The Game: Towson Tigers (16-10, 9-4 CAA) vs. Hampton Pirates (5-23, 0-13 CAA)
When: Saturday, February 17 – 2:00 p.m.
Where: Convocation Center – Hampton, Va.
Broadcast: Broadcast on FloHoops, audio broadcast on TowsonTigers.com (Spiro Morekas)
Series: Towson leads 4-1
TOWSON, Md. – Towson men's basketball takes a two-game win streak into a Saturday matinee with Hampton. The Tigers are coming off a hard fought 61-52 win at William & Mary on Thursday night that saw three Tigers reach double figures.
Christian May led the trio with 15 points with
Charles Thompson recording his third straight double double with 11 points and 12 rebounds and
Tomiwa Sulaiman adding 10 and eight boards.
The game against the Pirates will air on FloHoops. Spiro Morekas will have the audio call on TowsonTigers.com.
This will be just the sixth all-time meeting with the Tigers leading the series 4-1. Towson has won the last two matchups including an 86-72 win in Towson last year. This will be just the second time the Tigers will travel to Hampton to play the Pirates.
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 209 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 (.549), fourth in blocked shots (189), fourth in rebounds (939), third in minutes played (3,651), tied for second in starts (109) and is 16th in scoring (1,272).
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 103-42. 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 at TU Arena against Stony Brook on January 11 when Towson won their 15
th straight home game dating back to the 2022-23 season.
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:
Hampton enters the matchup at 5-23, 0-13 CAA on the year having lost their last three games including a 93-73 loss at Stony Brook on Thursday night. Three Pirates are averaging double figures led by Kyrese Mullen at 15.4 ppg. Mullen also leads the team on the glass at 8.7 rpg. Tedrick Wilcox Jr. and Jordan Nesbitt are also in double figures at 11.3 and 10.4 ppg respectively.
UP NEXT:
Towson will return to TU Arena for the final time in 2023-24 for a pair of contests starting with Monmouth on Thursday, Feb. 22. Tipoff with the Hawks is set for 7 p.m. and will air on MeTV Baltimore and FloHoops with Spiro Morekas and Jimmy Patsos on the call. The game will be Jewish Community Night with tickets available at TowsonTigers.com/Tickets.
