MBB Game 5: at UCLA (Thu 11/21, 11 pm ET)

[Hofstra]

88-78!!!!!!

What a half!!

What a GAME!!

Is everyone back in off the ledge now? Can we not call it a lost season in NOVEMBER anymore?

We won a nice game. I am happy, I am ecstatic. This season will not end with cutting the nets down in DC though. Lets not fool ourselves. After last year, I am prepared for disappointment, and wont be getting my hopes up. We beat a GREAT name. We did not beat a GREAT team though. We lost to Bucknell and San Jose St. To say the season is back on after those losses is foolish. Again though, GREAT win tonight, I am super happy and proud of this team.

[Mikey77]

Hofstra's comments are spot on. Great W. This team has lots of work to do. We need more production from the bench. And the staff needs to recruit some "bigs" down the line. This is one of HU's smaller teams in a while. All in all, however, last night's W is a step in the right direction and nothing but applause for those guys. Bravo!

[dutchalum01]

Wow, I confess to always having great hope but modest expectations. When we couldn't seem to stop them and were down 30-19 at around the 10 minute mark I went to bed. I am 82 with a heart condition so my cardiologist would be happy. It is now around 3:30 and I got one of the more pleasant shocks of my life. Kudos to all. Jaylen and Desure have been terrific and giving their all every game. Keep it going guys. Go Pride!

How long have you been a Dutch/Pride fan Fifties?


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[Jojogunne]

So has anyone seen any highlights of this game other then UCLA'S. There's a minute and 8 seconds of highlights on you tube which is all UCLA. If you didn't know who won this game and were just watching these highlights you would think its just another win for a P5 team against a lowly mid-major. I would imagine that you would have to get highlights of this game from SOMEPLACE other then UCLA??

I found this ... several Hofstra baskets in the first half, then all UCLA "highlights" the rest of the way:

https://pac-12.com/videos/extended-reca ... ble-double

Impressive to see all those national championship banners hanging from the Pauley Pavilion rafters.

[triplec2195]

So has anyone seen any highlights of this game other then UCLA'S. There's a minute and 8 seconds of highlights on you tube which is all UCLA. If you didn't know who won this game and were just watching these highlights you would think its just another win for a P5 team against a lowly mid-major. I would imagine that you would have to get highlights of this game from SOMEPLACE other then UCLA??

I found this ... several Hofstra baskets in the first half, then all UCLA "highlights" the rest of the way:

https://pac-12.com/videos/extended-reca ... ble-double

Impressive to see all those national championship banners hanging from the Pauley Pavilion rafters.

Nice find Jojo thanks for posting this wish we could get more!

[fiftiespride]

Dutchalumo1, I have been an intense Dutch/Pride fan since eighth or ninth grade some 69 years ago. I used to convince older friends who could drive to attend Hofstra athletics for years before I entered as a student in 1955. I was a gym rat when I was there and stayed in touch with many of the coaches over the years. I ran track and went out for wrestling although I had no wrestling background. My high school,
Sea Cliff, now North Shore had no team. "Brick" Stone coached both and encouraged me to come out for wrestling. I have never driven because of my eyes so I did a lot of hitch hiking at all hours including to athletic events including Hofstra's. I want to thank everyone on this board for their contributions; particularly those that post links and info re: recruiting. I'm afraid I have allowed technology to pass me by and don't know how to share links but I want to encourage all of you to enter Hofstra 23+1 and then access the Gorge Vecsey article. It shares some history that will make you proud that I experienced first hand along with George Vecsey, someone I have kept in occasional contact with over the years. We not only were 23+1 in basketball but thanks to Howdy Myers a National power in lacrosse and 9+0 in football. Of course except for lacrosse we were division 111 and Hofstra college in those days. We have been fortunate over the years to have had many fine coaches and a few great ones. From my perspective, Tom Ryan was our best coach/recruiter but our best coach in any sport at any time was Butch VanBredaKoff( first time around). You could see his teams evolve in execution and grow in confidence from week to week. Hofstra had an 8 team holiday festival back in the fifties. Butch brought in an almost cocky Lafayette team in and won it, the next year he won it with Hofstra and Bill Thieben and of course eventually left Hofstra to take Princeton to the final four with Bill Bradley. His teams had a right to be cocky because they always knew what to do. He was a commanding and great practice coach. Vecsey refers to a season when the team was decimated by mid-term results. He had to raid the intramurals not just to fill out the squad but to put people on the court and he still won, I believe beating a nationally ranked Manhatten team. I have many fine memories, some painful ones also.

[triplec2195]

Thanks for sharing that part of your life fiftiespride very interesting and full of great memories. I've been around this basketball team since the mid 70's when somehow I stumbled onto a Street & Smiths college basketball review and starting reading about this kid Hofstra recruited from Wilt Chamberlin's H.S. in Philly called Overbrook. The report said this kid was a phenom and one of the top players coming out of H.S. that year. Of course his name was Rich Laurel and he went on to have a storied career at Hofstra and what a pleasure to see him play. I've been hooked on HU basketball ever since and lately we seem to be getting closer to that dangling carrot that has eluded us for many years. Thanks for the memories!!

