When: Thursday, November 28 – Saturday, November 30
Where: VisitLethbridge.com Arena | Lethbridge, Alberta
Time: Thursday- 9:30 p.m. E.T., Friday- 7:30 p.m. E.T. & Saturday- 9:30 p.m. E.T.
Team Records: Towson (4-2), Kent State (4-1), Kennesaw State (5-1) & UC Irvine (5-0)
Broadcast: ESPN+, audio broadcast on TowsonTigers.com (Spiro Morekas)
Series: Towson Leads Kent State 2-1, Towson Leads Kennesaw State 1-0 & Towson-UC Irvine: First Meeting
TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's basketball team heads up to Canada to compete in the Western Slam this week. The Tigers start the three-day tournament against Kent State, then play Kennesaw State and wrap up the tournament with UC Irvine.
 
Guarding the Three
The Tigers defend the three extremely well this season, holding opponents to 24.8% from behind the arc. The Tigers rank 14th in the nation and first in the CAA. Towson has held five of its six opponents to under 30% this season.
 
Starting off Strong
Dylan Williamson has been off to a strong start to the 2024-25 season. He ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.2 ppg. He is shooting 45.2% from the floor and 46.9% from behind the arc, the second highest on the team. The redshirt sophomore guard tied a career-high in points with 26, making a career-best nine field goals against Nicholls State. Williamson has finished in double figures in four of the six games this season.                                                           
 
Preseason Awards
Sophomore guard/forward Tyler Tejada was named to the All-CAA Preseason First Team while junior guard/forward Christian May was selected to the All-CAA Preseason Second Team. Redshirt sophomore guard Dylan Williamson was named All-CAA Honorable Mention.
 
Tejada was named CAA Rookie of the Year last year after averaging 10.1 ppg with 3.3 rpg. The sophomore guard shot 42 percent from the floor and 35 percent from three last season. He scored 30 points against Monmouth and hit the game-winning three pointer against UNCW.
 
May led the Tigers in scoring with 10.8 ppg while shooting 39 percent from the floor and 34 percent from three. He was tied for third on the team in the rebounds, averaging 4.1 per game.
 
Williamson ranked second on the team in scoring with 10.2 ppg. He shot 40 percent from the floor and 34 percent behind the arc while leading the Tigers in assists with 98.
 
Mr. Do It All
Graduate student guard Nendah Tarke did it all for the Tigers last season, averaging 9.8 points, the fourth highest total on the team. He averaged 5.1 rebounds to rank second on the Black & Gold. He also added 1.5 spg, which ranked sixth in the CAA last year. He also had 13 blocks which was third on the team. Tarke finished in double figures in 13 of his 24 games.
 
Tarke has continued where he left off last season, averaging 13.3 points per game while grabbing a team-best 5.8 rebounds per game. He leads the Tigers in steals per game with 1.8 while dishing out 1.2 assists per game. 
 
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 106-43. Towson has had a winning record in home games in seven of the nine seasons.
 
The Tigers broke the school record for consecutive home wins at TU Arena against Stony Brook on January 11 when Towson won their 15th straight home game dating back to the 2022-23 season.
 
Receiving Votes
Towson was voted No.21 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. The Tigers are the highest ranked team in the CAA with the College of Charleston sitting at No.23. Towson will be playing UC Irvine and Kennesaw State who are ranked No.3 and No.25 in the poll while Kent State is receiving votes.
 
Tigers on TV
Towson will play 12 games on national and linear television this season with ten happening at TU Arena.
 
The Tigers will play four games on CBS Sports Network, which include Hofstra (Jan. 16), at Northeastern (Jan. 27), Drexel (Feb. 1) and at Monmouth (Feb. 8).
 
Towson will have eight games on Monumental Sports Network: James Madison (Nov. 16), UMBC (Dec. 7), Bryant (Dec. 22), Northeastern (Jan. 9), Stony Brook (Jan. 18), Delaware (Feb. 13), William & Mary (Feb. 27) and Hampton (Mar. 1).
 
Winning Ways
The Tigers have won 18 or more games in nine of the last 11 seasons, winning a share of the CAA Regular Season title in 2022. Towson was 20 or more games in its last three seasons for the first time in program history.
 
