TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's basketball team has earned a share of the 2021-22 Colonial Athletic Association regular season title, winning the resumed Jan. 27 game 69-57 vs. Delaware on Monday night.
 
Towson (24-7, 15-3 CAA) has earned its first regular season conference championship since winning the Big South regular season title in the 1993-94 campaign.  Towson shares the CAA regular season title with UNCW, which also finished 15-3 in the conference. Earning the tiebreaker, Towson has earned the 1-seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament.
 
Down 38-29 with 18:42 to resume play, Towson scored on seven of its first eight possessions against Delaware (19-12, 10-8 CAA) to take the lead.  The Tigers and Blue Hens went back and forth the rest of the way with Towson keeping the lead and pulling away late for the victory.
 
With the win, Towson improves upon its single season program record of 24 DI victories in the regular season.
 
When the clock hit zero, several of the 2,451 in attendance stormed the court of SECU Arena for the program's first-ever regular season title in CAA play.
 
Key Stats:

• Towson outrebounded Delaware 34-27 in the game as four Tigers scored in double figures.  Tigers came back from down 11 points to take the victory.
• Cam Holden notched a double-double off 13 points and 12 rebounds, adding five steals and four assists.  Charles Thompson shot 7-for-9 from the field for 15 points, nine boards and a pair of blocks.
• Jason Gibson tallied up 14 points and four assists while Nicolas Timberlake concluded with 13 points.  Terry Nolan Jr. scored nine points off the bench and grabbed three rebounds having only played in the 18:42 of Feb. 28.
• For Delaware, Dylan Painter led all players with 19 points off 7-for-9 on field goals.  Jyare Davis came a rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards.

How It Happened (Jan. 27):

• Towson found early push in the paint as Charles Thompson knocked down the first two shots for the Tigers, also grabbing a contested rebound against three Blue Hens.  A second effort shot by Cam Holden gave Towson the early 6-3 lead.
• Delaware went for outside shooting in the early going to pull off the Towson defense, taking a 10-8 lead.  Towson responded with back-to-back threes from Holden and Juwan Gray to push ahead 14-10 with 14:20 to play in the 1^st.
• Following an exchange after a turnaround jumper from Rahdir Hicks, Delaware got space in the paint and kept going there.  The Blue Hens put together an 8-0 run off four shots all underneath for a 20-16 advantage with 8:44 to go in the opening period.
• After some back-and-forth on baskets, Delaware continued to get second chances and built its lead as high as 13 in the closing minute of the first.  Thompson hit a tough one-handed turnaround shot to in Towson's last chance of the 1^st to make it 38-27 Delaware at the break.
• Towson scored first into the second half, with the game being suspended with 18:42 left to play and Delaware up 38-29.

How it Happened (Feb. 28):

• On the game resume, Towson came out on fire, putting pressure on the Delaware guards and pushing on fast breaks.  Towson began the restart on a 17-2 run, led by steals, jumpers and attacks from Terry Nolan Jr. with seven points in the sprint, to send Towson ahead 46-40 with 14:35 to go.
• Delaware went to its frontcourt to get back into the game, with a Jyare Davis hook shot pulling the Blue Hens within a possession.  Towson pushed back up six, and again Delaware would get back to a possession.
• Nicolas Timberlake knocked down a three to push Towson up 55-49.  The two teams combined for one field goal for the next three minutes, then Delaware added a Kevin Anderson jumper to get back within a possession at 55-53 Towson with 5:46 left.
• Towson's defense locked down Delaware in the crucial minutes and rebuilt the lead on a big putback layup for Holden and a dunk on a drive down the baseline for Timberlake.  Thompson and Timberlake added layups as Towson led by 10 with two minutes to play.
• Jameer Nelson hit a quick three as Delaware called a timeout with a seven-point Towson lead.  Towson held on defense and drew a foul with less than a minute left.  The Tigers did not give up a free throw in the final 1:57 of play, sealing the game with free throws.  Towson took the victory 69-57 as the crowd sprinted onto the court in celebration of the school's first regular season title since the 1993-94 season.

Inside the Numbers

• This game began on Jan. 27 and was suspended with 18:42 to play.
• In Division I history, Towson has earned a regular season five times: 2021-22 CAA, 1993-94 Big South, 1992-93 Big South, 1990-91 East Coast and 1989-90 East Coast.  The Tigers also won the regular season league title in the Division II Mason-Dixon Conference in 1976-77 and 1977-78.
• Since the 2012-13 season, Towson has earned a top-three finish in CAA play six times.
• This is the 20^th game this season where Towson has held its opponent to 65 points or fewer.
• Cam Holden now has 11 double-doubles, including three in all games completed from Feb. 23-28, 2022.
• Nicolas Timberlake has scored in double figures 24 times this year while Holden has scored at least 10 in 23 games.

Next Game:

• Towson now sets it sights on the CAA Tournament in Washington, D.C.  Towson will play on Sunday, Mar. 6 vs. the winner of 8-seed William & Mary and 9-seed Northeastern at 12 p.m.

- TowsonTigers.com –