Selection Sunday is still a few days away, but we’ve got a great tournament buzzer-beater in the books already.
Preston Edmead lifted Hofstra past Towson 68-65 in the semifinals of the CAA tournament on Monday night with a wild last-second bank shot in overtime at CareFirst Arena. Edmead, with time expiring in the extra period, threw up a ridiculous off-balanced shot over Towson’s Dylan Williamson.
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That sparked a huge celebration on the Hofstra bench with just 0.3 seconds left on the clock, and was enough to secure the three-point win.
Edmead had 22 points in the win for the Pride, and his final 3-pointer was his fifth of the night. The freshman averaged 15.3 points and 4.5 assists per game this season while leading the Pride to a third place finish in the CAA standings.
Cruz Davis added 18 points and five rebounds for Hofstra, and Joshua DeCady finished with 10 points. Tyler Tejada led Towson with 29 points and seven rebounds, and Williamson added 15 points. Towson went 9-9 in CAA play, and beat both Hampton and No. 2 seed Charleston to reach the semifinals.
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Hofstra is being led by former Pride star, and longtime NBA player, Speedy Claxton. He took over for Joe Mihalich ahead of the 2021-22 campaign, and is now in his fifth season with the program.
With the win, Hofstra will now take on Monmouth in the championship game on Tuesday night. The Hawks reached the title game after beating Campbell by 10 points in their semifinal matchup earlier on Monday.
If the Pride can pull off one more win, they will secure their first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2001. Longtime Villanova coach Jay Wright was leading Hofstra then, and they reached the tournament in back-to-back seasons. Now, with Claxton leading the way, the Pride are right on the door of reaching that mark once again.