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There's a very fine line between a win and a loss some nights and Dylan Williamson showed that to us tonight. 2nd to last possession, they're slow getting into whatever offense they wanted to run with the shot clock running out, he loses the ball and JMU gets a basket to cut it to 2. Then we play clockball again, which we should, but run a nothing set and Dylan is forced to chuck it and it happens to go in. 9 1/2 times out of 10, that doesn't go our way and we're facepalming after another terrible loss. It went our way tonight. Then Dylan has the icing on the cake -- pun intended -- with the two free throws to close it out. This was a pretty gritty win against a team that looked very similar to us in how they played at both ends of the floor. This game also showed that Hicks is all the way back from his concussion issues from last year and a contribution like that is going to go a long way for the rest of the offense. If we can transition to a situation where Williamson is more of the alpha shooter while Hicks runs the point, I think the offense gets more efficient. But...we really need May and Tejada to find their games and have Sulaiman and Messiah do their best to contribute on the inside. We need to put one of those electric fence collars on Tarke whenever he thinks about shooting from the outside. Drive all you want and distribute and set up others but goodness, no more of the outside stuff. Twice in that game, he hoisted up 3's immediately after coming down the floor and they led to run-out buckets at the other end. You're supposed to be a senior. Think like one. One other thing that struck me was how big this win could and should be for future attendance the rest of the semester. That place looked hyped and a win like that in a good atmosphere is the best advertisement for getting people to come out to the next one and build that atmosphere even more.

DWill scores 25+ tonight. Calling it

It's absurd to me that a decision about redshirting in basketball comes before the season. If a player decided that without injuries being a reason, you might as well just tell the world that you're not good enough to play at this level. If a coach decided that, it's basically telling the player to head for the portal. I did not get to see any of last night's debacle and it looks like I'm better off for having not seen it. When I saw the score and saw we were down 20, it felt like more of the same. Other mid majors are going on the road and knocking off big-name teams or at least dragging them into the mud into the last minutes of the game. We come in, take our check, and give the home fans what they want. More of the same over and over and over again. With a young squad, I could be patient with their progress. There's far too much experience on this team to be laying eggs like what we've seen against St. Mary's and South Carolina.

Hopefully this is a good omen, my best friend’s brother Dave Weinstein is calling the game on SEC Network tomorrow night and he’ll be as much as a homer for us as possible.

On what could have been a trap weekend for Towson, they travelled to Stony Brook and won both matches comfortably, setting up a potentially crazy final week of the regular season. There is still everything to play for going into the last two matches, with literally not a single team being fully certain of their place in the standings yet. T1. Towson, Charleston, Delaware, Hofstra (13-3) 5. NC A&T (10-6) 6. Northeastern (8-8) 7. Stony Brook (7-9) 8. William & Mary (6-10) Eliminated: Elon, UNCW, Campbell, Hampton The Tigers play their old buddies Hofstra at home, with possibly first place on the line. They would need help from a few others, but you never know. What we do know is that two losses to the Pride would guarantee the Tigers the 4-seed. All other outcomes are uncertain. No matter what, it won’t be doom-and-gloom; with four teams clearly separating themselves as the contenders, failing to get a bye would not be the end of the world. Even as the 4-seed, they would play A&T first, who is a pretty clear step down from the top 4. After that, it’s just the top 4 left, in any configuration. So there isn’t really going to be an “easier” or “harder” path in the bracket. Delaware should pick up two wins against already-eliminated Elon and grab a bye in the process, while Charleston will be facing Northeastern in two huge games for both teams. Stony Brook is currently one game out of the playoffs, but they should beat Campbell twice, while Northeastern has a much more difficult road. W&M is *technically* still alive, and they will pick up two wins against Hampton. However, they would need Northeastern to lose twice to Charleston (definitely possible) and Stony Brook to lose at least one match to Campbell (not completely unheard of, but unlikely). Like I said, after 16 matches absolutely nothing has been solved, and this will be another exciting end to a very competitive season.

