Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, parents, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The CAA Tournament tips off this weekend in Washington, DC, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD will be covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of articles in the week ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage with a recap of the title game on Tuesday night.
Solid pregame dinner: spaghetti/chicken parm/meatballs/breadsticks/cheesecake/lemonade. Monmouth coach King Rice has 1 of his biggest supporters sitting behind the bench: his former UNC teammate JR Reid:
Let’s tip off the title game:
MONMOUTH-HOFSTRA
In the 1st half, Monmouth used an inside-out combo in the form of 6’9″ Stefanos Spartalis (who had a jumper in the lane, a sweet spin/lefty layup, and a hammer dunk) and 6’3″ Justin Ray (a pair of threes and a fadeaway jumper) to take an early 10-3 lead and then hang around the rest of the half. In contrast, Hofstra’s 1-man show of Preston Edmead (who made the game-winning 3 off the glass in OT Monday night to beat Towson) did a little of everything: a couple of floaters in the lane, the rare 4-PT play, a bank shot, and a pull-up jumper. His 16 PTS in the opening stanza allowed the Pride to head to halftime with a 35-32 lead.
In the 2nd half, Monmouth G Kavion McClain came out hot with 11 PTS in the 1st 3 minutes (after scoring just 2 PTS in the 1st half) to give his team a 45-39 lead, but picked up his 3rd foul of the game right before the under-16 timeout. Spartalis kept hitting the boards, finishing with a double-double and a career-high 11 REB. The game remained close down the stretch so everyone assumed we were in for another OT thriller like last night, but Hofstra 7-footer Silas Sunday matched Spartalis board for board as he had his 3rd straight game with double-digits REB, and Monday night’s hero Preston Edmead saved the day with a floater, a layup, and a 3 from the top of key to finish with a career-high 26 PTS as the Pride took home the title with a 75-69 victory.
That is a wrap for tonight, check back tomorrow for some great Hofstra celebration photos, and check back later this month when the East Regional comes to DC!
