Freshman guard Preston Edmead (6'1''-G) put on a spectacular performance for the second straight night, pouring in a team-high 26 points to lift third-seeded Hofstra to a 75-69 victory over No. 4 Monmouth in the title game of the 2026 Air Force Reserve CAA Men’s Basketball Championship on Tuesday at CareFirst Arena.
It was the second CAA championship for the Pride (24-10), who will make their first appearance in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship since 2001. Hofstra captured its first CAA championship in 2020 but had its trip to the NCAA Tournament cancelled by CoVID-19. Monmouth, which was making its first appearance in the CAA finals, dropped to 19-15.
Joining Edmead in double digits for Hofstra were Cruz Davis (6'3''-G) with 12 points and German Plotnikov with 10. Silas Sunday (7'0''-F-2003) added eight points and 12 rebounds.
Point guard Kavion McClain (5'10''-PG) topped a balanced offensive effort for Monmouth with 19 points and six assists. Stefanos Spartalis (6'9''-C/F-2006, agency: Octagon Europe) recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Jason Rivera-Torres (6'7''-G/F) tallied 16 points and Justin Ray chipped in 11 points off the bench.
In a game that was tight throughout, Monmouth quickly erased a three-point halftime deficit as McClain nailed three treys and scored 11 points in the first three minutes of the second period to put the Hawks ahead, 45-39. However, Hofstra answered quickly, putting together a 10-0 surge punctuated by a Victory Onuetu (6'11''-C-2004) dunk to move on top by four with 13:53 remaining.
The Pride never trailed the rest of the way, twice extending the margin to seven, but Monmouth remained within striking distance down the stretch. After a Davis jumper put Hofstra ahead, 66-62, with 1:40 to go, the Hawks’ Ray nailed a three-pointer from the left wing that trimmed the deficit to one.
Hofstra responded with a trey from German Plotnikov to regain the lead and appeared to have the game in hand following a pair of Edmead free throws, but McClain completed a four-point play after being fouled on a trifecta with 9.1 seconds left to make it 71-69. The Pride secured the win after Davis and Plotnikov each made a pair of free throws in the final seconds.
Monmouth got off to a quick 6-0 start and was up 21-17 midway through the opening half following back-to-back three-pointers from Ray. The game was tied 24-24 when Hofstra went on an 11-6 run behind Edmead, who tallied eight straight Pride points to give them a 35-30 advantage with 2:02 left in the period. Monmouth added a bucket to pull within 35-32 at the break. Edmead finished the first half with 16 points, while the Hawks got 12 points and seven rebounds from Spartalis.
Edmead, who scored 22 points and nailed a game-winning trey in overtime against Towson in the semifinals, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. He was the first true freshman to receive the honor since UNCW’s Brett Blizzard in 2000.
Edmead was joined on the all-tournament team by Hofstra’s Davis, Monmouth’s McClain and Rivera-Torres, Campbell’s Jeremiah Johnson (6'3''-G) and Towson’s Tyler Tejada (6'9''-G/F).

Courtesy of caasports.com

Final:
Hofstra - Monmouth 75-69

Semis:
Hofstra - Towson 68-65
Monmouth - Campbell 74-64