TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's basketball team used 44 points in the paint and a +11 rebounding margin to defeat UNCW 72-69 for its first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) victory on the season.
 
In a game that saw 10 lead changes and seven ties, UNCW took the lead with 1:57 left off a Jamahri Harvey three.  Charles Thompson got to the line and hit both free throws, adding a pair more in the final 30 seconds as the Towson defense held UNCW without points on the final five Seahawk shots.
 
Records:

• Towson: 2-5, 1-1 CAA
• UNCW: 6-4, 0-1 CAA

Key Stats:

• Towson's paint production of 44 points was stronger than UNCW's 26.  It is the most amount of points in the paint for Towson in a game this season.
• The Tigers shot 47.4% from the field and held UNCW, coming in the second-highest scoring team in the CAA, to 35.1%.
• Zane Martin led Towson with 21 points, adding four rebounds.  Two Tigers nearly notched double-doubles: Solomon Uyaelunmo notched 14 points, off 7-for-8 shooting and tying his career-high, and nine rebounds while Charles Thompson had 10 points, nine boards and three steals.
• For UNCW, Jaylen Sims finished with 19 points, going 13-for-16 from the free throw line.  Mike Okauru got 18 points and seven rebounds.

Postgame Quote:
Towson head coach Pat Skerry: "UNC Wilmington is a good team, they had the highest NET ranking in our league for a reason.  I am proud of our defense and our rebounding, that is something that has been a staple for us.  This was the first day we've had [Jason] Gibson and [Zane] Martin together since Nov. 27^th, that is good."
 
Towson guard Zane Martin: "We were trusting other guys to make plays, and we were doing the right things at the end of the game, closing it out the right way."
 
How it Happened:

• The Towson defense held UNCW without points in the opening five minutes of the game as the Tigers looked to attack down low.  Layups by Zane Martin and Solomon Uyaelunmo helped give the Tigers an early 5-0 lead.
• Scoring started to pickup as the Seahawks got its boost from the free throw line.  Towson continued to focus its efforts in the paint as a 6-0 run, capped by four straight points from Victor Uyaelunmo to go up 19-16 with 7:30 to go in the first.
• UNCW went back up on a 7-2 run, started by a tough turnaround jumper.  Martin hit a pair of close range shots to send Towson back up 29-25.  Again UNCW tied it up and against Towson got back ahead off Jason Gibson free throws and jumpers by Martin, leading 35-32 at the break.
• Into the second, a corner three by Nicolas Timberlake was not enough to stop UNCW from tying the game at 38.  Towson broke ahead with an 8-0 run, finished by two Solomon Uyaelunmo layups, for a 46-38 advantage, its biggest lead of the game, with 15:05 to play.
• UNCW called timeout and hit a pair of consecutive threes to pull to within two.  Towson continued to rely on its close range shots, continually countering UNCW's baskets.  At 50-49, back-to-back field goals by Timberlake and Demetrius Mims rebuilt the Towson advantage to five with 11 minutes to go.
• After more back-and-forth play, the Tigers surged ahead with a 6-0 sprint off scoring from Gibson, Martin and Uyaelunmo to be up 62-55, seven minutes left.
• As Towson held the lead towards the final minutes, a Jamahri Harvey three-pointer with 1:57 left put UNCW up 69-68.  Next possession, Charles Thompson hit a pair of free throws to get Towson back ahead.  Thompson came through again, forcing a steal on Jaylen Sims.  After a missed three by Towson, UNCW called timeout, with the Tigers holding again and Thompson pulling down the missed jumper.  A free throw added, again UNCW went for the basket and missed, and again Thompson got the board and another free throw.  Sims's final three-point chance missed, and Towson took the 72-69 victory.

Inside the Numbers:

• Zane Martin earned his 26^th career 20+ point game, including his third of the season.
• Solomon Uyaelunmo tied his career-high of 14 points from the same result on Feb. 21, 2019 at Hofstra.  He also has grabbed 21 rebounds combined in his last two games.
• Pat Skerry earned his 145^th victory as head coach of Towson.
• Towson has won its last four games against UNCW.

Next Game:
Towson and UNC Wilmington return to SECU Arena tomorrow at 1 p.m.  Virtual season tickets are available now; get your personalized fan cutout today!  Contact Joshua Behringer at 410-704-3330 or jbehringer@towson.edu.
 
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