Congrats to Elijah and his Hofstra teammates in winning the chip. Elijah has been a member of Supreme Athlete since his junior year of HS. We are proud of him. (See article below)
Eli Pemberton stalked the court in the final moments of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament championship game, shouting to everyone and no one at the same time. His wide eyes scanned Entertainment and Sports Arena as he dramatically pointed to the floor with both hands over and over again.
The message from the Hofstra senior guard: “We deserve this! We deserve this!”
Moments later, Pemberton engulfed his mother in a bear hug as tears streamed down her cheeks. The top-seeded Pride won its first CAA tournament title Tuesday with a 70-61 victory over No. 6 seed Northeastern, earning a berth in the NCAA tournament that will end a 19-year drought. The victory was even sweeter because the Huskies upset Hofstra in the 2019 tournament, in which the Pride was also the No. 1 seed. “You know what song I’ve got in my head? ‘The Payback’ by James Brown,” Pemberton said. “It’s surreal. I can’t even describe the feeling. But everything was earned.”
The hero of the day was Desure Buie — dubbed “Big Shot Buie” by Pemberton — who sparked a run midway through the second half that allowed the Pride to rally after it had trailed for much of the game. Buie, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player, hit a pullup jumper, a dribble-drive layup and a pair of free throws during a 13-5 burst that flipped a four-point deficit into a four-point lead with 5:23 remaining. Hofstra never trailed again.
“He’s built like that,” Pemberton said. Buie finished with a game-high 20 points, and that run-starting jumper was the beginning of a 27-14 stretch that closed the game. Pemberton posted 19 points, and Jalen Ray added 17. Isaac Kante had nine points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
Hofstra’s most impressive feat may have been holding Northeastern guard Jordan Roland to just 11 points after he led the league in scoring, averaging 22.2 points.
Hofstra had reason for concern at halftime, when it trailed 30-28 amid a nightmarish performance on the offensive end.
The highest-scoring team in the league, the Pride struggled to put the ball in the hoop throughout the first half and immediately fell behind 11-3. Hofstra went into halftime shooting just 29.4 percent from the field, but it shot 52.2 percent in the second half, including 54.5 percent from behind the arc.