In which I, for the third straight year, take a rare break from commenting solely on Hofstra sports to wish my wife a happy anniversary

The first year I wished my wife a happy (dating) anniversary, I knew the only people reading this knew our story—hi Sully Ray!!—and that he, err, they would get a kick out of the trip down Meta Lane. Last year, I was fairly confident I’d doubled my non-family, non-friend readership, but that still meant 50 percent would enjoy a retelling of our tale.

So here it is, year three of Defiantly Dutch and, as of some point tonight, year 16 of me and the wifey, and for a variety of reasons, readership has at least quadrupled from 2008 levels. Yippee! But with such a vast audience at my disposal, I run the risk of turning the annual retelling of our first date and how I knew as soon as I heard Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” that I was about to go on a date with the woman I’d marry into the online version of Patty and Selma’s vacation slide show. Either you’re family and you’ve seen it a million times and you don’t care, or you’re not family and you don’t care. The sound you hear is people closing out this window.

But hey, it’s my blog, so I’m commemorating the anniversary again! And plus, if I don’t note the enormity of today, my mother-in-law will wonder if we’re getting a divorce or something.

However, I won’t subject you to the same stories, so if you’re interested in seeing our slide show—I mean, reading our story—click the links above. And if you’re one of the new young readers who discovered me via Twitter—that crazy new-fangled thing all the kids are listening to on their 8-track players—I thought you’d like to know that 16 years ago last night, I confirmed the details of our date by calling Michelle. On a PAY PHONE. Google Images it, D.C!

And then, during semester break, we chatted once a week on the real phone and sent letters to each other. Real, live, actual handwritten letters that we put into envelopes, stamped, took to the post office and dropped in a mailbox. And then, a few days later, the Pony Express delivered the letter to the other’s door, unless of course the mailman died of dysentery. So take your cell phones and text messaging and emails and Skype and get off my lawn!!!

Where was I? Oh right. Happy anniversary honey! Most guys are married to women who barely tolerate sports, but I’m married to someone who gets grumpy on the rare occasions she can’t join me at a game. Thanks for constantly reminding me that I outkicked my coverage (a football analogy tonight—sneaky!). You still can’t wear my new Hofstra basketball polo though.

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.

Get To Know: Allen Griffin

This season marks the first time Hofstra has an entirely new men’s basketball staff since the 1994-95 season. Fans are already well-acquainted with head coach Mo Cassara, but we sat down last week with the rest of his staff—Steve DeMeo, Allen Griffin and Wayne Morgan—to get to know them a little better. We’ll unveil these introductory Q&As once a week for the next three weeks. (We profiled Wayne Morgan last week)

Second in our series is Griffin, who was recruited to and played for Morgan at Syracuse, served along with DeMeo on Tim Welsh’s staff at Providence and was most recently at St. Francis in Brooklyn. And the ties to the Flying Dutchmen don’t stop there: As we learned during our chat, Griffin has a long-standing connection to the most important player on the roster.

As someone who has spent most of his life and career in the northeast, how would you describe basketball here to someone who doesn’t know about it?

It’s a mixture of power with a little finesse. If you go out into the Pac-10 and out in the Mountain West, it’s a lot of run-and-gun, fast break, finesse basketball. Whereas in the northeast, you’ve got to be able to play half-court put the ball in the post and play more rugged at times.

When did you realize coaching was something you wanted to do?

To be honest with you, I realized as a sophomore in college that eventually this is what I wanted to do. I talked to coach [Mike] Hopkins about it all the time and I studied him and watched him and tried to mimic a lot of things he’s done, because he’s very successful in the coaching business. It just was one of those things that I said ‘You know what? I think I can do that. I think I’d be great at it.’

What was it like apprenticing, as both a player and a coach, at a school like Syracuse that is so well-known nationally?

It teaches you a lot. The one good thing about being at that level is that you deal with a lot of motivated kids that want to go to the next level. I think once you get from that level, you get the mid-majors and eventually the lower major colleges—some of the guys don’t believe that they can make it there. So it helps me to understand that and pump guys up, saying ‘You know, you can make it if you put the hard work in’ and give those guys the hope and the support system that it can eventually boost them to being what they want to be in terms of a professional.

