"Once you know what failure feels like, determination chases success and silences doubters" – Kobe Bryant
 
TOWSON, Md. – The giddy anticipation of wanting to see the Towson University men's basketball team return home to host UNCW has been like waiting impatiently for a text message response when you see the bubbles on the screen.
 
The enthusiasm level is high to watch the Tigers begin the second half of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) schedule. In addition, the celebration of Towson's 1989-90 and 1990-91 NCAA Tournament teams will lend another layer of excitement as they will get to take a look at the hottest team in the CAA.
 
It's been 12 days since the Tigers applied the finishing flourishes on a victory over James Madison at SECU Arena. The Towson express wasn't derailed last week in a pair of double-digit road victories over Elon and William & Mary that extended its winning streak to six games.
 
Towson is in a three-way tie for second place with the College of Charleston and Hofstra, one-game behind William & Mary. Of course, Northeastern, Drexel and Delaware are right there as well. The final nine games in the conference will be fun especially since seven teams are separated by two games.
 
Starting Five

• Towson defeated UNCW 67-60 in Wilmington on Jan. 4 thanks to a 23-13 burst over the last five minutes.
• Towson is receiving votes in this week's CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
• The Tigers defeated W&M, which was ranked No. 22 in last week's Mid-Major poll.
• Towson has had a lead of at least 20 points at some point in three consecutive home games.
• Towson's six-game winning streak is the program's best since stringing together 10 straight victories in the 2017-18 season.

 
Towson Update

• The Tigers are holding opponents to 37.7-percent shooting during their six-game winning streak.
• Allen Betrand has scored in double figures in 10 straight games, while Brian Fobbs has done so in seven consecutive contests.
• Among CAA scoring leaders, Fobbs is eighth (16.2 points per game) and Betrand is 12th (13.9).
• Nakye Sanders is eighth in the CAA in rebounding (6.6).
• Jason Gibson was named CAA Rookie of the Week after his career high 21-point performance against William & Mary.
• Jakigh Dottin is 13th in the CAA in assists (2.3).
• Dennis Tunstall has 105 career blocked shots, which is eighth all-time in program history.
• Tunstall, who is second in the conference in blocks, has 33 career games with at least two blocked shots.
• In the last two games, Towson has held its opponents to 19% shooting in the final five minutes, with Elon going 3-for-15 (20%) and W&M being 1-for-6 (16.7%), the latter adding six turnovers. 
• In addition, Elon and W&M combined for 32.2% shooting from the field in the second half and 17.2% three-point shooting in the second half.
• Towson leads the CAA in scoring defense (65.9) and field-goal percentage defense (40.1).
• The Tigers are 25th nationally in free-throw percentage (76.4).
• In an odd statistic, 11 of the 45 CAA games played this season have been decided by four points or less or have gone into overtime. None of Towson's games have been part of this category.
• The Tigers led wire-to-wire in three of their six wins during this winning streak.

 
A Look At UNCW

• The Seahawks roll into town having won their last two games against Northeastern (76-74 in overtime) and the College of Charleston (72-70).
• UNCW's last three games have been decided by two points.
• Rob Burke is serving as UNCW's interim head coach after UNCW announced on Jan. 13 that was making a change in its men's basketball leadership.
• Mike Okauru has two double doubles this season, including a 16-point, 10-rebound effort in the win over Northeastern.
• UNCW is eighth in the CAA in scoring offense (69.9) and ninth in scoring defense (72.3).
• Jaylen Sims leads the Seahawks in scoring (13.5).
• Marten Linssen is third in the CAA in field goal percentage (57.5).
• Okauru leads the Seahawks in rebounding (5.3) and assists (2.7).

 
Sound Smart With Your Friends

• With its 12-point win at William & Mary, Towson has won five straight CAA games by eight or more points for the first time in program history.
• Towson has shot at least 45 percent in four of its last six games, including 53 percent at William & Mary.
• The Tigers have four players shooting over 80 percent from the foul line: Fobbs (82.8), Betrand (86.7), Gibson (85.0) and Juwan Gray (85.0).

 
Up Next

• Towson will host the College of Charleston in its annual autism awareness game on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m.
• 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. Seven of the Tigers' remaining nine 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.