LAS VEGAS – The Towson University men's basketball team enjoyed a spirited and quick-paced practice as it prepared for Monday's encounter with Oakland in the inaugural Vegas 16 Tournament.
 
Zipping around the Mandalay Events Center with the enthusiasm and joy of a toddler on Christmas morning, the Tigers were focused as they fine-tuned details and got used to the surroundings of the 10,000-seat arena.
 

When	Monday, March 28, 2016
Where	Las Vegas (Mandalay Bay Events Center)
Time	9:00 p.m. ET
Team Records	Towson (20-12), Oakland (20-11)
TV	CBS Sports Network: Dave Ryan (play-by-play), Jordan Cournette (color) & Courtney Alexander (sidelines)
Series	First Meeting

Tonight's Game
Towson meets Oakland for the first time in program history in the third of four games of the Vegas 16. The winner advances to Tuesday's semifinals against the survivor of the Louisiana Tech-ETSU game at 11:30 p.m. ET.
 
About The Vegas 16
The Vegas 16 is a single-elimination, eight-team postseason basketball tournament. The event will begin on Monday, March 28, with the quarterfinals and continue with the semifinals on Tuesday, March 29 and the final on Wednesday, March 30. All games will be televised on CBS Sports Network. The Vegas 16 field includes six 20-win teams. The tournament also has the second best average RPI of the four non-NCAA tournaments: NIT (84), Vegas 16 (123), CBI (161) and CIT (169).  The other half of the bracket features Tennessee Tech, Old Dominion, UCSB and Northern Illinois.
 
Tigers in the Postseason
Towson is 2-3 in the postseason games, competing in the NCAA Tournament (1990 & 1991) and CIT (2014).
 
Year     Seed     Opponent                 Result
1990     #16       Oklahoma (NCAA)        L, 68-77
1991     #16       Ohio State (NCAA)       L, 86-97
2014     --          at USC Upstate (CIT)     W, 63-60
2014     --          at ETSU (CIT)               W, 83-77
2014     --          at Murray State (CIT)      L, 73-85
 
Postseason Experience
John Davis, Walter Foster and Timajh Parker-Rivera played in each game of the CIT in 2014. Parker-Rivera averaged 6.0 points and 6.3 rebounds. Davis averaged 4.0 points and 5.7 rebounds and Foster contributed 2.0 points and 2.0 rebounds. In a win over ETSU, Parker-Rivera had seven points and nine rebounds while Davis had eight rebounds in 12 minutes.
 
Quotable
Towson junior forward John Davis
"We are excited to be here and have another opportunity to play a game. We're looking forward to competing against a strong program like Oakland. We're thankful to still be playing in March."
 
Last Time Out
Towson dropped a 71-60 decision to Northeastern on Sat., March 5 in the CAA quarterfinals in Baltimore. William Adala-Moto notched his seventh double-double of the season (18 points, 11 rebounds). Mike Morsell added 16 points and Timajh Parker-Rivera finished with 11 rebounds. Northeastern shot 61 percent in the second half.
 
Award Recognition
Towson had three players named to the All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) postseason team. Junior Arnaud William Adala Moto was named to the second team and sophomore Mike Morsell earned third team honors. Senior Timajh Parker-Rivera was selected to the All-Defensive Team. Adala Moto and Parker-Rivera earned All-Academic recognition. Adala Moto was selected to the NABC District 10 second team.
 
Bouncing Back
Towson is 9-2 following losses. The Tigers had an eight-game winning streak following losses ended when Northeastern beat them in the CAA tournament. Towson hasn't lost three consecutive games all season.
 
CAA Excellence
Five teams won 20 or more games (UNCW, Hofstra, James Madison, Towson and W&M)...Eight teams had 16 wins. It was the first time in the 31-year history of the CAA that it had at least eight teams with at least 16 wins. The CAA compiled a 75-44 record in non-conference play this season. UNCW lost to Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and Hofstra dropped a close decision to George Washington in the NIT on the road.
 
CAA Wins Since 2012-13 Season
Since the start of the 2012-13 season, Towson and Northeastern have the most regular season Colonial Athletic Association victories.  The Tigers are 42-25 over that span.
 
School CAA Wins
Towson                          42
Northeastern                   42
William & Mary               41
James Madison              40
Delaware                       38
UNCW                          34
Hofstra                          33
Drexel                           29
Charleston                     17
Elon                              13
 
Morsell sets SECU Scoring Record
Sophomore Mike Morsell set a SECU Arena scoring record when he poured in 34 points in the Tigers' 99-82 victory over William & Mary last Saturday. It was the first 30-point effort by a Tigers' player since Jerrell Benimon in 2013 and the second-most by a CAA player this season. Morsell finished 11-of-17 from the fl oor, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
 
One of the Best Seasons In School History
Towson's 20 wins this season are the third-most since the the Tigers moved to the Division I level prior to the 1979-80 season.
 
Year                            Record            Level
1976-77                       27-3                 Division II
1977-78                       26-4                 Division II
2013-14                       25-10               Division I
1993-94                       21-9                 Division I
2015-16                       20-12               Division I
1988-89                       19-10               Division I
1975-76                       19-10               Division II
1990-91*                     19-11                Division I
1992-93                       18-9                 Division I
2012-13                       18-13               Division I
1989-90*                     18-13                Division I
* -- Participated in NCAA Tournament
 
Best Things In Life Are Free
Towson is 42nd in the country in free throw attempts (810) and 46th in free throws made (550).
 
Front Runners
Towson never trailed in victories over Sacred Heart, Bradley, Rio Grande, UMBC and Drexel...In seven home games, Towson hasn't trailed in the second half. ..The Tigers trailed for 11 seconds against UNCW and for 70 seconds against W&M.
 