What was March and April like for you, first when Brian Nash left at St. Francis and then with the upheaval here following Tim Welsh’s arrest and resignation?

My wife was having a baby at the same time, she was eight months pregnant when all this stuff was going on. I actually accepted the job before Brian resigned. I was probably, outside of his family, one of the first guys he called to tell that to. And I was trying to tell him to stay, just because of the other two guys that were there that I cared for a lot. [He] didn’t want to see those guys out of a job and I just didn’t want to see Brian out of it. I knew he had some hard years, but he had a great recruiting class coming in and I just thought that he’d be successful with some better players.

[At Hofstra], oh wow, that was a tough time. But you know what, the one thing that I was aware of as soon as I got to campus here was the support system and the great people that we have as administrators at the university. They were always in our corner, regardless. When Tim was here, they were in our corner. And when Tim had to go, they were in our corner and they backed us 100 percent, and I felt secure about that. Jack told me ‘Hey, listen go have that baby, don’t worry about nothing, we’re going to take care of everything.’ I trusted him and I believed him and he was a man of his word. And I appreciate that.

What’s the dynamic like between the staff?

I think we’ve got a great staff—not a good staff, a great staff. We all have our own opinions, different opinions, but I think we all come together when it’s all said and done, and obviously, it’s coach’s decision at the end of the day. But we all come to a common understanding and a common knowledge of what we want to do and how we want to do it, and we just go out there and teach. It’s a great staff. We get along off the court just as much as we get along on the court, which helps tremendously in our development as a staff.

You spoke earlier about having to convince a lot of mid-major players just how good they can be. What’s it like coaching someone like Charles Jenkins, who has proven he can play with anyone and has the confidence to go along with that talent?

I’ve got to tell you a story about Charles Jenkins. Me and Charles Jenkins go back to when Charles was probably eight years old. Charles lived three doors down from where I grew up [with] my grandmother, where I lived pretty much all my life. So I know his family, I know his whole family, I know Charles and I always followed him. An the one thing that is great about having Charles here is that if I can share anything and he can get just one thing from what I’ve experienced and what I’ve been through, then I’m happy with it. He’s a pro. He’s a pro already. I’m just here to help—whatever he needs me to be and asks me to do, I’m there for him.

Give us your first memory of Charles.

He was a little big-headed kid in a skinny body [grins]. I tell people that all the time. [He was] running around. His parents, they kept him close to them, which was great. Got a great family and they’re all great people.

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.

Hofstra 58, Rider 48 (Or: I heard it on the radio, oh whoa whoa the radio)

Take that, Comcast and ChannelSurfing! Look what I found last night!

Hate to do this, especially after such an impressive and potentially pivotal win, but I’m going to go with the bullet point recap today of the Flying Dutchmen’s 58-48 win over Rider, because I’m up to my eyeballs in other work and I know if I wait on this it’ll be Thursday or so before I post it.

The bullet point recap will also have to suffice because my plans to go to the game fell through for a bunch of stupid reasons yesterday and I didn’t get to actually watch the game—either in person, online or on television—for the first time in quite a while. Thanks, Comcast, for blocking Rider from offering the feed and to Channelsurfing.net for never finding a way to offer it but offering VMI take on something called a Central Pennsylvania College! That is fantastic! (These are all very weird rantings coming from someone who used to change channels with something called a cable box, Google it D.C.)

Anyway, I hope to catch your main man and mine Mo Cassara later in the day for a more in-depth Q&A, so stay tuned to the Twitters in case that comes about. Thanks for your patience and I promise you the December recaps will be much better.

—This was a very encouraging win. The Dutchmen mounted runs of 10-0 and 8-0 in taking a 16-point lead in the first half and forced sharp-shooting Rider to miss its first 11 shots from 3-point land. It was unreasonable to expect the Dutchmen to dominate like that for 40 minutes, and the Broncs stormed back in a hurry over a 14-minute stretch spanning the halves in which they shot 50 percent from the field (12-of-24, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc) and outscored the Dutchmen 31-15 to tie the game at 39.

Rider had a chance to take the lead just beyond the midway point of the second half, but after Patrick Mansell missed a 3-pointer, Charles Jenkins hit a driving layup—almost but not quite drawing the charge in the process—to begin a 13-2 run that included two huge 3-pointers from Shemiye McLendon and a resounding dunk by Greg Washington that completed the surge and gave the Dutchmen a 52-41 lead with 5:31 left. The Dutchmen were never threatened again.

