The Game: Towson Tigers (10-6, 2-1 CAA) at Delaware Blue Hens (9-7, 1-2 CAA)
Where: Bob Carpenter Center – Newark, Del.
When: Wednesday, Jan. 11 – 7 p.m.
Broadcast: Live stream on FloHoops, Audio broadcast on TowsonTigers.com – Spiro Morekas
Series: Delaware leads 47-40
TOWSON, Md. – Towson men's basketball will take a two-game winning streak to Delaware on Wednesday, Jan. 11. The game will air on FloHoops at 7 p.m. with the radio call on TowsonTigers.com with Spiro Morekas on the call.
The Tigers picked up their second straight win with a 67-55 victory at Stony Brook on Saturday. The Tigers led for all but 2:33, shooting a blistering 63.6 percent from three in the second half.
Sekou Sylla recorded his first double-double with Tigers with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Nicolas Timberlake had his second straight 20-point game, dropping 20 points with six rebounds and six assists.
The Blue Hens lead the all-time series 47-40. Towson won both regular season games but fell in the CAA Tournament semifinals. The Tigers are 5-1 in Newark dating back to 2016.
THE LEADER OF THE PACK:
Head coach
Pat Skerry is back on the sidelines for the Tigers in 2022-23 for his 12
th season as the bench boss of the Tigers. Skerry led the Tigers to their first CAA Regular Season title in 2022, posting a 25-9, 15-3 CAA record. For his career, Skerry owns a 182-179 record at Towson and a 206-204 record for his career.
The Massachusetts native has rebuilt the Tiger program, who has the highest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in the CAA. Over the last ten seasons, Towson has won 18+ games seven times.
Skerry has used his platform as a head coach to start Autism Awareness in college basketball. What started as two guys with an idea has turned into a national event where hundreds of coaches wear the prominent blue puzzle piece pin. The effort put forth by Skerry was recognized as he was honored with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Guardians of the Game Service Award.
TIMBERLAKE 1K:
Graduate guard
Nicolas Timberlake became the 29
th player in Towson history to reach 1,000 career points. Timberlake hit his 1,000
th point on November 17 in the second half against UNCG. Timberlake is currently sitting at 1,200 points in 18th place all-time.
CAA PRESEASON FAVORITES:
Towson men's basketball was chosen as the preseason favorites on October 19. The Tigers were unanimously chosen after garnering 12 of the 13 first-place votes. Towson returns their top four scorers from a year ago that won the CAA Regular Season title.
Nicolas Timberlake,
Cam Holden, and
Charles Thompson were named to the CAA Preseason All-Conference First Team. Timberlake was the leading scorer a year ago, averaging 14.4 ppg and 4.4 rpg plus shooting just under 50 percent from the floor. For his efforts, he earned All-CAA First Team honors. Timberlake scored double digits in 27 of the 34 games in 2021-22.
Cam Holden averaged 13.5 ppg and a team best 7.9 rpg last season, earning him not only All-CAA First Team honors but also a spot on the NABC Division I All-District 10 Team. Holden had a stretch of eight straight games with double digit points including a season-best 25 points against Pitt in November.
Thompson was named the All-CAA Second Team and was also named to the NABC Division I All-District 10 Team last season after averaging 10.8 ppg and 6.7 rpg, having started every game for the Tigers. He finished the season with five double-doubles and 20 double figure scoring games.
Welcome to Towson:
Towson adds seven newcomers to the program for 2022-23. Three of the seven have previous college experience including
Sekou Sylla, the reigning NCAA Division II Player of the Year. Sylla averaged 22.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game at Nova Southeastern.
Ryan Conway and
Nygal Russell come to Towson with Division I experience, spending last season at Seton Hall and Southeast Missouri State respectively. Conway spent last season as a redshirt after coming out of nearby Dulaney High School as a four-star prospect. Russell spent four seasons at SEMO helping the Redhawks to an OVC Semifinal for the first time in 17 seasons.
Dylan Williamson,
Christian May,
Cole Paar, and
Malik Missouri will also make their collegiate debuts with the Tigers in 2022-23.
National Exposure:
The Tigers will appear on CBS Sports Network a total of three times during the 2022-23 season. Towson will have home games against Drexel on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 14 at 3 p.m. against Monmouth, as well as a road contest at Charleston on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. on the network. The game against Monmouth was originally scheduled to air on NBC Sports Washington.
The games are part of a conference TV package with the CAA.
There is a possibility for another game for Towson to appear on the CBS Sports Network. There is a wild card game on Saturday, Feb. 25 which will be decided as the top matchup possible towards the end of the regular season. In addition, the 2023 Jersey Mike's CAA Championship semifinal and final rounds on March 6-7 will also be televised.
Coming Back with A Vengeance:
The Tigers will have ten returners from the 2021-22 squad that won the CAA Regular Season title. Over 60 percent of the scoring from a year ago will return, led by graduate
Nicolas Timberlake who averaged 14.4 ppg.
Cam Holden (13.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg),
Charles Thompson (10.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg), and
Jason Gibson (9.8 ppg) also return to make up the 60 percent.
Oh Captain, My Captain:
Nicolas Timberlake,
Charles Thompson,
Cam Holden, and
Jason Gibson were named as team captains for the 2022-23 season.
The quartet returns as the top four scorers from a year ago that fueled a potent Tiger offense which had one of the biggest single-season turnarounds, going 25-9 after a 4-14 season the year prior. The 25 wins ties the most in a DI single season in program history.
Facts and Figures:
Nicolas Timberlake is currently second all-time in career three pointers attempted with 488. Only Josh Thornton (574) is ahead of him. Timberlake is also second in three pointers made with 172 behind Thornton at 224. He is also just 17 minutes away from becoming the seventh player to play 3,000 minutes with Towson.
Cam Holden is fast approaching 1,000 career points. During his time between UT Martin and Towson, Holden has amassed 982 points with 670 coming at Towson.
In addition to Holden,
Charles Thompson and
Nygal Russell could also hit the 1,000-point mark in 2022-23. Thompson is sitting at 836 career points with Russell at 821 between his time at Southeast Missouri State and Towson.
Scouting the Opponent:
Delaware comes into the midweek matchup at 9-7, 1-2 CAA after dropping a 75-64 contest at Charleston on Saturday. The Blue Hens held the Cougars to under 40 percent from the floor and 21 percent from three, but Delaware went just 3-15 from three in the loss. Jameer Nelson Jr. leads the team with 19.7 ppg, shooting 45.5 percent from the floor. Jyare Davis and L.J. Owens are also in double figures at 16.7 and 10.7 ppg with Christian Ray leading the team on the glass at 9.6 rpg.