HARRISONBURG, Va. – A furious comeback from an early deficit wasn't enough for the Towson University men's basketball team to defeat the Sun Belt preseason favorite James Madison Dukes on the road on Tuesday, falling by a final score of 81-75.

"I think it's their offense and how they shot the ball," head coach Pat Skerry said. "We hold St. John's, Rutgers and Houston all under 40% from the field and we got shelled tonight. Defense was really substandard for us."

KEY STATS

• Towson outrebounded James Madison by 15, all coming from a 17-2 margin on the offensive glass.
• The Tigers led the Dukes in points in the paint, second chance points, fast break points and bench points.
• Tyler Tejada led the way with 21 points with Jack Doumbia Jr (15) and Dylan Williamson (11) all scoring in double figures.
• Caleb Embeya posted 11 rebounds the lead the Tigers on the glass.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Dukes jumped out to a 17-4 lead in the first 5:02 of the game.
• A slow and steady comeback started with no significant runs before Towson took their first lead of the game with 1:11 left in the first half.
• After entering the locker rooms tied at 36, went on a 9-0 run early in the second half to jump out to a seven-point lead.
• James Madison, in part to a barrage of long range shots, ended up taking back the lead 55-53 midway through the second half.
• The two teams played evenly from there before a James Madison layup and three pointer gave the Dukes a seven point lead.
• From there, Towson came out in a full court, trapping press regularly subbing in Jaquan Womack and Chike Ndefo for length on the defensive side of the ball.
• The press caused a few turnovers but not enough to solidify the comeback.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Towson scored 75 points, their most this season against a DI opponent.
• Doumbia Jr came off the bench and made the first five field goals he took.
• Tyler Schmidt has played four games of 15 minutes or more, he has committed zero turnovers in those four games.

UP NEXT
Towson will have nearly a whole week off before playing in the ESPN Events Invitational in Kissimmee, Florida starting on Monday, November 24. The opening game will be against the University of Rhode Island before coming back Tuesday to face either Liberty or Vermont. All games can be watched on the ESPN family of networks.