—It’s folly to read too much into non-conference results, but it cannot be underestimated how valuable these last two wins have been for the Dutchmen, whose second half comeback Friday and ability to remain upright despite a flurry from Rider in the second half Monday is proof this team is learning how to win under a new coach and developing both resiliency and a killer instinct all at the same time. Things felt pretty disastrous a week ago, but the Dutchmen have got to be feeling good going into the first game of the season that really counts Saturday against Towson.

Of course, Rider looked ready to win the MAAC when it beat USC by 20 in California and followed that up with double-digit wins over TCU and Loyola Marymount in a tournament in Massachusetts, but now the Broncs have lost two straight and coach Tommy Dempsey sounds despondent. So things can change just as quickly in the other direction—something Cassara is no doubt reminding the Dutchmen of today.

—Three days after Cassara came up with a winning combination in pot luck supper style, the Dutchmen won in far more conventional fashion Monday. For the first time this season, all five Dutchmen starters played at least 30 minutes, which allowed Cassara to pick his spots for the rest of the rotation—freshmen McLendon and Stephen Nwaukoni and sophomore Yves Jules. McLendon, in particular, maximized his minutes by draining those two key 3-pointers and scoring all eight of his points as the Dutchmen pulled away in the second half.

Among the starters, the most encouraging performances were delivered by Washington and Dwan McMillan, each of whom set a season-high in minutes played. Washington had eight points, six rebounds, three blocks and three fouls in 34 minutes—a steady and unspectacular line, but more than enough for the Dutchmen. If Washington can bottle that and uncork it every night, he’ll be an asset all season long.

McMillan, who looked so lost on both sides of the ball in the first two games in Puerto Rico, has improved dramatically in a week. He had 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals, two turnovers—an old-fashioned box score stuffer—and was lauded by the WRHU team for the efficient way he ran the offense. He also committed a smart foul at the end of the first half, when he gave the one foul the Dutchmen had to give and forced Rider to reset its offense at half court with under two seconds to play. The Broncs could only get off a long and rushed 3-point attempt. He clearly will not give up playing time to Brad Kelleher (11 days left until he’s freed) without a fight.

—Jenkins (a game-high 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting) didn’t have a classic Jenkins game, but he followed up another quiet first half with a handful of clutch shots during a 14-point second half. Mike Moore didn’t do much offensively (four points on 1-of-7 shooting) but pulled down a team-high 10 boards, the second time this season he’s reached double digits in rebounds. Imes pulled down just four boards and wasn’t as beastly as he was Friday, but he scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and committed just two fouls in 34 minutes. He has played at least 30 minutes in each of his last four games after playing in as many as 20 minutes in a game just once last year.

—This zone defense is for real. Check out Rider’s points per game before last night: 67-80-77-76-73-60. Rider shot just 33.9 percent overall and 21.4 percent from 3-point land, well below their norms of nearly 50 percent in both categories. The Dutchmen also forced Rider into 16 turnovers.

The Dutchmen have allowed 63 points or fewer in their last four games, only their third such streak in the last 10 seasons. Last night marked the second time this year the Dutchmen have held a team to more than 30 points below its season high (Western Kentucky scored 98 against Saint Joseph’s a week before scoring 62 against the Dutchmen).

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Rider, 11/29)

3: Dwan McMillan

2: Charles Jenkins

1: Greg Washington

SEASON STANDINGS

Charles Jenkins 16

Mike Moore 6

Dwan McMillan 4

David Imes 4

Greg Washington 3

Shemiye McClendon 2

Stephen Nwaukoni 1

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.

Five halftime thoughts: Rider

1.) You would have taken an eight-point lead at intermission two hours ago, but the Dutchmen seemed ready to blow Rider out after runs of 10-0 and 8-0 gave them a 24-8 lead. But Rider has the momentum after cutting that 16-point lead in half with a 10-2 run that included three 3-pointers. The Broncs, who entered the game shooting 49 percent from beyond the arc, missed their first 11 shots from 3-point land.