It's a doesn't matter game!

13 years nothing changes, if the people in charge don’t care, why should i? Used to be on the boards daily, now the scores just pop up on my phone and I shake my head and say Same Old Towson.

The newest Nil beer GW’s Dribbling George need a Doc’s Doppelbock to start brewing ASAP

https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=550195 Dylan Williamson led all scorers with 22 points to lead Towson over JMU on Saturday night at TU Arena before a little over 3,000 people. The Tigers were playing without Tyler Tejada, who suffered an ankle injury in practice this week, but could return as early as next week. Williamson, who turned 21 today, hit a three-pointer with 17 seconds left to give Towson a 65-60 lead. But Xavier Brown hit a tough three with six seconds left to cut the lead to two. Williamson was able nail both free throws to ice the game with three seconds left. Williamson was the only player to score in double figures, but received help from Messiah Jones (8pts, 5reb), Tomiwa Sulaiman (9pts, 4 rebs, 2 blocks, 2 steals) and Radhir Hicks (9pts, 2 steals). Towson shot 43.6% from the field and 9-of-21 from beyond the arc. They also made 10-of-13 from the line. They turned the ball over just eight times with nine assists and nine steals. Tripleheader win for Towson with football, volleyball and men's basketball winning today. More later.

A tough but fun final weekend of the regular season comes to a close with Towson grabbing a 1-1 split against Hofstra, a tense 3-2 loss on Friday followed up by a great 3-1 win on Saturday. While a disappointing result, the Tigers showed some grit on Friday, coming back from being down late in the 4th to push the match to 5. The tiebreaker didn’t go their way, but they bounced back on Saturday to earn what we call in volleyball a “winning split” (won by more than they lost by). As a result, they earn the 3-seed over the Pride. The final standings are: 1. Charleston (15-3) 2. Delaware (15-3) 3. Towson (14-4) 4. Hofstra (14-4) 5. NC A&T (12-6) 6. Stony Brook (9-9) 7. Northeastern (8-10) 8. W&M (8-10) 9. Elon (5-13) 10. UNCW (4-14) 11. Campbell (4-14) 12. Hampton (0-18) Charleston earns the #1 seed over Delaware by virtue of having beaten Towson twice, whereas Delaware only beat them once. The Cougars, while unmistakenly dangerous, also enjoyed the easiest schedule of any of the top 4 teams. Nonetheless, they managed to draw home-court advantage in the tournament from Towson’s grasp, which will become effective in 2025. For now, the Cougars will fight to prove their seed in SECU Arena. Delaware, to me, is scarier than Charleston, and at the moment I would consider them the favorite-iest of the favorites. In that regard, I’m slightly annoyed that Towson drew Delaware as their potential semifinal opponent. Towson, while definitely not perfect, is absolutely still good enough to win this thing. They *should* beat Stony Brook, which would set up the rubber match with Delaware. From there, anything can happen. Hofstra is weird. They are a team of really good players that are sometimes better than the sun if their parts, sometimes worse. They are more battle-tested than Charleston, and I’m not taking anything for granted in a potential semifinal matchup against the Cougars. Congratulations to the NC A&T Aggies for making the CAA tournament for the first time. They were picked 11th in the preseason poll, but rattled off some impressive regular season victories to get here, including two wins over Charleston. They don’t stack up talent-wise to the top 4, but volleyball is not played on paper. There isn’t a ton to say about Stony Brook. Everybody knew they would be trouble, and they proved to be trouble. Towson did just beat the Seawolves twice in their place, but they have wins over Hofstra and Charleston. Ever since joining the conference, Stony Brook has proven to be a team that does more with less, and as long as they’re in the tournament, they’ve got a shot. Well, there you have it. The grind of conference play is over, and it’s time for the fun part. This is the toughest tournament to call since 2015, and it’s all no use to try anyway. If you’re in the area (unlike me), head on over to SECU and watch some good volleyball!

