TOWSON, Md. – After a brief pit stop at home to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and extend its home court winning streak to nine games, the Towson University basketball team leaves for its longest trip of the season, a 3,300-mile trek across the Atlantic Ocean to compete in the Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic this weekend.

The Tigers meet La Salle Friday in a heavyweight showdown at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Towson will meet either Holy Cross or Manhattan Saturday at either 9:30 a.m. or noon. Both games will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
 
This is a matchup between a pair of teams with top 50 RPIs according to the website www.realtimerpi.com. La Salle is ranked 47th and Towson is 49th. The Tigers also enter the game ranked 77th in the latest ESPN Basketball Percentage Index (BPI) and 104th in the kenpom rankings.  
 
It'll be a memorable trip on and off the court for the Tigers, who will mix in a community service engagement appearance at a local school and some sightseeing before getting down to the business of extending their six-game winning streak.
 

When:	Friday & Saturday, December 1-2, 2017
Where	SSE Arena -- Belfast, Northern Ireland
Time:	2 p.m. (Friday); 9:30 a.m. or noon (Saturday
Records:	Towson (6-1); La Salle (4-3), Holy Cross (2-3), Manhattan (2-4)
Television:	CBS Sports Network (Dave Ryan & Pete Gillen)
Radio:	CBS Sports Radio 1300 AM with Spiro Morakes
Series History:	La Salle leads, 4-1
Last Meeting:	La Salle defeated Towson, 78-76, on Nov. 14, 2015
Social Media Updates:	@Towson_MBB

 
Last Time Out For Towson
Zane Martin scored a career best 24 points as Towson defeated Division III St. Mary's, 90-57 on Monday. Martin was 9-for-12 from the field and 5-of-7 from 3-point distance. The five 3-pointers were a career best for Martin. He was one of four Towson players to reach double figures.  Justin Gorham added 13 points, Mike Morsell scored 12 points and Jordan McNeil finished with 10 points. Towson made a season best 12 3-pointers.
 
A Look At La Salle
Members of the Atlantic-10 Conference, the Explorers are coming off of a thrilling 87-83 victory over Big 5 rival Temple on Sunday. The Explorers were led by Pookie Powell's 29 points and B.J. Johnson's 25 points. Johnson, a Syracuse transfer, has scored 20 or more points five times this season. He leads La Salle in scoring (22.7) and rebounding (9.7). His scoring average is tops in the A10. La Salle is third nationally in FT percentage (82.6). Powell also averages double figures (16.4) for the Explorers. La Salle has three players averaging at least 37 minutes per game.
 
Common Opponent
La Salle and Towson each defeated Penn this season. The Explorers beat Penn, 75-71, in double overtime at the Palestra on Nov. 13. Towson rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Penn, 79-71, in the semifinals of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Nov. 21.
 
Shining Starr
Brian Starr has started 29 consecutive games. Towson is 19-10 during that span with a pair of six-game winning streaks included.
 
Three For All
Towson has made at least six 3-pointers in every game this season. The last time Towson had a stretch under head coach Pat Skerry in which it made at least six 3-pointers in six straight games was during the 2013-14 season against New Hampshire (6-21 on Dec. 30), Coppin State (10-24 on Jan. 4), UNCW (7-23 on Jan. 11), Drexel (8-16 on Jan. 14), Charleston (6-12 on Jan. 19) and Northeastern (6-25 on Jan. 22).
 
Lighting Up The Scoreboard
Towson has scored at least 70 points in six straight games. It's the longest streak of offensive production under Towson head coach Pat Skerry.  Believe it or not, this is the first time a Towson basketball team has scored at least 70 points in six straight games since the 1996-97 squad hit 70 points in its final eight games of the season. The Tigers were members of the America East Conference at the time. Vermont (81 points on Feb. 6), Hartford (78 on Feb. 9), New Hampshire (71 on Feb. 13), Maine (80 on Feb. 15), West Virginia (86 on Feb. 18), Delaware (86 on Feb. 22), Northeastern (72 on Feb. 28) and Drexel (75 on Mar. 1).
 
Board Bosses
Towson has outrebounded 54 of its last 59 opponents. Since head coach Pat Skerry took over the program in 2011-12, Towson has grabbed at least 40 rebounds 91 times.
 
In-Season Tournament Success
Towson has won three in-season tournaments as a Division I program.
 
Dec. 4-5, 1980 defeated Campbell (69-61) & UNCW (70-66) to win the Crab Cake Basketball Festival.
 
Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 1990 defeated UMBC (83-75) & Loyola (62-60) to win the Baltimore Beltway Tournament at the Towson Center.
 
Nov. 20-22, 2017 defeated Florida Atlantic (76-52), Penn (79-71) and Georgia Southern (79-67) to win the Gulf Coast Showcase.
 
The 1990-91 team participated in the NCAA Tournament where it lost to Ohio State, 97-86.
 
Sure Shots
Towson has five members of its regular rotation shooting over 50 percent in its first four games: Zane Martin (54.3), Deshaun Morman (55.6), Justin Gorham (56.8), Jordan McNeil (51.4), and Dennis Tunstall (76.9). The Tigers made 61.8 percent of their shots in their 95-72 win over Loyola. It was the first time Towson shot at least 60 percent in a game since Jan. 8, 2007 when it shot 62.5 percent against Delaware in a 75-68 victory. The Tigers have shot 50 percent or better four times this season.
 
Balanced Tigers
Towson has nine players averaging double digit minutes. In addition, Towson has had seven different players hit for double digits in a game this season: Zane Martin, Mike Morsell, Brian Starr, Justin Gorham, Deshaun Morman, Jordan McNeil and Eddie Keith II.
 
Brotherly Love
The Tigers are now working on becoming the kings of Philadelphia. Towson defeated Penn on Nov. 20 (79-71). It will meet La Salle on Dec. 1 in the Belfast Classic and Drexel twice (Jan. 18 at Towson & Feb. 8 at Drexel) this season.  
 
Morsell Climbing the Charts
In addition to the points, Mike Morsell will be moving into the top 10 in several career categories. He has started 78 games (John Bays is 10th at 79), played 105 games (Bill Leonard is 10th at 112), made 111 3-pointers (Tim Crossin is 10th at 115) and attempted 384 foul shots (Scotter Alexander is 10th at 398). Morsell is currently ninth all-time with 282 foul shots made. Up next for him to possibly pass is Marty Johnson's total of 285 and Gary Neal's mark of 289.
 
College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll
Towson's fast start has earned some national recognition. Fresh off of winning the Gulf Coast Showcase tournament, the Tigers made their first appearance in the weekly College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Towson is ranked 23rd in this week's poll. Towson had received votes in each of the last two polls prior to this one. The Tigers are one of two CAA schools ranked. Charleston is ninth.
 
Nationally Speaking
As of Tuesday, November 28, the Tigers were ranked third in 3-point field goal percentage defense (19.8), 21st in scoring defense (60.1), 25th in scoring margin (+18.0), 26th in total rebounds (289), 28th in 3-point field goal percentage (41.8), 29th in field goal percentage defense (37.4), 41st in rebounding margin (8.1) and 45th in rebounds per game (41.2).
 
Up Next
Towson returns home for a challenging week of games against Morgan State (Dec. 6) and UMBC (Dec. 9).