#CAAHoops MBB Recap – Feb. 25 – Regular Season’s Final Day Highlighted by OT Clash, Double-Digit Comeback
Miles McQuiggan
RICHMOND, Va. (Feb. 25, 2023) – Hofstra and Charleston were both victorious on the final day of the regular season to earn regular season co-champion honors for the 2022-23 CAA Men’s Basketball season. The Pride and Cougars both finished 16-2 in conference play with Hofstra’s head-to-head win in Charleston earning the Pride the No. 1 seed next weekend in Washington, D.C., at the 2023 Jersey Mike’s CAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
Elsewhere around the league, Towson battled back for a road win in the closing minutes, North Carolina A&T won in overtime, William & Mary secured a spot on Saturday with a home victory, and Delaware collected a double-digit road victory.
North Carolina A&T 73, Hampton 72 (OT)
North Carolina A&T scored six of the final eight points in overtime to hold on after Hampton battled back to force an extra five minutes. A&T (13-18, 8-10) led by 14 in the second half before Hampton (8-23, 5-13) closed regulation on a 17-5 run to pull even at 65.
Jordan Nesbitt scored 11 of his game-high 27 points in the stretch and put Hampton in front 70-67 with 3:15 to play in overtime before shots from
Love Bettis,
Duncan Powell, and
Austin Johnson helped the Aggies secure the victory. North Carolina A&T, which led for 41 of 45 minutes, received a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds from Powell and a 20-point night from Watson. A&T will be the No. 7 seed on Saturday and face Stony Brook (6 p.m., FloHoops); Hampton will play Friday against Monmouth (2 p.m., FloHoops).
Towson 57, UNCW 53
Towson closed the game on an 11-0 run to secure the No. 3 seed in the CAA Championship. Towson (20-11, 12-6) trailed 51-38 with 11:12 to go before holding UNCW (22-9, 12-6) to two made free throws and zero made field goals the remainder of the game. A
Christian May three-pointer tied the game at 53 with 2:01 to play before four
Nicolas Timberlake free throws sealed Towson’s 20
th victory of the year.
Cam Holden led the way for Towson with a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds; the Tigers will face the winner of Delaware and Stony Brook on Sunday, March 5 at 8:30 p.m.
Donovan Newby scored a team-high 13 points for UNCW, which will be the No. 4 seed and play Drexel, Hampton, or Monmouth on Sunday, March 5 at 2:30 p.m.
William & Mary 74, Monmouth 62
A 25-6 run in the second half helped William & Mary take control and earn a bye into Saturday’s second round of the CAA Championship. William & Mary (12-19, 7-11) trailed 51-46 with 13:41 remaining before a 9-0 spurt and later an 8-0 stretch helped put the Tribe ahead double digits. W&M went 11-for-26 as a team from distance including five made threes from
Miguel Ayesa, who was one of four Tribe players between 12 and 15 points. W&M will be the No. 8 seed and face Elon on Saturday (12 p.m., FloHoops).
Myles Foster led the way for Monmouth (6-25, 5-13) with a game-high 23 points; the Hawks will play Hampton on Friday (2 p.m., FloHoops).
Delaware 70, Elon 54
Delaware closed the first half on an 18-6 run to take the lead at the horn and earned a road victory to close the regular season.
Jameer Nelson Jr. hit a go-ahead three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer for a 34-31 advantage and Delaware (16-15, 8-10) led throughout the second half to close the regular season with four wins in its last five contests. Nelson led Delaware with 22 points, while
Christian Ray and
Jyáre Davis added double-doubles. Delaware captured the No. 6 seed in the CAA Championship and will face Northeastern Saturday (8:30 p.m., FloHoops).
Sean Halloran led the way for Elon (8-23, 6-12) with 15 points; the Phoenix will face William & Mary in the 8/9 game to open Saturday (12 p.m., FloHoops).
Hofstra 84, Northeastern 52
A 27-4 run bridging halftime helped Hofstra take control and win its 11
th straight game entering the CAA Championship. Hofstra (23-8, 16-2) trailed for just 22 seconds and shot 53% to close the regular season and earn the No. 1 seed in Washington. The Pride was behind 21-20 with 6:36 to go in the opening half before closing on an 18-4 run and scoring the first nine out of halftime.
Tyler Thomas led the way with 23 points, while
Warren Williams added 19 with nine rebounds and
Aaron Estrada chipped in 16 points. Hofstra earns the No. 1 seed and will play Sunday, March 5 against the winner of Elon and William & Mary (12 p.m., FloHoops).
Chase Cormier led the way for Northeastern (10-19, 6-12) with 12 points; the Huskies will be the No. 11 seed and play Delaware Saturday (8:30 p.m., FloHoops).
Charleston 92, Stony Brook 52
Ben Burnham led the way with 25 points and the Charleston bench as a group scored 63 points to secure the first 28-win regular season in CAA history. Charleston (28-3, 16-2) led for the final 37 minutes after an all-around effort that included 49% shooting, a +17 rebound differential (49-32) and assisting on 21 of 32 made field-goals. Five Cougars were in double figures in total, including a 14-point effort off the bench from
Raekwon Horton and 12 from
Reyne Smith. Charleston held Stony Brook (10-21, 6-12) to 31% shooting in the contest.
Frankie Policelli contributed his league-leading 12
th double-double of the year with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Charleston will be the No. 2 seed in D.C. and take the court Sunday; Stony Brook secured the No. 10 seed and will be back in action Saturday against North Carolina A&T (6 p.m., FloHoops).
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