[dutchalum01]

Dutchalumo1, I have been an intense Dutch/Pride fan since eighth or ninth grade some 69 years ago. I used to convince older friends who could drive to attend Hofstra athletics for years before I entered as a student in 1955. I was a gym rat when I was there and stayed in touch with many of the coaches over the years. I ran track and went out for wrestling although I had no wrestling background. My high school,
Sea Cliff, now North Shore had no team. "Brick" Stone coached both and encouraged me to come out for wrestling. I have never driven because of my eyes so I did a lot of hitch hiking at all hours including to athletic events including Hofstra's. I want to thank everyone on this board for their contributions; particularly those that post links and info re: recruiting. I'm afraid I have allowed technology to pass me by and don't know how to share links but I want to encourage all of you to enter Hofstra 23+1 and then access the Gorge Vecsey article. It shares some history that will make you proud that I experienced first hand along with George Vecsey, someone I have kept in occasional contact with over the years. We not only were 23+1 in basketball but thanks to Howdy Myers a National power in lacrosse and 9+0 in football. Of course except for lacrosse we were division 111 and Hofstra college in those days. We have been fortunate over the years to have had many fine coaches and a few great ones. From my perspective, Tom Ryan was our best coach/recruiter but our best coach in any sport at any time was Butch VanBredaKoff( first time around). You could see his teams evolve in execution and grow in confidence from week to week. Hofstra had an 8 team holiday festival back in the fifties. Butch brought in an almost cocky Lafayette team in and won it, the next year he won it with Hofstra and Bill Thieben and of course eventually left Hofstra to take Princeton to the final four with Bill Bradley. His teams had a right to be cocky because they always knew what to do. He was a commanding and great practice coach. Vecsey refers to a season when the team was decimated by mid-term results. He had to raid the intramurals not just to fill out the squad but to put people on the court and he still won, I believe beating a nationally ranked Manhatten team. I have many fine memories, some painful ones also.

That’s really great! Honestly, thank you for sharing and thank you for being a lifelong fan. That means a lot to many of us in here. I’m a class of 2001 graduate and can only hope to follow this program for decades to come. Hofstra has indeed had some amazing coaches over the years - in my years we’ve had the likes of Jay Wright and Bill Edwards, both hall of game coaches in their respective sports. It’s been said a million times, Hofstra is a sleeping giant. We just need someone to wake it up. Thanks again for sharing.


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[garyg]

I also have been following the Hofstra program since the Richie Laurel/John Irving days and I graduated from Hofstra in 1984...I wrote for The Chronicle and covered the basketball program when Dick Berg was the coach...

[Jojogunne]

Saw this on my TV screen when I set my DVR to record the Maui Tournament on Monday:

Maui Invitational: BYU vs. UCLA
"Two clubs looking to shake off losses meet in the quarterfinals of the Maui Invitational as the Cougars play the Bruins. BYU (3-2) fell to Boise State in overtime Nov. 20. UCLA lost for the first time in 2019-20 when Hofstra prevailed 88-78 Nov. 22."

Let's hope UCLA runs the table in Maui. That will make our win all the more meaningful.

[EvanJ]

So has anyone seen any highlights of this game other then UCLA'S. There's a minute and 8 seconds of highlights on you tube which is all UCLA. If you didn't know who won this game and were just watching these highlights you would think its just another win for a P5 team against a lowly mid-major. I would imagine that you would have to get highlights of this game from SOMEPLACE other then UCLA??

I found this ... several Hofstra baskets in the first half, then all UCLA "highlights" the rest of the way:

https://pac-12.com/videos/extended-reca ... ble-double

Impressive to see all those national championship banners hanging from the Pauley Pavilion rafters.

Thank you. They said we're a "low-major."

[Wags]

88-78!!!!!!

What a half!!

What a GAME!!

Is everyone back in off the ledge now? Can we not call it a lost season in NOVEMBER anymore?

We lost to Bucknell and San Jose St. To say the season is back on after those losses is foolish.

It's no more foolish to say that than it is to say the season is over because of those two losses in November. The team was 3-3 last year before winning the regular season title and playing in the CAA Finals. Teams lose early to teams they shouldn't lose to. It happens. Can't overreact to that. Is Kentucky's season over because they lost to Evansville in November? Why don't we let things play out a bit? Why don't we at least get into conference play for a few games before declaring the season over?

But I do agree with you that this is a big win in terms of name recognition more than beating a good team. UCLA may very well not be that good this year. Nevertheless, there are two reasons to like this win a lot for what it could mean going forward:

1) Whatever we think of this year's UCLA team, Hofstra was still a 14-point underdog on the road and found a way to get a double-digit win.
2) They showed some great resilience through three different runs: down 32-19, they scored the next 10; down 59-51 after a 17-8 UCLA run, they scored the next eight to tie; and in a tight game late, on the road, they went on a 15-6 run to put it away.

