The Game: Towson Tigers (4-5) at UMBC Retrievers (5-6)
When: Saturday, December 9 – 1:00 p.m.
Where: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena – Baltimore, Md.
Broadcast: Broadcast on MASN and ESPN+, Audio broadcast on TowsonTigers.com (Spiro Morekas)
Series: Towson leads 40-20

TOWSON, Md. – Towson men's basketball looks to take the inaugural Charm City Hoops Classic against local-rival UMBC on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers defeated Morgan State back in November with the Bears defeating the Retrievers on Wednesday. Towson is coming off a big 81-71 win against Massachusetts on Wednesday night. Sophomore Christian May and redshirt freshman Dylan Williamson each had career days with May scoring 27 points and Williamson scoring 17.   

The game against the Retrievers will air locally on MASN as well as ESPN+. The audio broadcast will be on TowsonTigers.com with Spiro Morekas on the call.

This will be the 61^st all-time meeting between the two Baltimore County rivals with the Tigers holding a commanding 40-20 lead in the series. This will be the first meeting since 2019 and the Tigers have won the last seven contests and 11 of the last 13 dating back to 2005.  

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.

CHARLES IN CHARGE:
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 ranks in the top 10 in program history in six differ­ent categories. He is currently third in field goal percentage (.554), fourth in blocked shots (163), fifth in rebounds (804), fourth in games played (126), sixth in minutes played (3,179), eighth in starts (92) and is 23rd in scor­ing (1,116).

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 95-41, including a 26-4 record in the last two plus 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:
UMBC comes into the weekend tilt at 5-6 after a 92-80 loss at Morgan State on Wednesday. The Retrievers are 4-1 at home this season compared to 1-5 on the road. UMBC is averaging over 80 ppg but are also allowing 80 ppg to opponents. Dion Brown leads four Retrievers in double figures with 16.2 ppg. He is also the leading rebounder at 5.7 per game, shooting 49.7 percent from the floor with 17 steals. Khydarius Smith (13.0), Marcus Banks Jr. (12.1) and Bryce Johnson (11.4) are also in double figures for UMBC.

UP NEXT:
Towson will have the week off before heading to Long Island to take on Bryant at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. as part of the Holiday Hoopfest. Tip-off with the Bulldogs is slated for 2 p.m. and will air on FloHoops with Spiro Morekas having the audio call on TowsonTigers.com.