeded by five Dutchmen: Justin Wright-Foreman (12), Charles Jenkins (10), Loren Stokes (9), Aaron Estrada (8) and Juan’ya Green (6).
A LONG TIME COMING
Michael Graham posted his first double-double as a member of the Flying Dutchmen Sunday night, when he finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The double-double was the 11th of Graham’s career but his first since Feb. 4, 2023, when he had 14 points and 15 rebounds for Loyola Marymount against San Diego.
CRUZ-IN
Cruz Davis continued establishing himself as an all-CAA caliber player Sunday, when he scored a career-high 24 points while adding five rebounds and two assists. It’s the fourth time this season Davis has established a new career high in scoring. Davis opened the season with 19 points against Division III Old Westbury on Nov. 4 before scoring 21 points against UMass on Nov. 16 and 22 points against Rice last Friday night. Davis has scored in double figures in six of his first nine games #Nice this season — and scored nine points in two other games — after reaching double figures five times in his first 28 games the previous two seasons at Iona and St. John’s.
CRUZ-IN AT THE LINE
Cruz Davis scored nearly half his points via free throws Sunday, when he was 11-of-14 from the charity stripe. It was the second time this season Davis has hoisted 14 free throws. He was 12-of-14 in the season opener against Old Westbury on Nov. 4. Davis is the first Hofstra player to attempt at least 14 free throws against a Division I opponent since Tareq Coburn went 14-of-16 against Monmouth in a 96-88 win on Dec. 15, 2020.
JEAN FITS
Jean Aranguren continued bouncing back from a brief slump Sunday, when he had 10 points and four assists, including the feed to Michael Graham for the buzzer-bearing game-winner. Aranguren scored 31 points and added six assists and five rebounds in the final two games in the Bahamas after scoring just two points with three assists and five rebounds in his previous two games against Houston and Rice.
SANDERS SLUMPING
Jaquan Sanders continued cooling off Sunday, when he had seven points while going 3-of-14 from the field, including 1-of-6 from 3-point land. Sanders has scored 29 points over his last four games, a span in which he’s 11-of-45 from the field, including 5-of-26 from 3-point land. He opened the season by scoring 73 points while going 24-of-54 from the field, including 17-of-40 from beyond the arc, in his first five games. Sanders has hit just one 3-pointer in each of the last three gams after draining at least two 3-pointers in each of the first five games.
TJ TO THE EXTREME
TJ Gadsden’s hot-and-mostly-cold season continued Sunday, when he had two points and one rebound in 13 minutes. Gadsden has just 27 points and 24 rebounds in the eight games outside of a 75-71 win over Massachusetts on Nov. 16, when Gadsden finished with nine points and 11 rebounds in the 75-71 overtime victory. He has yet to reach double figures in seven games this season after scoring at least 10 points in 11 of 25 games last season for Canisius.
PRODUCTIVE FARMER
Khalil Farmer closed out a potentially season-altering weekend Sunday, when he had two points while seeing some time as an undersized “4” over 19 minutes — the most minutes a reserve played Sunday. Farmer played 55 minutes in the three games in the Bahamas after playing just 15 minutes in the first six games of the season.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY
Silas Sunday, playing on Sunday for the first time this season, had five points and three rebounds in 13 minutes against Arkansas State. Sunday has played at least 12 minutes in each of the last eight games after playing at least 10 minutes in 17 of 32 games last season.
HERE’S TO YOU MR. ROBINSON
KiJan Robinson had his quietest game in three weeks Sunday, when he finished with two points in 12 minutes. The two points were Robinson’s fewest since he was scoreless over eight minutes in a 90-76 win over Iona on Nov. 8 while the 12 minutes were his fewest since he played 12 minutes in the 49-48 win over Seton Hall on Nov. 13.
TWO FOR PLOTNIKOV
German Plotnikov, the lone returning player who made a start last season for the Dutchmen, again flirted with a Club Trillion line Saturday, when he had two points, two turnovers and one foul over 11 minutes. Plotnikov has scored in each of the last three games after scoring just once in the first six games of the season.
OVER THE AIR
This morning’s game is slated to be carried live on FloHoops. For subscription options, click here. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
ST. JOSEPH’S AND HOFSTRA VS. NON-DIVISION I FOES
St. Joseph’s, a Division III school located in Patchogue, is 1-6 this season following Tuesday night’s 67-62 loss to Lehman College. The Golden Eagles, under third-year head coach AJ Uhl, were picked to finish seventh in the 12-team Skyline Conference and fourth in the Black Division.
Senior Alec Tabada leads St. Joseph’s with 17.9 points per game and ranks second with 5.1 rebounds per game. Senior Spencer Malloy is averaging 12.9 points per game and a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game. Graduate student Justin Forest and sophomore Kenny Rodriguez share the team lead with 2.7 assists per game.
The Flying Dutchmen have won their last 25 games against non-Division I foes dating back to a 70-54 loss to Florida Southern during the 1988-89 seasons. This marks the ninth time in the last 10 seasons the Dutchmen have played at least one non-Division I foe. There were no non-Division I games in 2020-21 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 5-3 against the spread this season.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
End of civilization bias! (At least that’s how my eastern Long Island-based family thinks of Patchogue)
You play in a conference named after a chain of chili restaurants bias! (May not be true)
You became a university in 2022 bias! (Is actually true)
This shouldn’t be this hard bias! (As always and please, for the love of all that is holy)
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