WASHINGTON — First-year student Preston Edmead tallied a personal-best 26 points, guiding Hofstra back to the men’s NCAA tournament for the first time in a quarter-century after vanquishing Monmouth 75-69 to claim the Coastal Athletic Association tournament title on Tuesday night.
Securing their fifth NCAA tournament spot overall, and the inaugural under the leadership of Hofstra graduate Speedy Claxton—who has served as head coach since the 2021-22 season—Hofstra last participated in the tournament in 2001, with Jay Wright at the helm. Related: WNBA Union Turns the Corn…
Claxton, who competed for Hofstra from 1996-2000, previously guided the Pride to what was their initial NCAA tournament entry in 23 seasons. He continues to hold the program’s record for assists and steals.
An Edmead 3-pointer provided Hofstra a 64-58 advantage with 3:26 left on the clock. Monmouth, however, rallied, narrowing the deficit to 66-65 on a 3-pointer by Justin Ray with 1:18 remaining.
German Plotnikov of Hofstra sank a jump shot for a 69-65 lead, and two free throws by Edmead extended it to 71-65 with 14 seconds remaining. Kavion McClain’s four-point play injected suspense, bringing the score to 71-69, but he failed to convert his subsequent 3-point attempt. Hofstra then secured the automatic qualification with four crucial free throws in the final moments.
Cruz Davis contributed 12 points and Plotnikov 10 for Hofstra (24-10). Silas Sunday collected 12 rebounds.
Edmead’s prior personal best was 24 points, also against Monmouth in January.
For Monmouth (19-15), McClain notched 19 points, while Jason Rivera-Torres and Stefanos Spartalis each provided 16. Ray added 11 points. Spartalis also secured 11 rebounds.
Monmouth, the No. 4 seed, held the advantage throughout the early stages, leading 18-13 with 10:39 remaining in the half. Hofstra then claimed its initial lead at 24-23 when Davis sank a 3-pointer, and the Pride proceeded to lead 35-32 at halftime.
Prior to this defeat, the Hawks had compiled a record of 8-2 across February and March, including an impressive five-game winning streak.
This report benefited from contributions by ESPN Research and The Associated Press.