“They Can’t Call Us Not Champs” – Tigers Overcome Halftime Deficit to Make History
By: D’Mari Dreher-Smith, Sports Editor and Jonathan Totten, Staff Writer
The Towson Tigers (19-10) sent CAA rival William & Mary (17-12) packing after a dominant second-half surge, securing an 88-73 victory in front of a record-setting crowd of 4,750 at TU Arena.
Riding the momentum of a two-game road trip and Head Coach Pat Skerry’s historic milestone as the winningest coach in program history with 232 wins, the Tigers entered the matchup with unmatched energy.
“And, you know, it’s good to work for great leaders and President Ginsburg and Steve, and you know, we want to be, hopefully, a microcosm of the rest of our university—that we’re blue-collar, that we’re hard-nosed, that we’re committed, and that we’re good teammates,” Skerry said.
William & Mary came out firing from beyond the arc, forcing the Tigers to step up defensively. The Tribe went on a 7-0 run early, but a fast-break dunk from Nendah Tarke off a turnover ignited Towson’s offense, cutting the deficit to 16-10. Feeding off that energy, the Tigers went on a scoring surge, taking a 21-14 lead midway through the half.
Despite Towson’s dominance on the boards—led by Caleb Embeya’s six offensive rebounds—the Tribe’s sharpshooting proved too much. William & Mary knocked down nine of their 14 three-point attempts, forcing the Tigers to adjust their defensive strategy.
Towson’s top scorers, Dylan Williamson and Tyler Tejada, had a slow start, but Tejada found his rhythm late in the half, hitting back-to-back triples to keep the Tigers within striking distance. However, the Tribe responded with another three-point barrage, taking a 44-32 lead into halftime.
Coming out of the break, Towson turned up the defensive intensity, forcing stops and capitalizing on fast breaks. The Tribe and Tigers exchanged baskets until a game-changing sequence—an explosive three from Christian May, followed by a steal and score from Williamson—cut the lead to 54-53.
The Tigers took their first lead of the half, 57-55, after a fast break from Tejada and two free throws. From there, Towson went on a jaw-dropping 21-1 run over thirteen minutes, completely flipping the script. The Tribe, who had torched the Tigers from deep in the first half, made just one three-pointer in the second and suffered a seven-minute scoring drought.
Williamson took control down the stretch, drilling four three-pointers—including a buzzer-beating step-back—and leading the Tigers’ offensive charge. Despite William & Mary’s attempts to claw back with free throws, Towson’s defensive pressure held firm, sealing the win.
With this emphatic victory, Towson secured its first outright CAA regular-season championship in program history.
“As much as people can say what they want, they can’t call us not champs,” said Tomiwa Sulaiman.
The Tigers will close out their regular season at home this Saturday at 4 p.m. against the Hampton Pirates before setting their sights on the CAA Tournament.