2.) This is another fascinating maturation test for the Dutchmen. Rider is too good offensively to not come up with another run or two. Will the Dutchmen be able to withstand the Broncs’ flurries, continue clamping down on Rider outside and finish off a potent opponent on the road?

3.) It’s a very good sign the Dutchmen are up eight despite another rough first half for Charles Jenkins (five points on 2-for-9 shooting). If he has a second half like the one he did Friday, the Dutchmen are in very good shape.

4.) Dwan McMillan has been outstanding, racking up a team-high 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and running the point efficiently. According to the WRHU announcers, the offense seemed less smooth once Jenkins replaced McMillan at the point late in the half. McMillan also committed a smart foul in the waning seconds, which effectively forced Rider to reset its offense and limited the Broncs to a desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

5.) The first half could have ended better for the Dutchmen, but they are doing what they have to do to win—keeping this game on pace to play in the 60s. If that continues, the Dutchmen win.

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.

Five pregame thoughts: Rider

1.) This is a good test for the Flying Dutchmen. Rider was picked fifth in the MAAC preseason poll but looked like it might be the best team in the conference when the Broncs recorded double-digit wins at Southern Cal and over TCU and Loyola Marymount at the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off. Rider cooled off when it fell to Siena in the MAAC opener Friday, but the Broncs still seem to be a legitimate NCAA Tournament contender and will be a good barometer for where the Dutchmen are in the maturation process.

2.) This will REALLY be a good test for the zone defense. Against Wagner, the Dutchmen were content to take away the middle and force the Seahawks to beat them from outside—which they almost did thanks to a superhuman performance from Latif Rivers, who was draped most of the night but was still 6-of-10 from 3-point land. Rider, which fell to the Dutchmen 92-89 in overtime in the Bracket Buster last year, is averaging 72.2 points a game this year on almost 50 percent shooting from both beyond the arc (49.1 percent) and overall (49.5 percent). The Broncs have three starters who stand at least 6-foot-7 but nobody taller than 6-foot-8, so a reverse of the Wagner game plan may be in order. It will be a very good sign for the Dutchmen if this game is played in the 60s.

3.) How will Greg Washington respond to Friday’s forced benching? Washington didn’t get off the bench in the final 17:40 due to foul trouble, but the Dutchmen stormed back from an eight-point deficit and beat Wagner thanks in large part to the stellar play of freshman Stephen Nwaukoni. In four games against Division I foes, Washington is averaging just 2.5 points and 4.0 rebounds. He had no boards at all against Wagner. Mo Cassara has no choice but to give Washington, one of just two players on the active roster who started a game before this season, plenty of opportunity to assert himself, so a demotion doesn’t seem likely quite yet. But Nwaukoni’s performance Friday should have Washington looking over his shoulder and doubly inspired tonight.

4.) Conversely, how much will Nwaukoni and Yves Jules be rewarded tonight? Nwaukoni and Jules were the most unlikely members of the unlikely quintet that pulled marathon duty down the stretch Friday. Nwaukoni was already cementing a role for himself but Jules played half as many minutes Friday (16) as he did in the first four games combined. His defense tonight will be a vital part of limiting the Broncs’ damage from outside.

5.) Will the real Charles Jenkins show up from the tip, or will it take a half for him to shed Cyber Monday Charles? Jenkins’ line about Thanksgiving Charles playing the first half Friday was one of the great quotes of the year, but the Dutchmen can’t win many games if he’s only the real Charles for one half. Expect a far more normal 25-point effort from Jenkins tonight.

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.

Hofstra 67, Wagner 63 (Or: Stars Are Born)

David Imes and Stephen Nwaukoni--as well as their head coach--were far more impressive Friday night than Sky Corrigan and Mary Katherine Gallagher ever were. (And apparently I must post photos from movies inspired by Saturday Night Live whenever recapping a weekend win by the Flying Dutchmen)

As they exited the media room following the post-game press conference Friday, sophomore David Imes and freshman Stephen Nwaukoni were surrounded by kids asking them to autograph Hofstra schedule posters. If their performances against Wagner are any indication, Imes and Nwaukoni will be doing the same thing a year, except they’ll be signing schedule posters on which they are pictured.

