When: Saturday, December 7, 2024
Where: TU Arena | Towson, Md.
Time: Saturday- 1:00 p.m.
Team Records: UMBC (5-5) vs. Towson (4-5)
Broadcast: Monumental Sports Network & FloCollege, audio broadcast on TowsonTigers.com (Spiro Morekas & Jimmy Patsos)
Series: Towson Leads UMBC 41-20
TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's basketball team returns home to TU Arena to host the UMBC Retrievers in the Charm City Hoops Classic on Saturday afternoon.
 
Guarding the Three
The Tigers defend the three extremely well this season, holding opponents to 28.7% from behind the arc. The Tigers rank 56th in the nation and first in the CAA. Towson has held eight of its nine opponents to under 33% this season.
 
Starting off Strong
Dylan Williamson has been off to a strong start to the 2024-25 season. He is tied for the team lead in points per game, averaging 14.7. He is shooting 42.3% from the floor and 45.1% from behind the arc, the 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 seven of the nine 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 11.4 points per game while grabbing 5.8 rebounds per game which rank second on the team. He leads the Tigers in steals per game with 1.6. 
 
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.
 
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 64.0 points per game. The Tigers rank 36th in the nation and lead the CAA. Towson has held six of its nine opponents to under 66 points.
 
The Best in Maryland
In the last three years, the Tigers have a 70-40 (63.6%) record, the best in the DC-Maryland-Virginia area. Skerry is 26-1 (96.3%) against UMBC, Morgan State, Loyola (MD) and Coppin State since 2013.
 
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.
 
Charm City Hoops Classic Standings
The Tigers and the Retrievers come into tomorrow's game 1-0 after defeating Morgan State earlier this season. Towson defeated the Bears 64-60 while UMBC won 92-69 in its matchup.
 
Scouting UMBC
The Retrievers bring in a 5-5 record to TU Arena. UMBC ranks 27th in the nation in three-point percentage, shotting 39% from behind the arc led by Marcus Banks who sits 53rd in the country at 45.2%. The Retrivers have three players who average double figures led by Bryce Johnson who averages 15.2. UMBC opened the season with a win over Penn State York then fell to Penn State. The Retrievers then defeated Valley Forge and Coppin State. UMBC loss its next three games to Saint Peter's, Hampton and Boston University. The Retrievers picked up wins over Morgan State and Howard. Earlier this week, UMBC fell to Georgetown 86-62.
 
Next Up
The Tigers hit the road to take on Duquesne on Saturday, December 14 at 6 p.m. in Akron, Ohio.