Fantastic Foster
Walter Foster blocked a career best seven shots against Drexel on Jan. 16. It was the third most in a game in Towson history. He has also blocked five shots in a game twice (Loyola & Delaware). Foster scored a career-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting against Sacred Heart. He established career highs in rebounds (14) in the win over Loyola. He has two double-doubles this season. Foster led the CAA in blocked shots (1.5).
 
Relentless Rebounders
Towson has outrebounded 28 of its 32 opponents, including 18 straight.
 
Davis Back In The Groove
After missing most of the preseason with an injury, John Davis has scored 20 or more points three times this season and posted three double-doubles. He had two against Northeastern (20 points, 11 rebounds on 1-23-16 & 18 pts, 10 rebs on 2-11-16) and one against UNCW (16 points, 11 rebounds). He scored a season-high 22 points against Delaware on Jan. 14. He made a career-best five 3-pointers en route to tallying 21 points against Delaware on Jan. 30. 
 
Leaders of the CAA
Towson leads the CAA in rebounding margin (+7.3), offensive rebounds (14.4), blocked shots (4.7), rebounding (39.3) and offensive rebounding percentage (.390). The Tigers are second in scoring defense (66.8) and field goal percentage defense (41.7).
 
Nationally-Speaking
Towson is ranked among the top 50 nationally in several categories through Mar. 20. The Tigers are fifth in offensive rebounding (14.4), 22nd in rebounding margin (+7.3), 28th in total blocks (149), 43rd in rebounds per game (39.4) and 44th in blocked shots per game (4.7).
 
Comeback Tigers
Towson rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit to defeat William & Mary, 76-69 on 12-31-15. Even though it lost 40-37, Towson rallied from a 10-point 2nd half deficit to tie Charleston in the final seconds. The Tigers also rallied from a 10-point first half deficit to beat Drexel, 77-70 on 1-28-16.
 
Locking Down Defensively
Towson has some great stretches of defense this season:
-- George Mason scoreless for 5:27 of the 1H
-- Loyola scoreless for 4:04 of the 2H
-- William & Mary scoreless for 6:11 of 2H. -- UMBC without a basket for 9:10 of the 1H.
-- Held three consecutive opponents below 20 points in the first half: Drexel (12), Charleston (18) and Northeastern (19).
-- In home losses, Towson held Charleston to eight points over the final 13 minutes and Northeastern to seven points over the last 11 minutes.
 
Tigers Hit Offensive Glass
The Tigers pulled down a season-high 20 offensive rebounds against Delaware on Jan. 30 and Northeastern on Feb. 11. The Tigers have grabbed at least 15 offensive rebounds 12 times this season.  The Tigers have four players ranked among the CAA top 11 in offensive rebounding: Timajh Parker-Rivera (3rd, 2.9), Walter Foster (4th, 2.4), William Adala-Moto (5th, 2.3) and John Davis (11th, 1.9).
 
The 700 Club
Towson has three players with at least 700 career points: Timajh Parker-Rivera (749), John Davis (785) and William Adala-Moto (811).
 
Parker-Rivera Leaving Mark at TU
Senior Timajh Parker-Rivera has been a part of 75 wins during his career.  TJ is the winningest player in Towson's Division I history surpassing Devin Boyd, who won 74 games for the Tigers from 1988-1993. Parker-Rivera is also eighth in school history in rebounding (683) and sixth in blocked shots (127). Next up for Parker-Rivera to pass in rebounding is Larry Witherspoon's total of 694 and blocked shots is Junior Hairston's mark of 129. He has also played in 131 career games, which is the most in Towson history. He will become the fourth player in TU history to start 100 games.
 
Awesome Adala-Moto
For the season, he averaged 13.9 points and 8.4 rebounds in the CAA. He has seven double-doubles this season. Adala-Moto has scored 20+ points five times this season. He has led Towson in rebounding in four of its last five games.
 
Explosive Scorers
Towson was one of two CAA teams (Hofstra) that had three players rank among the top 15 in conference scoring: Adala Moto (10th, 13.9), Hawkins (12th, 13.4) and Morsell (14th, 12.7).
 
Scouting Oakland
Members of the Horizon League, the Golden Grizzlies are ranked 24th in the latest College Mid-Major top 25 poll...Oakland leads the nation in scoring (86.3). This marks the seventh time Oakland has made the postseason in the last eight years. The Golden Grizzlies made NCAA tournament appearances in 2010 and '11, and competed in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason tournament (CIT) in 2009, '12, '13 and '15. Oakland will be making its eighth overall postseason appearance, earning an NCAA tournament bid in 2005.
 
Bob Cousy and Wooden Award Finalist Kay Felder leads the way for the Golden Grizzlies. He was named the Horizon League Player of the Year and leads the country with 9.3 assists per game, and ranks fifth in the NCAA by scoring 24.2 points per game.
 
Felder engineers the nation's top scoring offense. The Golden Grizzlies scored 100 points or more five times this season and made 638 free throws, third in the country, and nine shy of setting a new single-season school record. The Golden Grizzlies reached 20 wins for the first time in four seasons and for the fifth time since becoming Division I in 1999-00.
 
The Golden Grizzlies have four other players averaging double figures: Jalen Hayes (13.9 ppg. & 8.8 rpg.), Percy Gibson (11.3 & 6.4), Martez Walker (10.7 ppg.) and Max Hooper (10.5). All of Hooper's 105 made field goals have been 3-pointers.
 
Oakland has three players that have made at least 40 3-points. Felder has made 68 and Nick Daniels has made 43. The Golden Grizzlies have seven players averaging at least 20 minutes. They have won their last four games following losses.