ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The Towson University men's basketball team shrugged off a slow start and surged past Tulane, 73-55, in the first round of the Boardwalk Battle presented by Coca-Cola inside of historic Boardwalk Hall Friday night.
 
Following a balanced effort in which six players scored at least eight points, Towson advances to Saturday's championship contest against La Salle. That game will begin at 2:30 p.m. The Tigers will be attempting to capture their third in-season tournament in two years.
 
It will be the second straight year Towson and La Salle will have played each other in an in-season tournament. Towson beat La Salle, 67-60, in the Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
 
Quotable
Junior guard Tobias Howard on Towson's victory.
"We are starting to get to know each other because we do have a lot of new faces. Our energy level was good tonight. We were aggressive on the boards and played with a lot of defensive toughness tonight. We pride ourselves on playing like that in every game. I was trying to be a floor general and run the team tonight. I know based on my experience it was important for me to keep everybody focused and get everybody where they needed to be on the court."
 
Freshman forward Solomon Uyaelunmo on what made the difference in the Tigers win.
"We did a great job of sharing the ball today, playing with poise and staying under control throughout the game. Coach always pushes us to rebound the basketball and that was something we focused on against Tulane."
 
Towson head coach Pat Skerry on his team's performance.
"This is a big win for us playing against a Power Six conference opponent. I am proud of our guys. I told the guys in the locker room that I am not surprised. We've been playing better since our Bahamas trip. We defended and rebounded tonight, which has been pretty good lately for us. We guarded the 3-point line against a good 3-point shooting team. Now we have a quick turnaround and we have to find a way to win another one tomorrow."
 
How It Happened

• Brian Fobbs paced the Tigers with his first career double-double (15 points, career best 11 rebounds).
• Tobias Howard scored 11 points and handed out four assists.
• Nakye Sanders overcame two fouls in the first 90 seconds to finish with 10 points.
• Jordan McNeil also added 10 points for Towson, which won consecutive games for the first time this season.
• Helping Towson to a staggering 46-22 rebounding edge were the duo of Solomon Uyaelunmo and Dennis Tunstall.
• They combined for 17 rebounds and 17 points with Uyaelunmo grabbing a career best nine boards and scoring nine points in 21 minutes.
• The Tigers, who led 31-29 at intermission, never trailed in the second half.
• Towson broke the game open with a 10-0 burst over a five minute stretch of the second half.
• Leading 38-36 with 14:05 remaining, the trio of Uyaelunmo, Sanders and McNeil combined for all 10 points during Towson's run.
• Alex Thomas' jumper with 7:41 remaining gave Towson a 52-41.
• The Tigers lead never dropped below double digits after that.
• Towson used a dynamic finishing kick highlighted by three consecutive 3-pointers in 90 seconds from Howard, McNeil and Fobbs to close out the first meeting in program history against Tulane.
• Tulane, which got 13 points and five steals from Connor Crabtree, scored the first six points of the game.
• Samir Sehic, who scored 28 points in his last game, finished with 10 points.
• Uyaelunmo dunked off of a missed shot early in the first half. It was Towson's only dunk of the game.

 
Inside the Numbers

• Towson has held its last two opponents below 40 percent shooting.
• This is the third consecutive game in which Towson has finished with at least 40 rebounds.
• Towson is 3-1 in games with at least 40 rebounds.
• The 55 points is the fewest by a Towson opponent this season.
• Fobbs has scored in double figures in seven straight games.
• Fobbs has led Towson in scoring in six consecutive contests.
• Fobbs has made 23 consecutive free throws after making all three of his attempts against Tulane.
• This was McNeil's second straight double digit scoring game of the season and the 12th of his career.
• Tunstall has finished with at least five rebounds in a single game 26 times in his career.
• This was the seventh time and 12th time in his career that Sanders reached double figures in scoring.
• This was the fourth game this season and second straight in which Towson had at least three players finish with at least seven rebounds.
• Towson outscored Tulane, 20-3 in second chance points.
• The Tigers finished with 36 paint points, the second time in three games with that many paint points.
• This was Towson's largest margin of victory since beating William & Mary, 99-73, on Jan. 13, 2018.