TAMPA, Fla. — The Alabama Crimson Tide flexed their muscles Friday afternoon at Benchmark International Arena.
The Tide took advantage of their superior size and strength against the Hofstra Pride and rolled to a 90-70 win in the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament in front of a crowd of 17,769. The Tide advances to play Texas Tech, a 91-71 winner over Akron, here on Sunday afternoon.
Labaron Philon Jr. scored a game-high 22 points for fourth-seeded Alabama (24-9). Aiden Sherrell added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Crimson Tide. Alabama played without suspended guard Aden Holloway, the team's second-leading scorer, who was arrested earlier in the week and faces felony drug charges.
The win didn't come quite as easily as the final score might indicate, as 13th-seeded Hofstra (24-11) led much of the first half and played hard throughout. The Pride climbed to within five points of the Tide with under six minutes to go, but then the Tide stiffened their defense in the final minutes and bolstered their lead with transition baskets.
Taylor Bol Bowen threw down a dunk with 46 seconds left for the Tide to put an exclamation point on the victory. Noah Williamson, who averages 1.1 points per game this season, closed the scoring with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
In the first half, it looked as if Hofstra might run away and hide amid a flurry of hot shooting. Joshua Aaron Reaves hit a 3-pointer to give Hofstra a 10-point lead with 9:20 left in the first half, and the crowd roared its approval. But Alabama would chip away at the Pride's advantage until taking a 37-35 halftime lead on a driving layup by Philon.
Alabama opened the second half on 7-0 run and slowly built a 13-point lead. Then Hofstra went back to work, chipping away until Pride guard German Plotnikov corralled a loose ball and dunked to draw his team within five with just under nine minutes remaining.
Preston Edmead scored 18 points to lead Hofstra.
