The Game: Towson Tigers (11-8, 4-2 CAA) vs. Drexel Dragons (14-6, 7-0 CAA)
When: Thursday, January 25 – 7:00 p.m.
Where: TU Arena – Towson, Md.
Broadcast: Broadcast on MeTV Baltimore and FloHoops, Audio broadcast on TowsonTigers.com (Spiro Morekas & Jimmy Patsos)
Series: Drexel leads 51-28
TOWSON, Md. – Towson men's basketball takes a two-game win streak into a big CAA showdown with first-place Drexel on Thursday night. The Tigers are currently in a tie for second place and are riding a two-game win streak after defeating Charleston and Campbell this past week. Freshman
Tyler Tejada was named CAA Rookie of the Week after helping the Tigers to a 2-0 week.
Thursday's game against Drexel will be Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night and there will be concession discounts pregame as well as $1 hot dogs. There is also a $5 BOHGOH ticket offer by going to TowsonTigers.com/MBBBOHGOH. Towson University faculty and staff can redeem tickets by emailing
bschwarzman@towson.edu or present their OneCard at Gate 1 on the day of the game.
The game against the Dragons will air on MeTV Baltimore and FloHoops with the audio broadcast will be on TowsonTigers.com with Spiro Morekas and Jimmy Patsos on the call.
This will be the 80
th all-time meeting between the Tigers and Dragons with Drexel leading the series 51-28. The two split the season series last year with both teams winning on their home floor. Towson has won the last seven games against Drexel in Maryland and nine of the last ten dating back to the 2012-13 season.
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. He is currently second all-time in wins with 203 at Towson.
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.
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 the all-time leader in games played and is currently third in field goal percentage (.552), fourth in blocked shots (179), fourth in rebounds (881), sixth in minutes played (3,458), fifth in starts (102) and is 19th in scoring (1,199).
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 100-41, including a 27-4 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.
The Tigers broke the school record for consecutive home wins against Stony Brook on January 11 when Towson won their 15
th straight home game dating back back to the 2022-23 season. The streak currently stands at 16 games with the last Towson loss at TU Arena was on December 31, 2022 in a 76-74 overtime loss against Charleston.
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. Towson also announced on December 14 that three games (Jan. 25 vs. Drexel, Feb. 8 vs. Delaware, Feb. 22 vs. Monmouth) will also air on MeTV, a digital subchannel of WBAL.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
Drexel comes into the contest at 14-6, 7-0 CAA are in first place in the league. The Dragons have won seven in a row including an 86-67 win against Delaware last time out. Justin Moore and Amari Williams are averaging double figures with Moore leading the team at 13.0 ppg. Amari Williams is averaging 12.5 ppg and a team-high 7.9 rpg while shooting 53 percent from the floor.
UP NEXT:
Towson will make the short trip up I-95 to take on Delaware on Saturday, Jan. 27. Tipoff with the Blue Hens is slated for 2 p.m. and will air nationally on CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan and Tarik Turner on the call. Spiro Morekas will have the audio broadcast on TowsonTigers.com starting at 1:45 p.m.
