Hofstra is Dancing
Hofstra returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001
By Marcus Hancock
For the first time since 2001, the Hofstra Pride will be dancing in the NCAA tournament after defeating the Monmouth Hawks, 75-69.
The game was a back-and-forth affair that was dominated by high level guard play. Conference POTY for Hofstra, Cruz Davis, never really was able to get going, finishing with 8 points.
Davis still made timely plays, especially down the stretch. Davis scored a tough spinning floater and drew two defenders to leave German Plotnikov open for a dagger three all in the final two minutes of gameplay.
But the anchor for the Pride in this championship game, as he has been all tournament, was CAA rookie of the year, Preston Edmead. Edmead was absolutely incredible, a step up from his all conference caliber play in the regular season, for Head Coach Speedy Claxton who knows a thing or two about being a high level small guard.
Edmead had 16 in the first half, getting to the charity stripe and hitting some really tough shots over the bevy of defenders the Hawks threw at him. The second half was more of the same as he threw in 10 more baskets to get some separation from Monmouth. This is extremely gratifying for the Pride community as the last time they won the tournament, they did not go dancing.
Back when Coach Claxton was an assistant coach to Joe Mahilich, Hofstra won the CAA’s 2020 conference tournament. However just days later, the covid 19 pandemic would take this away from them. This time, they will not be denied and wait to find out their next matchup when the bracket drops Sunday.
As for Monmouth, just utter heartbreak. After struggling in the first half, Kavion McClain scored on the first 3 possessions of the second to help Monmouth surge for a lead after being kept an arms distance away the majority of the game. With McClain, Coach King Rice’s squad was clicking on all cylinders, applying game pressure until the final buzzer.
Jason Rivera-Torres was another big scoring factor for the Hawks, getting into the paint and using his size and length to dominate around the basket. In the end though, it was not enough to help Monmouth make the NCAAT. Freshman big man Stefanos Spartalis finished his season on a high note, dropping 16 and 11. Retaining him, Rivera-Torres, and sophomore guard Justin Ray should give the Hawks enough to be preseason favorites in the CAA come fall, key word being retaining.