WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Towson University men's basketball team continues its road trip by visiting UNCW. Somebody will exit this contest with its first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) victory of the season.
 
Towson has 15 CAA games remaining and contests against Northeastern, Hofstra and the College of Charleston left, so there's plenty of basketball to be played as the conference season continues. The Tigers just finished playing the three teams that were picked 1-2-3 in the CAA preseason poll and combined for 74 wins last year.
 
Road games in this rugged offer no comfort as Towson will need to be at its best to enjoy a happy trip home to start a three-game home stand. So while the start to the conference season isn't ideal, there's an opportunity for the Tigers to recover and enjoy a strong CAA campaign.
 
Not that the Tigers want to experience it again, but it should be noted after losing their first four CAA games in the 2016-17 season, they won 11 of their next 12 contests to finish third in the conference and advance to the tournament semifinals.
 

When:	Saturday, January 4, 2019
Where	Trask Coliseum -- Wilmington, N.C.
Time:	7 p.m.
Records:	Towson (6-9, 0-3); UNCW (5-11, 0-3)
Television/Internet:	FloSports.com
Radio:	CBS Sports Radio 1300AM with Spiro Morekas
Series History:	UNCW, 24-16
Streak/Last Meeting:	Towson W1/ Towson, 77-76, 1/31/19
Social Media Updates:	@Towson_MBB

 
 
Starting Five

• UNCW has lost eight consecutive games.
• Towson has scored at least 70 points in four of the last five games against UNCW.
• The Tigers and Seahawks have split the last four meetings.
• Allen Betrand has netted double digit points in the second half of the Tigers last four games. He's done that seven times this season.
• The Tigers lead the CAA in field goal percentage defense (41.1) and they are second in rebounding margin (+3.1) and scoring defense (66.8).

 
Towson Update

• Nakye Sanders had his second double-double and the fifth of his career in Towson's 81-69 loss at the College of Charleston Thursday (career best 20 points, 11 rebounds).
• Sanders is fifth in the CAA in rebounding (6.7 rebounds per game).
• Betrand added a career best 19 points and made a single-game career high four 3-pointers against Charleston.
• Betrand leads Towson in CAA scoring at 17.3 points per game.
• He is shooting at a 42.3 percent clip.
• Betrand has scored in double figures in four straight games and in 11 contests this season.
• Brian Fobbs is 10th in the CAA in scoring (15.1 points per game).
• Last year against UNCW at Trask Coliseum, Fobbs had a double-double (24 points, 11 rebounds).
• Dennis Tunstall has 96 career blocked shots.
• Tunstall is third in the CAA in blocked shots (1.1 per game).
• Towson has grabbed at least 40 rebounds in consecutive games.
• Jason Gibson has started Towson's last two games.

 
A Look At UNCW

• Sophomore forward Marten Linssen recorded his first career double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Seahawks in a 66-62 loss to James Madison on Thursday.
• The point total was also a career high for the Dusseldorf, Germany, product, the CAA's field goal percentage leader, who went 9-of-13 from the floor.
• Sophomore guard Jaylen Sims scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds and junior guard Mike Okauru contributed 11 points for UNCW.
• Sims leads the Seahawks in scoring (14.0 points per game).
• Sims is also third in the CAA in 3-pointers made per game (2.6).
• Linssen chips in with 11.3 points per contest.
• Three of UNCW's victories were against non-Division opponents.
• The Seahawks have lost six consecutive CAA regular season games dating back to an 87-79 victory over Hofstra on Feb. 16, 2019.

 
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.

 
Up Next

• Towson hosts Drexel on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020 at 6 p.m.
• That contest will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
• It's one of three Towson CBS Sports Network telecasts during the conference season.
• The game is Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day.
• Members of the Towson Chamber of Commerce can purchase tickets for $10.
• This begins a three-game home stand for the Tigers who also host Delaware (Saturday, Jan. 11 at 2 p.m.) and James Madison (Saturday, Jan. 18 at 2 p.m.).

 
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.