Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, parents, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The CAA Tournament is taking place this weekend in Washington, DC, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of access in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage from DC with a recap of the 2nd round quadruple-header on Saturday.
GAME #1: Elon-Drexel
After inhaling some pizza/garlic bread, let’s tip-off a quadruple-header from CareFirst (formerly the Entertainment & Sports) Arena:
The CAA usually puts me above the 100 level in a press box, but apparently I have not alienated them because I got to sit in the 2nd row! Towson coach Pat Skerry (fresh off being named 2025 conference COY last Thursday) was a few seats to my right doing some scouting, as he will face the winner of today’s game at noon on Sunday:
The Drexel Dragon was feeling very confident as his team built a big lead early:
Drexel G Kobe MaGee lived up to his legendary 1st name in the 1st 20 minutes with 19 PTS/4-7 3PM:
His backcourt mate Jason Drake lived up to his legendary last name (Love the Drake!) with 14 PTS/6-8 FG in the 1st half including a 30-footer at the halftime buzzer (not pictured) to give his team a huge 45-22 halftime lead:
Speaking of huge, you do not see too many 7’4″ guys in the NCAA, much less the CAA, but Elon C Matthew Van Komen certainly qualifies:
After falling behind by 25 PTS early in the 2nd half, the Phoenix instituted a full-court press and made a furious rally to cut the deficit to 5 PTS thanks to Sam Sherry/TK Simpkins (who each scored 23 PTS on 50 FG%):
However, Drexel was able to stop the bleeding with an 11-0 run of its own to win it by a score of 91-74 and will face #1 seed Towson on Sunday at noon.
In the postgame press conference I asked Drake about his buzzer-beater (which helped him tie his career-high of 25 PTS). He said that the team did not run a specific play, but that he works on that shot after practice and has always been trying to do that his whole life. I wanted to see how Drexel coach Zach Spiker felt about facing Towson since his 2 losses to the Tigers were in OT in January and by 1-PT in February. He confirmed that Towson is the #1 seed for a reason and won a lot of 1-possession games this year. He warned me that Coach Skerry would try to find a nugget to put on the bulletin board in his locker room…but that he was not getting anything today!:
GAME #2: Delaware-Campbell
The Blue Hen is certainly not feeling blue today (while also freaking me out!), and the Camel is ready to rock after stretching his legs:
Campbell G Tasos Cook led the way with 9 PTS in the 1st half, but Delaware F John Camden scored 11 as the Blue Hens took a 36-30 halftime lead:
I missed most of the 2nd half while interviewing a couple of Campbell band members, but Delaware G Erik Timko picked up much of the slack with 19 PTS/3-6 3PM/12 REB as the Blue Hens cruised to a 79-62 win.
In the postgame press conference I asked Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby whether he would take any lessons from his team’s double-digit win over William & Mary exactly 4 weeks ago or whether you just throw out the tape because the regular season and postseason are so different. He said that it is 1 of his team’s only wins recently despite taking place a LONG time ago, and that the Tribe will make things chaotic for 40 minutes. When you are only playing 7 1/2 guys you need to get some rest, but since the 2 teams have similar styles on offense that will help prepare his guys for tomorrow:
GAME #3: Hampton-Northeastern
Dinner was delicious: make-your-own taco salad, then cheesecake for dessert! The Husky must be as exhausted as I am because he was resting in the front row with his tongue hanging out:
I missed most of the game while typing up 1 interview and conducting another. George Beale Jr. scored 10 PTS for Hampton in the 1st half but Rashad King had 13 PTS (and an incredulous stare in my direction) as Northeastern headed to halftime with a 37-29 lead.
Those 2 stars kept it rolling in the 2nd half, but Hampton’s Noah Farrakhan (22 PTS) stepped up and helped his team hang on down the stretch for a 70-65 victory:
In the postgame press conference I asked Hampton coach Ivan Thomas how a 1st year coach was able to beat the winningest coach in CAA history (Bill Coen). He noted that while he is a 1st-year college coach, he was a high school coach for 15 years. Coen is a great coach and they hail from the same coaching tree “indirectly”. They both preach physicality/toughness and he was happy that Hampton was able to prevail:
I wondered how Farrakhan felt about finally winning a conference tourney game after going 0-2 during his time at ECU/West Virginia. He said that it felt good: he had talked to his teammates before the game and told them to cherish these moments because they go by real fast.
We also learned that Beale/Farrakhan shared this beautiful “Put in the Work” belt because…well, they had both put in in the work:
GAME #4: Hofstra-Monmouth
I am sure that it was a fun game but quadruple-headers are a young man’s game. I got to see a pair of former interviewees (Jack/Kathleen Miller) as they were preparing to cheer for their son Corey’s Monmouth team…and then headed out before I fell asleep. That is a wrap for today, check back tomorrow for the quarterfinal quadruple-header as the top seeds finally take the court.
