The Game: Towson Tigers (2-1) vs. #6 Houston Cougars (3-0)
When: Thursday, November 16 – 6:30 p.m.
Where: TD Arena – Charleston, S.C.
Broadcast: Broadcast on ESPN2 (Jay Alter & Debbie Antonelli) Audio broadcast on TowsonTigers.com (Spiro Morekas), live stats at TowsonTigers.com
Series: First Meeting

TOWSON, Md. – Towson men's basketball will travel to the Palmetto State to take part in the Shriner's Children's Charleston Classic this weekend. The Tigers will open the three-game tournament against nationally ranked Houston on Thursday on ESPN2. Towson is coming off a 66-62 win against Robert Morris on Sunday night. Charles Thompson led the Tigers with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The game will air nationally on ESPN2 with Jay Alter and Debbie Antonelli on the call. The audio broadcast with Spiro Morekas and live stats will be available at TowsonTigers.com.

This will be the first ever meeting between the Cougars and the Tigers. Towson can also face Utah, Wake Forest, LSU, Dayton, St. John's or North Texas during the tournament. The Tigers are a combined 1-7 against the rest of the field with their lone win coming against Dayton in 1993.

LEADER OF THE PACK:
The reigning Skip Prosser Man of the Year, Pat Skerry enters his 13^th season on the sidelines leading the Tigers. Skerry and the Tigers are coming off another 20-win season that saw Towson reach the Coast Athletic Association (CAA) Semifinals, finishing third in the standings during the regular season.
The Massachusetts native has rebuilt the Tiger program, which 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.

TOWSON, MORGAN STATE, UMBC CREATE CHARM CITY HOOPS CLASSIC:
Towson, Morgan State, and UMBC have agreed to play each other every year in both men's and women's basketball in what is being billed as the Charm City Hoops Classic. The three schools participated in the Battle of Baltimore series for six seasons from 1997-98 through 2002-03. Season ticket holders from each school will receive a complimentary ticket for the game(s) on the road - equal to the number of season tickets purchased.

GUESS WHO'S BACK, BACK AGAIN:
The Tigers return eight players from last season's 20-win team that reached the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) semifinals led by graduate student Charles Thompson and sophomore Christian May. Thompson enters his fifth season with the Tigers after being named to the CAA All-Defensive Team for the third straight season and All-CAA Second Team for the second consecutive season.
In addition to May and Thompson, juniors Rahdir Hicks and Tyler Coleman, redshirt freshmen Dylan Williamson and Cole Paar, graduate student Chase Paar and redshirt junior Brandon Held will suit up again for the Tigers in 2023-24.

CT BACK FOR TU:
The big man in the middle for the Tigers, Charles Thompson, is back for his fifth season at Towson and is looking to cap his prolific career by leading the Tigers to a CAA championship. Thompson is coming off another strong campaign that saw him earn CAA All-Defensive Team and All-CAA Second Team honors last season after averaging 12.2 ppg and 8.0 rpg shooting 56.5 percent from the floor.

Thompson is currently second all-time in field goal percentage (56.8), seventh in rebounds (726), fourth in blocked shots (151), ninth in minutes played (2,911) and tenth in games played (117). He eclipsed the 1,000-point mark late last season.

WELCOME TO TOWSON:
Towson will welcome seven newcomers for the 2023-24 season that includes three freshman and four transfers. Marcus Watson, Nendah Tarke and Messiah Jones join the Tigers from Division I programs with Tomiwa Sulaiman joining the Tigers from Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Jones joins the Tigers after a four-year career at Wofford where he played in 93 games, shooting 63 percent from the floor and being named to the All-SoCon Freshman Team and SoCon Academic Honor Roll. Watson comes from CAA rival North Carolina A&T where he averaged 13.4 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game in 61 total games with the Aggies. Tarke made the short trek up to Towson from nearby Coppin State where he was a three-time All-MEAC performer and led the nation in steals during the 2021-22 season.

Sulaiman spent three seasons at IUP, earning PSAC West Freshman of the Year in 2022 and All-PSAC West First Team honors last season. During his career with the Crimson Hawks, Sulaiman led the team to a pair of PSAC titles and an NCAA DII Final Four appearance.

Jaiden Cole, Mekhi Lowery and Tyler Tejada will be making their collegiate debut for the Tigers in 23-24, all coming off prolific prep careers. Cole comes from the NBA Academy Latin America after leaving at the eighth-highest scorer in academy history. Lowery left his mark at Oswego East High School as the program's all-time leading rebounder and as a nominee for the McDonald's All-American game. Tejada was a three-time all-league player at Teaneck High School, earning All-New Jersey Second Team honors last season.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE:
Towson has had a major home court advantage over the last nine years at TU Arena. Since moving into the arena from the Towson Center in 2013, the Tigers have gone 92-41, including a 22-4 record in the last two years. Towson has had a winning record in home games in seven of the nine seasons, including winning the 2022 CAA regular season title against Delaware at home.

NATIONAL EXPOSURE:
The Tigers will play eight total regular season games in front of a national television audience including four Coastal Athletic Association games in January and February. The Tigers will play Elon (February 12, 9 p.m.) and Charleston (February 24, 12 p.m.) on CBS Sports Network at TU Arena and will be on the road on CBS Sports Network against Delaware (January 27, 2 p.m.) and Hofstra (February 3, 6 p.m.).

In addition to the CBS Sports Network games, Towson will open the season on Pac 12 Network against Colorado and will have all three games at the Charleston Classic air on the ESPN family of networks.

The Tigers will also air on local linear television with seven home games on Monumental Sports Network (formerly NBC Sports Washington) as well as their game against UMBC on MASN.

CAA OUTLOOK:
Charles Thompson earned his second consecutive All-CAA Preseason First Team honor. The graduate student is coming off a season that saw Thompson earn All-CAA Second Team and All-Defensive Team honors for the second straight year in 2022-23. The Fort Washington native had his best season as a Tiger last season averaging 12.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg with 56 blocks and 29 steals. He shot 56.5 percent from the floor in just under 30 minutes per game.

Charleston was chosen as the preseason favorite with 10 first-place votes. UNCW and Drexel also garnered first-place votes with three and one respectively. Hofstra was picked just ahead of Towson and Delaware in fourth. Northeastern, William & Mary, Stony Brook and Elon rounded out the top ten with Monmouth, Campbell, Hampton and North Carolina A&T completing the 14-team field.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
Houston comes into the contest at 3-0 and ranked sixth in the latest AP polls. The Cougars, led by Kelvin Sampson, reached the Sweet Sixteen last year where they fell to Miami and finished with a 33-4 record. Houston is coming off a 79-48 win against Stetson on Monday and are led L.J. Cryer who is averaging 15.0 ppg shooting 39 percent from the floor. Damian Dunn and Emanuel Sharp are both averaging 12.7 ppg with J'Wan Roberts leading the team with 5.7 rpg.

UP NEXT:
Towson will take on the winner/loser of Utah and Wake Forest on Friday, Nov. 17 with time and broadcast TBD.