Skerry is the winningest head coach in Towson University Men's Basketball Division 1 history. He has the highest win percentage in Division 1 program history.
 
Defense!
The Tigers led the CAA in scoring defense, holding opponents to 63.6 ppg, while ranking second in the conference in rebounding, grabbing 39.3 per game. Towson held opponents to under 60 points, 12 times last season.
 
Towson has continued where they left off last season, holding opponents to only 62.8 points per game. The Tigers rank 41st in the nation and lead the CAA. Towson has held four of its six opponents to under 65 points.
 
The Best in Maryland
In the last three years, the Tigers have a 69-37 (65.1%) record, the best in the DC-Maryland-Virginia area. Skerry is 26-1 (96.3%) against UMBC, Morgan State, Loyola (MD) and Coppin State all-time.
 
O Canada
The Tigers head to Canada to take part in the Western Slam in Lethbridge, Alberta. Towson tip-offs the tournament against Kent State then take on Kennesaw State before wrapping up the three-day tournament versus UC Irvine.
 
Atop the Chart
The CAA announced its annual Preseason Poll to start the season. The Tigers were picked to finish in first place after receiving ten first-place votes. The Tigers were picked ahead of defending CAA Champions Charleston, who were picked second and received three first-place votes.
 
Running It Back
The Tigers return four of their five starters from last year. Towson brings back 80% of the last year's scoring, including the top three scorers. The Tigers return 71% of the rebounds, including two of the top seven rebounders last year in the CAA. Towson returns reigning CAA Rookie of the Year Tyler Tejada and CAA All- Rookie guard Dylan Williamson who ranked second on the team in scoring last season (10.2) and led the Tigers in assists (2.9).
 
Fresh Faces
Towson welcomes six newcomers this season: Abdou Samb (IUPUI), Chike Ndefo, Caleb Embeya, Amir Shaheed, Mandela Tarke and Ryan Skerry.
 
Last Season Recap
The Tigers won 20 games last season for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons. Towson picked up non-conference wins against UMass, Nicholls State, UMBC and Morgan State. In CAA play, the Black & Gold defeated UNCW and Charleston while also picking up wins over Stony Brook and Delaware. Towson earned the five seed in the CAA Tournament and defeated Willliam & Mary then Towson defeated UNCW for the second time, before falling against Charleston in the semi-finals.
 
Scouting Kent State
The Golden Flash bring in a 4-1 record. Kent State is led by VonCameron Davis who averages 16.0 ppg and shoots 44.4% from the floor. The Golden Flash opened the season with a 70-66 victory over Louisiana, then defeated Miami-Hamilton. Kent State fell to No.5 Auburn, but bounced back with a win over Niagara. Most recently, the Golden Flash defeated Cleveland State 68-52.
 
Scouting Kennesaw State
The Owls have a 5-1 record to start the 2024-25 season. Kennesaw State has three players that average ten plus points per game: Simeon Cottle (18.2), Adrian Wooley (14.3) and Braedan Lue (11.0). The Owls are third in the country in rebounding, averaging 47.17. Kennesaw State averages 89.3 points per game, which ranks 15th in the nation. The Owls opened the season with a win over Toccoa Falls, then fell to California Baptist. Kennesaw State defeated Bryan College, before picking up a victory against Presbyterian. The Owls defeated Abilene Christian and most recently picked up a 79-77victory over Rutgers.
 
Scouting UC Irvine
The Anteaters are 5-0 this season. Bent Leuchten leads the team with 17.0 ppg and 10.4 rpg. Devin Tills averages 14.4 ppg and 8.8 rpg while Justin Hohn averages 13.6 ppg. The Anteaters shoot 39.3% from behind the arc, which ranks 30th in the nation. UC Irvine started the season with a victory over Chapman, then defeated Loyola Marymount. The Anteaters picked up a win over Northern Iowa, before defeating Pepperdine. Most recently, UC Irvine defeated Weber State 93-87.
 
Next Up
The Tigers return home to TU Arena to host the UMBC Retrievers on Saturday, December 7th at 1 p.m. in the Charm City Hoops Classic. The game will be televised on Monumental Sports Network and streamed on FloCollege.