Tejada Drops Career-High as Towson Downs Stony Brook
By: D’Mari Dreher-Smith, Sports Editor
The Towson Tigers host the Stony Brook Seawolves in their first matchup of two in conference play. After a disconcerting loss to Hofstra, the Tigers were looking to improve their conference standing, 5-7, and get back on top. Led by Tyler Tejada’s career-high night, the Tigers sent the Seawolves home, 69-57.
The first quarter started off fast and sloppy, both teams struggling to find the basket and their teammates. After a two-minute scoring drought, Tejada started off the scoring, putting up back-to-back points for the Tigers, 4-0.
The mistakes continued on either side of the ball, both teams racking up fouls and turnovers, an error that would plague the game. The game would briefly get close, 8-7, but a solo 6-4 run from Tejada would give Towson the advantage, 14-11.
The Seawolves would find the basket but any scoring was halted by a Dylan Williamson three-pointer and a dynamic fast-break three from Ryan Conway, 20-13.
The Tigers continued the half in dominant fashion highlighted by a dunk from Caleb Embaya and a second chance three-pointer from Williamson. The half would end after an explosive second chance jumper from Tejada, 39-23.
The second half would see a significant lull from the Tigers. Despite scoring first, the Seawolves quickly found their footing on the floor, outscoring 10-8 in the first five minutes. A series of bad shot selection and missed rebounds from the Tigers would give the Seawolves a chance to rally back within 15 points, 49-35.
Trying to retake control of the game, Williamson would make a three-point jumper but was met with a response from one of the Seawolves lead scorers, Rob Brown III, 52-38. The Seawolves would continue to eat at the Tigers lead, cutting the deficit to 11 points.
After both teams found themselves in a scoring drought, the Tigers would go on a 6-0 run to extend their lead by 17 points, 58-41. More avoidable fouls from Towson would allow the Seawolves to go on a run of their own, but it wasn’t enough to hand them the game.
Tejada finished the night with 33-points while Williamson put up an impressive 17 points to help seal the win. The Tigers are back on the road as they take on the four seed Monmouth Hawks, Sunday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.