Towson Tigers Dominate Home Opener with 89-34 Blowout Against Penn State Wilkes-Barre
By: D’Mari Dreher-Smith, Sports Editor and Jackson Palich, Staff Writer
The Towson Tigers return to TU Arena for this year’s home opener against Penn State Wilkes-Barre. After player changes and a loss on the road to Saint Mary’s, the Tigers’ were looking to start off on a high note back at home.
The Tigers opened slow offensively but quickly responded with an 8-0 run exclaimed by a Tyler Tejada AND-1. They’d continue to apply pressure through offensive rebounds, out-hustling Wilkes-Barre for most of the half. After a pretty back-and-forth start to the half Towson would extend their lead to 10 through a backcourt steal and finish by Guard Rahdir Hicks and a fast break dunk by Freshman Caleb Embeya.
“I think we had a great performance. We really locked in on defense,” said Hicks. “And I just like how we shared the ball. We had like 18 assists. You can’t ask for better than that.”
In the final 7:29 of the first half, The Tigers’ would go on an emphatic 21-2 run Once settled into their groove, the chemistry was palpable, the passes became smoother, and they cemented their lead in the game.
Leading 49-22, Towson completely took control of the game. Up for 15:44 in the first half, the Tigers continued their offensive lead while also presenting their domineering defensive front. With 17 points resulting from turnovers and four blocks, Towson didn’t allow much space for Wilkes-Barre to make big plays.
Capitalizing off Wilkes-Barre’s struggle in the first half, Towson took the lead and ran with it. They’d start the half with a 10-0 run led by two 3-pointers from Senior forward Tomiwa Sulaiman, who would go on to shoot 5-6 from behind the arc on the night. Leading by a score of 68-26 at the U12 timeout, it was all Tigers.
The senior Sulaiman finished the night off with six three-pointers, contrast to the 23-24 season where he was mainly seen as an inside player.
“I could always shoot threes. Let’s get this out there,” Sulaiman joked. “Coach Skerry has been adamant that I should be hunting threes this year. You’re going to see me take a lot of threes, but I don’t want to take away from the fact that I’m still an inside player.”
Wilkes-Barre continued to fall short against the constant defensive power of the Tigers, only scoring 12 points in the last half, compared to Towson’s 40 point pickup. The bench would continue to provide for Towson as they’d continue their dominance, finishing the game on a 9-0 run and outsourcing the Mountain Lions by 28. Towson would go on to finish off Wilkes-Barre 89-34, claiming their first win of the season.
The Tigers’ look to follow up their dynamic opener with a win on the road against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Tip-off is slated for Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.