The Game: Towson Tigers (19-11, 11-6 CAA) at UNCW Seahawks (22-8, 12-5 CAA)
Where: Trask Coliseum – Wilmington, N.C.
When: Saturday, Feb. 25 – 7 p.m.
Broadcast: Live stream on FloHoops, Audio broadcast on TowsonTigers.com – Spiro Morekas
Series: UNCW leads 21-17
 
TOWSON, Md. – Towson men's basketball will conclude the regular season at UNCW in the first meeting between the two this season. The winner of the game on Saturday night will earn the three seed in the upcoming Jersey Mike's CAA Men's Basketball Championship with the other team earning the four seed. Towson is coming off a tough 83-75 loss at Charleston on Thursday.

The Tigers led for nearly 24 minutes in a game that featured five lead changes and seven ties. Nicolas Timberlake poured in a career-high 34 points, his third 30-point game of the season. Towson shot over 45 percent from both the floor and from three but went just 14-24 from the foul line in the loss.

Towson and UNCW have met 38 times prior to Saturday with the Seahawks leading the all-time series 21-17. The Tigers have had the upper hand in the series of late winning six of the last seven. The only loss in that stretch came last year in Towson.

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 191-184 record at Towson and a 215-209 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.

THE 1K CLUB:
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 1,474 points in 9th place all-time. Timberlake started the season outside of the top 30 all-time but has climbed the charts behind 536 points to this point of the season.

Both Cam Holden and Charles Thompson have also reached the 1,000-point plateau this season. Holden has 1,000 points between his time at UT-Martin and Towson, while Thompson is just the 30^th player in program history to achieve the mark all at Towson.
 
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. Gibson will miss the remainder of the 2022-23 season due to a back injury suffered in early November.
 
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 became the program leader in three pointers attempted, now sitting at 600. Timberlake is also the leader in three pointers made with 227, eclipsing the mark against Charleston. He also became the seventh player to play 3,000 minutes with Towson against Delaware on January 11.

Timberlake is also the sixth Tigers to score 30 or more points in consecutive games during the Division I era. The last Tiger to do so was Zane Martin back in 2018. No Towson player has ever had more than two consecutive 30-point games.

In addition, Nygal Russell could also hit the 1,000-point mark in 2022-23. Russell is at 930 between his time at Southeast Missouri State and Towson.
 
Scouting the Opponent:
UNCW is coming into the regular season finale at 22-8, 12-5 CAA after a 76-69 win against Stony Brook on Thursday night. The Seawolves shot over 50 percent from the floor in the contest, but the Seahawks got a 26-point performance from Jamarii Thomas off the bench in the win. Trazarien White leads the Seahawks at 14.2 ppg, the only player over double figures. He is also the team leader on the boards at 5.7 rpg.