2-19-2025 10:39pm

Tigers Streaking To

Jeff Barto Editor

Towson Men’s Basketball Heads to North Carolina to Face off against Elon on Thursday Night

When: Thursday, February 20, 2025
Where: Schar Center | Elon, N.C.
Time: Thursday- 7:00 p.m.
Team Records: Towson (18-9, 13-1 CAA) at Elon (16-11, 7-7 CAA)
Broadcast: FloCollege, audio broadcast on TowsonTigers.com (Spiro Morekas)
Series: Towson Leads Elon 12-6
TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's basketball team heads to North Carolina to take on the Elon Phoenix on Thursday night.

Hot Start in the CAA
The Tigers are off to a hot start in CAA play standing in first place in the conference with a 13-1 record, the best start in the CAA in program history. Towson is also off to its best start ever in conference play in program history. Towson ranks second in conference play in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score only 64.6 points per game. The Tigers rank third in three-point field goal percentage in conference play shooting 34.7% from behind the arc. Towson ranks second in conference play in rebounds per game, grabbing 37.8 per game during conference play, while having the third-best rebounding margin grabbing 3.9 more per game. Towson is first in conference play in offensive rebounds per game, grabbing 13.4 per game. The Tigers are currently holding opponents to 30.9% from behind the arc which is second best during conference play.

Win Streak
The Tigers are currently on a 12-game win streak, which is the longest winning streak in program history in the Division 1 era. The Black & Gold currently hold the second longest active winning streak and trail only Akron's 14 game winning streak for the longest active winning streak. Towson is averaging 72.8 points per game and holding opponents to 63.8 in that time. Dylan Williamson is averaging a team-best 15.8 points a game during that streak, adding a team-high 32 assists and shooting 47.7% from the field and 45.5% from three. Williamson has scored in double figures in 11 of the 12 games. Nendah Tarke is shooting 49.6% from the floor and 47.5% from three in that span, averaging 14.4 points per game. Tyler Tejada has also been strong in that stretch, averaging 15.3 points and 4.0 rebounds a game in those 12 contests, shooting 42.7% from the field and 79.5% from the free throw line.

Sweeping the Weekly Awards
Redshirt senior guard Nendah Tarke was named CAA Player of the Week while freshman forward Caleb Embeya was named CAA Rookie of the Week. The last time Towson won both awards was January 29th, 2024 when Christian May won player of the week and Dylan Williamson won rookie of the week.

Tarke averaged a team-best 22.0 points per game while shooting 14-of-25 (56.0%) from the field and 6-of-10 (60.0%) from three. He also averaged 5.5 rebounds last week as the Tigers went 2-0. He started the week by tying a team-high 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds in Towson's win against Northeastern. The redshirt senior guard then followed up with 27 points, tying a career-high, with 24 coming in the second half and overtime against Drexel. He went 9-of-14 (64.3%) from the floor and knocked down a season-high four triple, going 66.7% from behind the arc in Towson's overtime victory against the Dragons.

Embeya averaged 11.0 points per game, five rebounds and 2.5 blocks off the bench. He went 9-of-10 (90%) from the floor. He started the week by scoring nine points, five rebounds and two blocks while shooting 80% from the floor in Towson's victory over Northeastern. The freshman forward then followed up with a career-high 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting while grabbing five rebounds and adding three blocks in Towson's overtime victory against Drexel.

In the Ranks
The Tigers are top-50 in the nation in multiple categories this season. Towson ranks 12th in the nation in turnovers per game, having only 9.4 turnovers per game, which leads the CAA. The Tigers are 37th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game, grabbing 12.9, as well as scoring defense, allowing just 65.5 points per contest to rank 34th in the country.

Star Sophomores
Dylan Williamson and Tyler Tejada have had stellar sophomore seasons. Williamson ranks second on the team in points per game, averaging 13.7. The redshirt sophomore guard earned a career-high 27 points off 11-of-19 shooting in the victory at Delaware. He previously scored 26 points against Drexel, matching the 26-point performance at Nicholls State. Williamson has finished in double figures in 20 of the 27 games this season.

Tejada leads the Tigers in points per game, averaging 16.4, which ranks seventh in the CAA. He has finished in double figures in 20 of his 21 games. The sophomore guard tied a career-high with 30 points earlier this season against Robert Morris. He made a career-high 12 field goals and went 3-of-3 from behind the arc.

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
Redshirt senior 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 14 of his 25 games.

Tarke has continued where he left off last season, averaging 11.5 points per game, which ranks third on the team. Tarke grabs 4.6 rebounds per game which ranks second on the team. He leads the Tigers in steals per game with 1.2. Tarke has finished in double figures in 15 of his 27 games, including ten of the last 12 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 114-44. Towson has had a winning record in home games in seven of the nine seasons. The Tigers currently have a 9-1 mark at TU Arena this season.

The Tigers broke the school record for consecutive home wins at TU Arena against Stony Brook on January 11 when Towson won their 18th 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). The Tigers are 3-0 on CBS Sports Network this season.

Towson will have seven 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) and Hampton (Mar. 1). The Tigers will have one game on MeTV on Feb. 27th against William & Mary.

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. The Tigers have the best record in conference play since 2022 with a 51-17 (75%) record.

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. Skerry has 231 wins during his tenure and is tied for the most wins in program history. Towson is 7-0 on Thursday games in the CAA.

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 65.3 points per game. The Tigers rank 28th in the nation and second in the CAA. Towson has held 16 of its 27 opponents to 66 points or fewer.

The Best in Maryland
In the last three years, the Tigers have an 84-44 (65.6%) record, the best in the DC-Maryland-Virginia area. Skerry is 26-2 (92.9%) against UMBC, Morgan State, Loyola (MD) and Coppin State since 2013.

The Towson University men's basketball team continues its three game homestand by welcoming the Stony Brook Seawolves on Saturday afternoon for Mascot Mania.

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.

Receiving Votes
The Tigers were voted to No. 15 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. Towson is one of three teams in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) ranked. The Tigers are the highest ranked CAA team in the poll at No.15 with UNCW at No. 17 and Charleston coming in at No. 23.

Scouting Elon
The Phoenix come into Thursday's game with a 7-7 CAA record which is tied for sixth. Elon has four players who average 14.0 or more points per game led by Nick Dorn's 15.2. The Phoenix rank tenth in the nation in rebounding, grabbing a league best 40.7 boards per game. Matthew Van Komen leads the CAA and ranks ninth in the nation in blocks per game averaging 2.5. Elon opened conference play with wins over Hampton and North Carolina A&T, then fell to William & Mary. The Phoenix then defeated Campbell and Drexel before losing to Delaware. Elon bounced back with a win over Monmouth, then lost five of its next six games with the only win coming against Northeastern. Most recently, the Phoenix defeated UNCW 81-70 behind 32 points from TK Simpkins.

Next Up
The Tigers play their final road game of the season against the Campbell Camels on Saturday, February 22nd at 2 p.m. The game will be streamed on FloCollege.