WASHINGTON D.C. — The Monmouth men's basketball team isn't going dancing.
Monmouth fell to Hofstra in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) championship on Tuesday, March 10 inside the CareFirst Arena, 75-69. That gives the Pride the CAA automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Kavion McClain led Monmouth (19-5) with 19 points to go with six assists. Preston Edmead had a game-high 26 points for Hofstra (24-10).
Hofstra locked up the victory with 8.1 seconds left on a pair of free throws by Cruz Davis. German Plotnikov made a big 3-pointer down the stretch after a Justin Ray 3-pointer brought the deficit within one point with 1:18 left in the game.
McClain, held to two points in the first half, played heroically down the stretch. He poured in 11 points of his points in the first five minutes of the second half.
"They made plays man," Monmouth head coach King Rice said. "That freshman is good. My guy got going to start the second half. We got up seven (points) and then we just couldn't sustain it. And they got the lead and they held it."
FOUR TAKEAWAYS
1. Monmouth starts fast but then Hofstra picks it up later in first half
At the end of the half, Hofstra led 35-32. Monmouth made it a point of emphasis to get off to a fast start from the opening tip. The Hawks jumped out to a 6-0 lead with mostly drives to the basket. Then Hofstra went on a run and took the lead thanks to some outside jumpers and offensive boards.
The first half saw both teams key players pick up fouls. Davis, the CAA's leading scorer, picked up his second foul with 7:32 left and got subbed out. McClain and Jason Rivera-Torres each picked up their second fouls in the first half and got subbed out and both players got subbed back in minutes later before halftime.
Collins had the assignment of defending Davis and was effective.
"I thought we did a great job," Rice said. "His first basket, he pushed off Jack and got a 3. Jack had him at 0 till that point. Jack is one of the best defenders."
2. Monmouth 's rough shooting start
Hofstra came in the best shooting team in the league, and Monmouth struggled to start the game in that department. Aside from two Justin Ray made shots from deep, other Hawks players couldn't buy a basket from behind the arc. Monmouth shot 20% from deep, Hofstra was 30.8%. Though Monmouth's defensive energy was up, the offense was off and on to start.
3. Monmouth fans make the trip from West Long Branch
About 85 total students went on the bus from the Monmouth campus to come and support the Hawks. Before the game, King Rice went over to the student section clapping and giving high-fives to hype the crowd up. Monmouth's band and cheerleaders were part of that squad.
4. Hofstra dominate the boards
Though Hofstra didn't shoot that well, it was the bigs that allowed them to get extra possessions. Silas Sunday had 12 boards for Hofstra. Hofstra also got 15 offensive boards. Down the stretch, Davis missed a shot but thanks to an offensive rebound was able to get anther possession and Davis ended up scoring.
"That was one of the main things on the board and that's what they do. They go after your boards. We moved out the way a few times, that means they were more physical, cause you only move out the way when you're not liking the physicality. That's something we'll have to address and no complaining guys, they deserved it today."
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: March Madness: Monmouth falls short of NCAA Tournament in loss to Hofstra