Imes pulled down a remarkable 17 rebounds and scored 14 points in a passionate performance and Nwaukoni also had a double-double (13 rebounds, 10 points) as the Flying Dutchmen came back from a 10-point second half deficit to edge Wagner, 67-63.

“I think, coming out of Puerto Rico with three really tough teams and tough games, we were still feeling a little sorry for ourselves and trying to figure out how to win,” Mo Cassara said after recording his first win against a Division I opponent. “And that’s the biggest challenge for this team now, is to get better everyday and continue to learn how to win. I think tonight we did a few things down the stretch to learn how to win.”

That went for the players as much as the new coaching staff. The star-making performances of Imes and Nwaukoni—the first Hofstra duo to put up double-doubles in regulation since Aurimas Kieza (18 points, 12 rebounds) and Adrian Uter (15 points, 11 rebounds) against Northeastern Feb. 11, 2006—highlighted a fascinating game in which the Dutchmen maturation process took a big step forward before the eyes of the 2,542 at the Arena.

The Dutchmen appeared headed for a disastrous -looking defeat against a Wagner team picked 11th in the 12-team Northeast Conference when they trailed throughout a first half in which Charles Jenkins—this year’s schedule poster boy—didn’t score from the field. The Dutchmen fell behind by 10 a mere 126 seconds into the second half and saw starters Greg Washington and Mike Moore each pick up their fourth fouls within the next minute.

With the Dutchmen still down three at the end of the under-12 media timeout, Cassara sent this lineup on to the floor: Jenkins-Imes-Nwaukoni-Yves Jules-Dwan McMillan. That’s two first-year players and two sophomores who barely played as freshmen surrounding one of the most decorated players in school history.

“If you told me we were going to have that lineup in the game at the end of the game, I would say we were losing,” Cassara said.

Yet that quintet stayed out there for the next 11 minutes. The Dutchmen took the lead at the 9:56 mark on a jumper by Jenkins, who missed all six of his shots in the first half and his first shot of the second half before he drained his next six and ended up scoring 17 of his 19 points in the final 13:31, and took the lead for good on a free throw by Nwaukoni, who barely hit the rim on his first three free throw attempts but hit his next six from the line.

“I kept kind of leaning back to my staff, saying ‘Should we sub? Should we sub?’” Cassara said. “And then Mike and Greg and Shemiye had really been out of the game for a while and I really thought that we had done a pretty good job defensively. [Wagner] just hit some tough shots and I didn’t want to disrupt that.”

Cassara didn’t go to the bench again until there were 18.5 seconds left, when he pulled McMillan—who had a terrible time against the Western Kentucky press in the waning minutes of the 62-60 loss in Puerto Rico a week earlier—and Jules in favor of Moore and Shemiye McLendon. After Jenkins hit two free throws to give the Dutchmen a 66-63 lead, Cassara put McMillan and Jules back in, and it was McMillan who corralled the rebound and dribbled out the clock after Nwaukoni’s meaningless miss of a free throw with just under four seconds to play.

“Anytime we put the jerseys on, it’s going to be a learning process for this whole group,” Cassara said. “It’s a whole new staff. It’s a whole new team and we’re still learning how to win and we’re still trying to figure out what pieces to put in at what times.”

Imes ascended into the starting lineup over the summer and Nwaukoni was viewed as a valuable bench player because of his rebounding prowess, but not even the most optimistic observer could have foreseen how well they would play Friday, nor how they would almost single-handedly keep the Dutchmen in the game in the first half. Imes and Nwaukoni combined for 18 of the Dutchmen’s 21 first half rebounds, had 11 points between them and helped quiet a Wagner front court that broke the Dutchmen’s 2-3 zone for three easy baskets in the first seven minutes.

Imes was determined and dominant from start to finish Friday, when he was the best player on the court all night and left some hyperbolic Tweeter scrambling for descriptive terms other than “Goddamn Beast.” His previous career high for rebounds was seven, but he pulled down eight boards in the first 10 minutes Friday. Imes finished 6-of-11 from the field but saved his best basket for last, when, as the lone Hofstra player amongst three Wagner players, he grabbed a Jenkins air ball and muscled his way in for a layup that extended the Dutchmen’s lead to 64-61 with 1:07 left.

