The Game: Towson Tigers (17-11, 10-5 CAA) vs. Charleston Cougars (21-17, 12-3 CAA)
When: Saturday, February 24 – 12:00 p.m.
Where: TU Arena – Towson, Md.
Broadcast: Broadcast on CBS Sports Network (Dave Ryan & Tarik Turner), audio broadcast on TowsonTigers.com (Spiro Morekas)
Series: Charleston leads 16-10
TOWSON, Md. – Towson men's basketball will host Charleston on Autism Advocacy/Senior Day for the final home game of the 2023-24 season on CBS Sports Network. The Tigers are coming off a big 80-61 win against Monmouth on Thursday night that saw freshman
Tyler Tejada score a career-high 30 points. Towson will honor seniors
Brandon Held,
Chase Paar,
Charles Thompson and manager
Arrington Jeffers pregame.
The game against the Cougars will air on nationally on CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan and Tarik Turner on the call. The audio broadcast will be on TowsonTigers.com with Spiro Morekas on the call.
The game will be the annual Autism Advocacy game with the first 3,000 fans receiving a free t-shirt. There will also be a halfcourt shot for free bagels and free food for TU students.
This will be 27
th all-time meeting and the second this season with the Cougars leading the series 16-10. However, the Tigers defeated the Cougars earlier this year in Charleston.
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 210 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 (.548), fourth in blocked shots (193), fourth in rebounds (955), second in minutes played (3,712), second in starts (111) and is 16th in scoring (1,296).
The graduate student has 31 double digit rebounding performances in his career and has 22 double doubles including a stretch of three in his last four games.
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 104-42. 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:
Charleston comes into the contest at 21-7, 12-3 CAA and are atop the conference standings. The Cougars have won six straight including a 90-71 win at Delaware on Thursday night. Charleston led by just seven at the break but pulled away from the Blue Hens in the second half for the win. Ante Brzovic leads a trio of Cougars averaging 12.6 ppg and leads the team with 6.5 rpg. Ben Burnham and Reyne Smith are also in double figures at 12.1 and 11.7 ppg.
UP NEXT:
Towson will close out the regular season with a pair of road games starting with North Carolina A&T on Thursday, Feb. 29. Tipoff with the Aggies is set for 7 p.m. on FloHoops.
