WASHINGTON — That coveted NCAA Tournament bid continues to elude Towson men’s basketball.
Armed with what seemed to be their best opportunity to end a 34-year absence from the big dance, the No. 1 seed Tigers couldn’t keep up with No. 12 seed Delaware’s second-half outburst and fell, 82-72, in a Coastal Athletic Association Tournament semifinal Monday night at CareFirst Arena.
The Tigers (22-11) had won 16 of 18 conference games to claim their second regular-season championship in four years. But they fell one game short of the final for the fourth consecutive year and dropped to 0-7 overall in the semifinals — and this one might have hurt the most.
“Obviously, I feel for our guys,” coach Pat Skerry said. “I thought we played incredibly hard. We just didn’t have the type of defensive effort that we pride ourselves on. We really played with fire. Our defense hasn’t been good in the last three games, and tonight, we paid the price.”
Towson redshirt sophomore point guard Dylan Williamson extended his torrid run in the tournament. After achieving career highs in points (32), field goals (12) and 3-pointers (7) in Sunday’s 82-76 win against No. 8 seed Drexel in the quarterfinals, he racked up 23 points, four assists and two rebounds.
Redshirt senior shooting guard Nendah Tarke came off the bench to rack up 13 points, six rebounds and three steals, and junior small forward Christian May compiled 12 points and four rebounds before fouling out.
But the Tigers had few answers for the Blue Hens in the second half. Delaware shot 61.1% (11 of 18) from the court, including 60% (6 of 10) from 3-point range, and built a 15-point lead with 4:11 left to keep Towson at bay.
Six players reached double figures in points for Delaware, which was led by senior shooting guard Erik Timko’s 15 points and six rebounds. Senior shooting guard Niels Lane and sophomore shooting guard Trent Middleton Jr. scored 14 points each with Lane grabbing a game-best eight rebounds.
The Blue Hens (16-19) are the first double-digit seed to reach the CAA Tournament final and will meet the winner of the second semifinal between No. 2 seed UNC Wilmington (25-7) and No. 3 seed and two-time reigning league champion College of Charleston (24-8) in Tuesday’s title game at 7 p.m. They will try to become the first team in conference history to win five games in five days and capture the league crown.
Towson granted The Baltimore Sun an inside look at their preparations for and journey through the CAA Tournament in their quest for their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1991.
11 a.m.: Skerry opened a walk-through inside two ballrooms at the Washington Marriott Georgetown by imploring the players to tighten up a defense that almost squandered a 15-point lead on Sunday against Drexel. “Too many people looked over here [the team’s bench] like, ‘He made a tough shot,’” he said. “[Forget] that. We need to make them miss.”
11:02 a.m. Associate head coach Parfait Bitee guided the players through film of the Blue Hens’ offensive strategies such as their speed in transition and fondness for losing players on ball screens. Of senior forward and leading scorer John Camden, Bitee said, “He’s their best player. Gotta make him put the ball down.” Of freshman forward Macon Emory, who owns the team’s highest rate of 3-points attempts among overall shots at 67%, Bitee said, “Seventy percent of his shots are 3s. So no 3s.”
11:09 a.m. Skerry closed the film session by noting how soft opposing defenses played Delaware. “That’s why they’re back on campus or on buses going home,” he said.
11:10 a.m. Under Bitee’s direction, the team ran through several defensive tactics. When Skerry asked someone to identify which Blue Hens starter was not a threat to take a 3-point shot, freshman power forward Caleb Embeya singled out senior guard Niels Lane’s 17% rate from long distance (actually 18.3), drawing a high-five from Skerry.
11:50 a.m. The Tigers sat down for another film session as assistant coach John Auslander showed some plans on offense. While freshman guard Izaiah Pasha ranks fourth on Delaware in points and rebounds per game, Auslander noted, “No. 1 does not want to guard anybody. Go after him.” A few seconds later, Auslander encouraged the players to also attack junior guard Cavan Reilly and Timko on defense.
11:56 p.m. Skerry wrapped up the walk-through by reminding the players that a pregame meal would be served at 2 p.m. While the players and Skerry retired to their rooms, Bitee, Auslander, associate head coach Pat O’Connell and assistant coach Chris Conway continued working in the ballroom.
2 p.m. The team dined on grilled chicken chimichurri, seared salmon, caesar salad, roasted vegetables, fingerling potatoes, wild rice with sundried tomatoes, tomato cheddar soup and dinner rolls.
2:10 p.m. Towson athletic director Steven Eigenbrot announced a $100,000 donation — earmarked for the men’s basketball program — to the school’s NIL collective. The anonymous donor also pledged to add another $100,000 if more boosters match the initial donation. “This commitment is really transformational in how it will impact our ability to retain this roster and build on the great year we have had to date,” Eigenbrot said. “Towson has a lot of room to grow as we evolve in this new era, and our team is hopeful that the challenge component of this gift really motivates our fans to do what they can to participate in this effort to sustain our success.” The announcement came one day after Skerry revealed that the university had only $120,000 to build a team compared with $1.1 million for the College of Charleston and $500,000 for UNC Wilmington. “It’s tremendous,” Skerry said of the development. “It’s the new age to compete at this level. I’m personally really thankful for Steven Eigenbrot and his efforts and the support that our president [Dr. Mark Ginsberg] has to help keep us competitive at the top of the league. Those types of things are program-changing in this day and age.”
5:45 p.m. In his final words his team before tip-off, Skerry stressed filling the gaps on defense, turning defensive rebounds into quick transition offense, and running a first offensive play featuring sophomore guard and CAA Player of the Year Tyler Tejada. “Ready to get this thing?” Skerry asked. The team then recited the Lord’s Prayer, and Bitee ended the proceeding by requesting two claps and a “Yeah.”
6:54 p.m. Delaware took a 36-32 lead into halftime thanks to a 7-0 run in the final 77 seconds. After a 3-pointer by Tejada staked the Tigers to a 32-29 lead, they went the final 1:47 without a point.
7:16 p.m. The Blue Hens used 11 traight points in a 2:36 stretch to assume a 47-34 advantage about three minutes into the second half for their biggest lead of the game.
7:27 p.m. Towson trimmed the deficit to 49-42 with 13:04 remaining courtesy of an 8-2 burst.
7:42 p.m. An 8-4 spurt propelled Delaware to an 11-point advantage at 61-50 with 7:52 to go.
8:31 p.m. In his postgame news conference, Blue Hens coach Martin Inglesby said the team was eager to avenge losses of 76-66 on Jan. 30 and 75-70 on Feb. 13 against the Tigers. “We had two really close games against Towson, and we all know it’s hard to beat a team three times in a row,” he said. “So our guys were ready to go and focused.”
8:37 p.m. Skerry and Williamson fielded questions from the media. Asked about the frustration of losing in the semifinals again, Skerry replied, “Each game’s different. We were the best team in the league for four months. We needed to be the best team in the league for three days, and we weren’t. As a coach, you’re looking for the perfect game, perfect season, perfect tournament. That’s the quest. Each game is a little bit different.” Williamson summed up his emotions, saying, “This is hard for me. It’s my second year playing this game, losing the same game. It’s just tough. Going through this, we should’ve had this game, but it’s hard to stop a team when six guys are in double figures and all five of their starters. They shoot 55[%] from the field and 45[%] from 3. It’s hard to beat a team like that.”
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