“I was like ‘I’ve gotta get this,’” Imes said. “One dude grabbed it, so I took it out of his hand and finished it. It was like ‘I’ve gotta get it.’ That’s the game right there, so I just made it my mission to go get that ball.”

Perhaps most impressive of all: Imes didn’t pick up one foul even though he spent most of the game giving up four inches to Wagner’s 6-foot-11 freshman Naofall Folahan.

“I just know at the end of the day, he is bigger than me, but I’m stronger,” Imes said. “So I should just have to use my body to get him off the paint as much as possible. And hopefully he goes over my back. It wasn’t too much of a hassle, to be honest.”

The consistency was particularly notable for Imes who tied his career high for points by scoring eight points before the first media timeout against Nebraska last Sunday but didn’t score again the rest of the game.

“I just came out knowing, from the jump, with Greg or without him, that I had to come make an impact,” Imes said. “The coaches [have been] saying that I need to start being more assertive with myself, be more aggressive. So I just took that as [a sign] this is my opportunity, so why not go out with some confidence and see what I could do.”

Nwaukoni’s confidence was tested against Farmingdale, when he missed five shots, all from underneath the basket. But the freshman has impressed Cassara with his work ethic, and the effort paid off Friday.

“The first couple games we had, I was kind of nervous, being that it’s my first couple of real college basketball games.” Nwaukoni said. “But today, I actually felt pretty good and I’m just really happy that I went out there and did what I had to do.”

“That kid is in the gym more than any kid we have,” Cassara said. “If you would have seen him shoot free throws in September, you would say there is no way that kid will ever play.”

And anyone who was told ahead of time Friday that Jenkins would have such a brutal first half (“That wasn’t me in the first half—that was the Thanksgiving Charles,” Jenkins said) and that Washington and Moore would play just 15 minutes apiece would figure there was no way the Dutchmen would ever win. But they did, in a win that indicated they still have pretty far to go but have already come pretty far.

“We’re going to continue to get better, we’re going to keep looking at different pieces in different roles,” Cassara said. “Guys are working hard, and you know what? Some of the guys that didn’t play that well tonight were cheering in there in the locker room, and that’s the sign of a team getting better and that’s the sign of a good team and that’s the sign of a team that’s learning how to win. And that’s what I’m most proud of.”

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Wagner, 11/26)

3: David Imes

2: Charles Jenkins

1: Stephen Nwaukoni

SEASON STANDINGS

Charles Jenkins 14

Mike Moore 6

David Imes 4

Shemiye McClendon 2

Greg Washington 2

Dwan McMillan 1

Stephen Nwaukoni 1

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.

Five halftime thoughts: Wagner

1.) How messed up was this half for Hofstra? The five players on the court at the end of the half were Shemiye McLendon, Dwan McMillan, Yves Jules, David Imes and Stephen Nwaukoni. That’s three newcomers to the program and two players who barely got off the bench last year. Charles Jenkins (two points on 0-6 shooting, unofficially, and two fouls) and Greg Washington (no points, two fouls) have been invisible. Whatever is ailing Jenkins, he has to shake it at the half because the Dutchmen have no shot if he can’t emerge from his funk.

2.) That said, David Imes was an absolute beast this half, and the best player on the court—either team—by a wide margin. He had 11 rebounds, four more than his career high entering the game. He also has four points and a resounding block. Bill Thieben’s single game record of 43 boards is probably safe, but we are witnessing the coming out party for Imes.

3.) We’re also seeing an emergence of sorts by Stephen Nwaukoni, who is displaying the work ethic and determined nature that has Mo Cassara raving about him. Nwaukoni, who is aggressive under the basket and repeatedly putting the ball back, has six points and has hit his last three free throws after badly missing his first three free throw attempts.

4.) Foul trouble is going to be an issue for the Dutchmen in the second half. Mike Moore, who hit two early 3s to keep the Dutchmen in the game, has three fouls and Yves Jules also has two fouls.

5.) First to 60 wins. The Hofstra single-game record for points in a game—118 vs. Wagner in 1972-73—is quite safe. The Dutchmen’s zone defense has rendered taken away the inside game from Wagner, but the Seahawks are draining all their open looks from outside (4-of-6 from three-point land). The Dutchmen have to figure out a way to minimize the damage from beyond the arc in order to win.

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.