WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – It'll be a crucial confrontation when the Towson University men's basketball team visits first-place William & Mary Saturday afternoon in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) contest.
 
Battle lines have been drawn as the glacial calm Tigers roll into town with a five-game winning streak. Meanwhile, the Tribe haven't lost at home all season. This conflict matches the two teams with the top field goal percentage defenses in the conference. Towson is first (39.9 percent) and William & Mary (41.2) is second.
 
Something will give as the Tigers and Tribe meet to close the first half of the CAA schedule.
 
The Tigers are one of four CAA squads clustered together with 5-3 records in the conference. Northeastern hosts Delaware in a battle of 5-3 teams. William & Mary has dropped one CAA contest and that was last week to Drexel. The Tribe did bounce back with a solid victory over James Madison Thursday night.
 
The Tigers have a well-earned reputation for toughness, defense and rebounding.
 
However, in their 72-61 road win over Elon, the Tigers used a pair of well-timed bursts to subdue the feisty Phoenix. While Elon survived Towson's 15-0 first half run and delivered a few body blows of its own, the Phoenix couldn't answer the bell after the Tigers scored 11 straight points late in the game.
 
During that awesome stretch, the Tigers got 3-pointers from Juwan Gray, Brian Fobbs and Jason Gibson. Towson has made nine 3-pointers in two of its last three games.
 

When:	Saturday, January 25, 2020
Where	Kaplan Arena -- Williamsburg, Va.
Time:	4 p.m.
Records:	Towson (11-9, 5-3); William & Mary (15-6, 7-1)
Television/Internet:	FloSports
Radio:	CBS Sports Radio 1300AM with Spiro Morekas
Series History:	William & Mary, 21-18
Streak/Last Meeting:	W&M W3/ William & Mary, 67-65 W, 2/28/19
Social Media Updates:	@Towson_MBB

 
Starting Five

• Towson has won three of its last four games by double digits.
• The Tigers have won two consecutive road contests with late rushes. They outscored UNCW 23-13 in the final six minutes and Elon 22-10 over the final five minutes.
• Towson is 37-for-39 (94.8 percent) from the foul line in the second half of its last two games.
• William & Mary and Towson share a common non-conference opponent: Saint Joseph's. The Tigers beat the Hawks, 76-64. The Tribe lost to the Hawks, 84-69.
• The Tigers have surpassed their win total from last season.

 
Towson Update

• Fobbs led Towson with 20 points in the win over Elon.
• Averaging a team best 16.2 points per contest, Fobbs has scored 20 or more points in three of Towson's last four games.
• Allen Betrand has scored in double figures in nine straight games.
• Betrand has scored in double figures in the second half of games 10 times after tallying all 10 of his markers after intermission against Elon.
• Betrand (third) and Fobbs (fifth) are among the top free-throw shooters in the CAA.
• Gray packaged all 10 of his points against Elon in the final 7:44.
• Jason Gibson tied his career best with three 3-pointers made in the win over Elon.
• The Tigers have had runs of nine consecutive points or more in 16 games this season.
• Dennis Tunstall blocked a season best three shots against Elon, including the 100th of his stellar career.
• Tunstall has blocked at least two shots in a game 31 times in his career.
• Towson leads the CAA in scoring defense (66.6) and field goal percentage defense.
• The Tigers have allowed 23.5 points per game in the first half of their last five games.

 
A Look At William & Mary

• The Tribe shot 57.9% from the floor, while limiting the James Madison to just 34.4% shooting in its 88-75 win Thursday.
• Senior Andy Van Vliet equaled his career-high with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
• Van Vliet also blocked eight shots, becoming just the third Tribe player in school history to reach the total.
• Nathan Knight, who leads the Tribe in scoring and rebounding, posted his nation-leading 16th double-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.
• Knight has a double-double in six of the Tribe's last seven games.
• With his four blocked shots, Knight surpassed 200 for his career.
• Junior Luke Loewe was nearly perfect from the field, connecting on 7-of-8 from the floor, including a career-high 4-of-5 beyond the 3-point arc, to post 18 points.
• Sophomore Thornton Scott dished out a career-high 11 assists, which is tied for the sixth-most in program history.
• William & Mary leads the CAA in rebounding margin (+4.6) and blocked shots (3.9).
• The Tribe is third in the CAA in scoring offense (73.9 points) and fourth in scoring defense (68.5).

 
Up Next

• The Tigers host UNCW on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.
• The Tigers will honor the 1989-90 and 1990-91 NCAA Tournament squads during the game.

 
Autism Awareness/Coaches Powering Forward Weekend
Towson will host the College of Charleston at SECU Arena on Saturday, Feb. 1.

• That game will the Tigers' annual Autism Awareness contest and Coaches Powering Forward weekend.

 
Tigers in the Community
The Towson University athletics department deems community service as one of its highest priorities to give back to the Greater Baltimore area. For the seventh consecutive year, the department exceeded 10,000 hours of community service to the Greater Baltimore region, finishing with 11,162 hours of community service in the 2018-19 academic season. Towson ranked No. 1 nationally for community service and won the 2018 National Championship for Community Service through the Helper Helper NCAA Team Works Competition. Towson had a 97% participation rate, attended 118 community service opportunities and volunteered with 19 organizations. Towson won the 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award from Susan G. Komen of Maryland.
 
NOTES: The game will be broadcast on FloHoops. Ten of the Tigers' remaining 12 CAA games will be streamed on FloHoops. A FloHoops subscription is $12.50 per month or $95.88 per year ($7.99 per month) and provides access to 130 CAA men's basketball games, as well as special features.