[triplec2195]

Totally agree Wags no matter how u slice this it was a big win and maybe a defining moment in this season. I wonder how many mid-majors could say they beat UCLA in Pauley Pavillion great team or not.

[HUSID74]

Wags you are spot on about the meaning of this victory...however it will be tarnished if we don't use the momentum and good feelings created to make this a successful road trip. On to Fullerton...amazing there has been no thread started for this game but I will start one!

[Wags]

Totally agree Wags no matter how u slice this it was a big win and maybe a defining moment in this season. I wonder how many mid-majors could say they beat UCLA in Pauley Pavillion great team or not.

Belmont and Liberty were both able to say it last year. How big of a win this was will be much better judged much later in the year. UCLA may not be that good this season.

But like I said, when you're a 14-point road underdog against any team, and you're down 13 and get back in it, then down 8, and immediately tie it, and then close it out strong late to win by 10, it says something positive about your team. I think at the very least, for right now, we can take that from it.

[Polito]

This was a MONSTER win no matter what for HU, not because of how good UCLA is or isn't, just because it's a true giant slaying by a program that doesn't. And thankfully these young men promptly went out and smoked their next opponent, squashing any risk of a letdown.

It's only 1 win, and this in no way means they are going to cut nets, but it deserves its place in the HU books as one of the best in history. Kids and staff both deserve that.

Now they need to go earn their NCAAT honors - for sure, that has to be proven well beyond this 1 big one early in the year.

[Jojogunne]

So where does the UCLA win rank among Hofstra's best victories? I'm hoping the Bruins take the Maui tournament this week. That will make our win at Pauley Pavilion even better. But here are two other signature games:

1998 ECAC Holiday Festival Tournament - Victories over Georgia Tech (nationally ranked) and Penn:

https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/28/spor ... s-mvp.html

First-ever win over St. John's:

https://redstormsports.com/news/2000/12 ... story.aspx

Can you recall any other games of this magnitude?

[Wags]

So where does the UCLA win rank among Hofstra's best victories? I'm hoping the Bruins take the Maui tournament this week. That will make our win at Pauley Pavilion even better. But here are two other signature games:

1998 ECAC Holiday Festival Tournament - Victories over Georgia Tech (nationally ranked) and Penn:

https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/28/spor ... s-mvp.html

First-ever win over St. John's:

https://redstormsports.com/news/2000/12 ... story.aspx

Can you recall any other games of this magnitude?

I think people get too caught up in program names rather than looking at the teams.

That Georgia Tech team wasn't that good (ended up losing in the first round of the NIT and finished with a losing record, 15-16). We may very well see that UCLA isn't that strong this year either.

That Penn team was an 11 seed in the NCAAT, but lost by 14 in the first round.

It's funny that no one mentions the 11-point home win over George Mason in 2006 (not just on this board, but anywhere else) when considering some of Hofstra's biggest wins of all-time. But, I think that one may be HU's best regular-season win if we don't focus on the school name so much. Other than the ones noted above (Georgia Tech and Penn), how often has Hofstra beaten a nationally-ranked team (very few), let alone one that went the Final Four that same season (I believe, never)? Mason was ranked No. 25 at the time and, of course, was then questionably selected over Hofstra for the NCAAT (as an 11 seed, like Penn), and went to the Final Four. Yet people sort of dismiss it simply because it was George Mason. Had that been UCLA ranked 25th and then going on to the Final Four, everyone would probably be calling that the biggest win regular-season win in Hofstra's history.

Granted, beating Mason when they were ranked 25th (and you could throw in the second win against them in the CAA tourney 11 days later, though Mason was no longer ranked at that point) may also not seem that big on the surface because the first one was at home and it was two conference rivals who know each other well, but it should still be mentioned among Hofstra's best wins ever, if not the best regular-season win ever because it's still a win over a nationally ranked team and over an eventual Final Four team. Over its long history, Hofstra simply doesn't do that kind of thing. Yet that home win is always mentioned along with the CAA tourney win in terms of the NCAAT snub, yet rarely (if ever) mentioned as one of the program's great wins, when it really is.

[Wags]

I'm hoping the Bruins take the Maui tournament this week. That will make our win at Pauley Pavilion even better.

Would've been nice, but UCLA lost to BYU, 78-63, tonight.

For comparison's sake to Hofstra's 88-78 win over UCLA, BYU also beat CSF in its season opener, 76-58... pretty close to the 79-57 score Hofstra beat CSF by.

[triplec2195]

Really good points you made Wags about not only one but two victories over George Mason who isn't exactly a household word yet they managed to get to the final four. We actually got a lot of press because of those wins because there were a lot of people watching our film and analyzing on how how we managed to beat Mason that year twice and meanwhile they were beating P5 schools in the tournament.