Cruz Davis, Preston Edmead lead Hofstra past Towson in overtime
Preston Edmead celebrates with teammates after he hit the winning shot as Hofstra beat Towson in the CAA semifinals on Monday. Credit: Hofstra/Joe Orovitz
Speedy Claxton recently opined that it would be “easy” to win three games in three days.
This wasn’t easy. It was a win.
One out of two ain’t bad.
Third-seeded Hofstra outlasted seventh-seed Towson 68-65 in overtime of the second of two Coastal Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament semifinal games Monday night at the CareFirst Arena in Washington D.C.
“Gutsy, gutsy win by my guys,” Claxton said. “They came out and fought start to finish.”
The Pride (23-10) has won six-in-a-row and is one win away from clinching a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The last time Hofstra made the NCAA Tournament was 2000-01, when the Pride lost 61-48, to UCLA in the first round.
Hofstra would have qualified for the Big Dance in the 2019-20 season, but the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the tournament. The Pride finished that season with a 26-8 record and won the CAA Tournament.
Hofstra will meet fourth seed Monmouth in Tuesday’s championship game. The Hawks (19-14) topped ninth-seeded Campbell 74-64 in the first semifinal game Monday. Kavion McClain led Monmouth with 20 points.
The Pride swept the regular season series with the Hawks.
The third of three matchups with the Tigers (19-15) in the 2025-26 season was essentially a 45-minute instructional video on defensive basketball. Neither team shot 40 percent from the field; Hofstra shot 38.1 percent (24-for-63) from the field, while Towson misfired on 39-of-its-63 attempts (37.1 percent).
Cruz Davis, the CAA Player of the Year, scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half before fouling out. His backcourt mate, CAA Rookie of the Year Preston Edmead, picked up the slack, leading the Pride with 22, including the game-winning three with three-tenths of a second left.
“[I have] a lot of trust,” Davis said, when asked about the amount of faith he has in his teammates. “As soon as I went out of the game, Preston gave me a hug (and) he told me he got me.”
Towson tied the game 65-all on Jaquan Womack’s putback with 20 seconds left, but Edmead banked a wing three with three-tenths of a second remaining to win the game.
“Coach said ‘Get one last shot,’” Edmead said. “I saw the time ticking down and I just shot it.”
Tyler Tejada led Towson with 29.
