Hofstra’s valiant effort not enough to upset Crimson Tide
Mar 20, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats and Hofstra Pride head coach Speedy Claxton shake hands after a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images Hofstra’s meteoric season came to an end on Friday, as the Pride gave Alabama all they could handle for 30-plus minutes before running out of gas against the deeper, more athletic, hot-shooting Crimson Tide. The Pride earned a 13-seed in the NCAA Tournament after a thrilling CAA Tournament where they blew the doors off William & Mary, outlasted Towson in a classic, and gutted out a hard-fought final over Monmouth.
Their reward for their efforts was Alabama, one of the nation’s best offenses that features a potential NBA lottery pick in guard Lebaron Philon. Hofstra, though, has a couple of solid guards in its own right in the CAA Player of the Year Cruz Davis and his backcourt mate Preston Edmead, whose heroics in the conference tournament lifted the Pride to their first March Madness berth in 25 years. And, with Alabama star Aden Holloway sidelined on Friday with ongoing criminal proceedings, Hofstra felt like a Cinderella waiting to happen.
Unfortunately, the clock struck midnight on the Pride before they even finished their first dance. After taking a 10-point lead in the first half, the Crimson Tide upped the ante, finishing the frame on a 19-7 extended run before pushing their newfound advantage as far as 13 in the early stages of the second. Hofstra competed, though.
Physically, big men Silas Sunday and Victory Onuetu were up to the challenge against Taylor Bol Bowen and Aiden Sherrell, and wings Joshua DeCady and German Plotnikov did their jobs. Alabama simply won a war of attrition, grinding the Pride down with their physicality, talent, and Philon, who looked every bit the part of a future NBA star. It was Philon who hit the dagger, for all intents and purposes.
With the score at 71-66 and 4:49 remaining, the Tide hit a layup, got a Sherrill free throw, made a few stops, and set up Philon, who drained a wing three to make it 77-66 with just over three minutes to go. It spiraled from there, with an Onuetu technical foul handing ‘Bama two points and the ball before Bol Bowen added a 7-point spurt of his own. All in all, it was a late-game flurry that put the game beyond doubt, but failed to tell the whole story.