TOWSON, Md. – Charles Thompson shot 11-for-14 from the field for 22 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday afternoon, leading the Towson University men's basketball team to a comeback victory vs. reigning Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) champion Drexel 66-62.
 
Towson (16-6, 7-2 CAA) played Drexel (9-9, 4-4 CAA) rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit, outscoring the Dragons 44-28 in the second half, including a 16-0 run, to earn the victory.  Towson led by as much as 10 in the closing minutes of the second half, holding off Drexel to seal the win.
 
With the win, Towson holds second place in the CAA at 7-2 in the league, only behind UNCW.
 
Key Stats:

• Towson shot 52% from the field in the game, including 63% in the second half of play on 17-for-27.  Towson also outrebounded Drexel 33-28, 18-9 in the second half, as well as a big edge in free throws 12-for-18 to Drexel's 3-for-4.
• Charles Thompson earned a career-high on his 23 points, being a perfect 7-for-7 in the second half of play.  11 rebounds tied his season-high in that category, good for second double-double of the year.
• Three other Tigers earned double digit points in the game, led by Nicolas Timberlake with 12 points.  Cam Holden got 11 points while Antonio Rizzuto had 10 points off 5-for-7 shooting.
• For Drexel, Camren Wynter had a team-high 20 points, adding three assists.  Amari Williams tallied up 10 points and eight rebounds.

How It Happened:

• Towson attacked the paint in the early going, going for Charles Thompson against Drexel's frontcourt.  Thompson hit his first two hook shot chances for an early 4-3 advantage two minutes in.
• Drexel continually went for driving layups with its guards in the early going.  The visitors put together a 13-3 run in a span of 5:23, capped by a three-pointer by Lamar Oden Jr. to lead 16-6.
• The Towson frontcourt chipped away at the deficit, with Cam Holden, Juwan Gray and Thompson scoring points to get Drexel's lead down to five at 20-15 with 6:53 left in the half.
• The Drexel lead went up to 12 with baskets from four different players in a 9-2 sprint.  The two teams exchanged baskets the rest of the period, with a Nicolas Timberlake pull-up jump shot bringing Towson within 12 at the half 34-22 Drexel.
• At 36-25 after an exchange in the early going of the second half, Towson's pressure defense intensified and forced Drexel turnovers and fast break attacks.  Two Thompson baskets sparked an 8-0 Towson run to bring the Tigers within three at 36-33 Drexel with 16:18 left to play.
• Drexel rebuilt its lead to eight off five straight points from Camren Wynter.  For the next five minutes, the teams kept trading baskets back-and-forth, with Drexel having a 47-41 advantage with 11:34 left.
• Riding the energy of the SECU Arena crowd, Towson took command of the game.  Towson's defense held Drexel without points for over seven minutes, with the combination of Holden, Thompson, Gray and Chase Paar attacking the paint and sending Towson ahead with just under seven minutes remaining.  With Towson up seven, Timberlake buried the three in transition to complete the 16-0 run and give the Tigers a 57-47 advantage with 4:37 to play.
• Coletrane Washington ended the Drexel drought with a three following a timeout, with Thompson scoring the other way to return the lead to nine.  Drexel scored five quick points to get the Dragons with four, three minutes to play.
• Towson kept going to Thompson down low to keep the Tigers ahead by two possessions, twice hitting one-handed shots to get the lead back to six.  In the final minute, Xavier Bell hit two shots to get Drexel within striking distance at 64-62 with 17 seconds left.  Timberlake hit two free throws and sealed the game, giving Towson the 66-62 victory.

Inside the Numbers

• Towson is 8-2 at home this season, including 4-1 in league play.
• This is the 13^th game this season where Towson has held its opponent to 65 points or fewer.
• Towson came back from down 14 with 43 seconds remaining in the first half, making this the biggest comeback of the season.  Towson came back from down 10 points in victories vs. Elon and LIU.
• Each of the Towson-Drexel games this season have been decided by four points.
• Charles Thompson has five career double-doubles and picked up his first 20+ point game of the season.
• This is the second time a Towson player has earned at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game.  Cam Holden had 20 points and 19 rebounds vs. Penn on Nov. 23.
• Cam Holden and Nicolas Timberlake have scored in double figures in 17 games this year.

Next Game:

• Towson heads north to Long Island to play at Hofstra on Thursday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.

- TowsonTigers.com –