WASHINGTON – The Towson University men's basketball team came back to within five points late but fell to a surging Delaware 82-72 in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) semifinal round.
 
Towson (22-11) was down just one possession shortly into the second half as Delaware (16-19) responded with building its lead by double digits, leading late by 15. Towson pushed a full-court press to pull within five with 43 seconds left against Delaware (16-19) but could not get closer as the Blue Hens hit free throws down the stretch to win.
 
Key Stats:

• Towson outrebounded Delaware 34-31 and scored 14 second chance points to Delaware's two, but the Blue Hens shot 55.1% from the field to Towson's 40.3%.
• Dylan Williamson led Towson in scoring for the second time in the CAA Tournament, earning 23 points and four assists.  Nendah Tarke tallied up 13 points, six rebounds and three assists while Christian May finished with 12 points, including eight in the second half, and four rebounds.
• For Delaware, six players finished in double figure scoring, led by Erik Timko with 15 points and six rebounds.  Off the bench, Trent Middleton Jr. had 14 points, three rebounds and two steals.

How It Happened:

• Delaware attacked the paint early and had a 4-0 start on its first two shots.  Towson went to its hot hands from yesterday in the early going as Dylan Williamson and Tyler Tejada each shook off a defender and scored for a Towson lead.  As Towson defended against Delaware's jump shooting, Christian May stole the ball up top the key and sprinted down for a thunderous dunk and a 7-4 Towson lead with 15:41 left in the first.
• Offenses started to pick up as Towson hit its jumpers countered by Delaware also hitting shots.  After Delaware tied the game at nine, Williamson hit another step back three to make it 12-9 six minutes in.
• The teams cooled down after a few substitutions were made.  Delaware took the lead 17-15 midway through the first half, later going up four at 20-16 on a three-point make from Erik Timko.
• Towson responded with a 6-0 run, capped by four straight points from Williamson.  Each side started going back-and-forth with baskets to exchange the lead, settling up at 27-27 in the first half's final media.
• The back-and-forth continued as Towson took the lead on a second chance three from Tejada, but Delaware hit its own three and added a putback layup from Niels Lane to retake the lead.  Lane hit an alley-oop in the closing seconds of the half to give Delaware a 36-32 lead at the break.
• Into the second half, May threw down the ball on a drive down the baseline and pulled Towson within a possession.  Delaware countered with an 8-0 run on three consecutive baskets, inducing a Towson timeout as the Blue Hens led 44-34.  Delaware added a three to lead 47-34 with 16:58 to play.
• Towson regrouped and notched four quick points off pushes to the paint.  The Tigers held the Blue Hens without any points for over four minutes, but Delaware held the lead 49-42.
• The fouls picked up as the teams got to the line for chances.  The exchanges continued to occur as a Timko three was repaired on the scoreboard by a Williamson three.  Delaware rebuilt the lead after a Trent Middleton Jr. three-pointer as the Blue Hens led 61-50 with 7:52 left.
• Delaware built the lead to 15 and played long possessions.  Nendah Tarke hit a wing three to bring Towson within 12 with under four minutes left.
• May looked to will his team back into the game, hitting a pair of three-pointers to make it 72-63 Delaware with 2:03 to play.  Towson called a timeout and started to full-court press, leading to Tarke intercepting a pass and getting fouled, hitting the front end.
• With time ticking down, Towson hit back-to-back layups into the final minute to be down six.  The full court press continued as the Tigers got within five with 43 seconds left following a Tarke dunk.  But that is as close as the Tigers came as Delaware's late free throws sealed the game.  The Blue Hens won 82-72.

Inside the Numbers:

• Towson has reached the CAA Tournament semifinal round and won at least 20 games each of the past four years.
• Dylan Williamson has scored in double digits in each of his last 13 games, including three 20+ point games in his last four contests.