December 13, 2025; Syracuse, New York, USA; Hofstra Pride guard Preston Edmead (1) dribbles in the first half against the Syracuse Orange at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Image TJ Burch scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half and top-seeded Wright State had to rally from 12 points down in the final 10 minutes to pull out a 66-63 victory over third-seeded Detroit Mercy in the Horizon League championship game Tuesday night in Indianapolis.
The Raiders (23-11) are making their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2022. Kellen Pickett scored 17 points, Michael Imariagbe had 12 and both players added seven rebounds for Wright State.
Reserve Logan Woods saved just two baskets for perfect timing. He knocked down two 3-pointers in the final 2:11 to tie the game at a six-point margin that Detroit could not escape. Wright State held its opponents to three field goals in the final 9:51.
The Titans (17-15) were looking to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012. Orlando Lovejoy scored a game-high 26 points for the Titans, and TJ Nadeau added 21 points, including a personal 10-0 run early in the second half, to make it a double-digit game.
Hofstra 75, Monmouth 69
Freshman Preston Edmead scored 26 points and hit a key 3-pointer late in the second half to lift the third-seeded Pride past the fourth-seeded Hawks in the CAA title game in Washington.
Edmead’s triple with 3:26 remaining made it 64-58, but Hofstra (24-10) still had work to do after Justin Ray’s 3-pointer cut it to 66-65 with 1:18 left. German Plotnikov (10 points) buried a trey for Hofstra 20 seconds later. Hofstra will be dancing for the first time since 2001 after the 2020 CAA title was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament.
Kavion McClain had 19 points, six assists and four 3-pointers for Monmouth (19-15), the fourth coming on a 4-pointer with 9 seconds left before Cruz Davis (12 points) and Plotnikov got away from the line.
Long Island 79, Mercyhurst 70
The top-seeded Sharks advanced to their first NCAA Tournament after defeating the third-seeded Lakers in the NEC title game in New York. LIU is already guaranteed a spot because Mercyhurst is ineligible for the postseason as a team transitioning to Division I.
Malachi Davis and Greg Gordon finished with 24 points and four assists, respectively, for LIU (24-10). Mason Porter-Brown had 14 points and three steals off the bench, and Jamal Fuller had 10 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. The Sharks never led by more than nine but shot 55.8 percent from the floor.
Bernie Blunt III poured in 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting and Kadir Martin had 20 points and 14 rebounds for Mercyhurst (17-17).
–Field level media