So with Brown returning at QB, it's time to get some serious help. Maryland on the slate with Norfolk State at home, Morgan on the road, Youngstown State apparently with another 12-game schedule. Not as tough this season. Let's face it, we played a hellacious schedule before these last three games when you consider Villanova is now 9th (lost today to Monmouth), ND State is 1st, Richmond is 11th and Stony Brook is 16th (lost today to UNH). We beat W&M, but they're not ranked anymore. The league at the top doesn't suck as much as people want you to believe even with Richmond leaving. But the bottom of the league....sucks. We're stuck in the middle and have to find a way to get out. It starts at quarterback and at CORNERBACK. There are many other issues including discipline or lack thereof. We had effing 13 penalties for 118 yards today. Shafeek Smith, who wasn't on that Seniors leaving list, had two PIs (didn't see what he did wrong but I assume he tugged on a jersey). I thought Myles Brodie played well down the stretch, but he is one of the Seniors graduating, but again, the eligibility factor is because he started out at Alvernia and played in 2020. So Covid year in 2020 and redshirt season in 2022 when he sat out? I'd like to have him back, but just as I said last season, we DESPERATELY needed a legit starting corner in the portal and didn't get one. That's another must for this season even though I like the potential of true freshmen Shakaa Brown and Emiril Gant. Brown threw for 251 yards and a TD today. No turnovers which was key though he nearly put one on the carpet, but replay ruled it no fumble. Inconsistent early on. Had 45 yards rushing which is obviously a high. Nice call on that keeper for a TD. His receivers didn't always get open and had a few drops. He also missed a few guys in the first half. Couldn't reach the end zone on that Hail Mary at the end of the 2nd half with the wind at his back. Not a big deal. Thought he had a stronger arm though unless he's hurt. Personally, I'm getting a dual-threat QB or two next season. Good to see freshman Winston Watkins play, even if it's just one short possession. But he's probably not there yet. Spring will be huge for him. Just like last season, you can't be satisfied with Nathan Kent's inconsistencies and average arm. Same with Brown. Too many turnovers overall. When he gets flushed from the pocket, he has to be more assured. Hold the ball with two hands when getting ready to slide. Either way, they need to once again upgrade at that position for the fifth time since 2020/21. Has 11 TDs and seven picks. Threw for 1,818 yards,. -21 yards rushing. Meh.

Paul Westhead brought national attention to Loyola Marymount with his fast break run and gun style (they actually scored over 90 points in one half of basketball) . The fans, the players, the media all loved it. I know it is a different style, than Towson plays, but the thought should certainly be one that could change the entire structure and get more fans and money into the program.

You would think it’d be easier for us to schedule games when we always lose on the road to good teams! It’s common knowledge to the public at this point

I will say this about Pat Skerry; recruiting solid talent at a school like Towson must be extremely difficult. Think about today's high school & college athletes and what they prioritize when choosing a school to play at. I would imagine the following factors are considered in some order. 1. How much NIL money can I make? 2. Will I have a chance to get some NBA/pro consideration? 3. Will I have a realistic chance to play in an NCAA Tournament? 4. Will we be a winning/competitive program? 5. What's the fan/gameday environment like....will I be playing in front of a packed house or an empty arena most nights? 6. Will my overall game improve and develop by playing for this coach & staff? 7. Graduation rate/quality of academics/quality of academic resources & support for athletes 8. Are our games on TV? In the absence of any meaningful NIL budget, our decades long NCAA Tourney drought, our spotty fan support, hardly any history of our players even sniffing the NBA and the CAA's dreadful media deal(s), there's not much for Skerry to pitch to prospects. Yes, we win a lot of regular season games. Yes, Pat graduates his players. However, it's the player development piece that I think is most telling about Pat. If you're never going to land legitimate game-wreckers and alpha dogs, and mostly be working with guys who had few, if any, better choices than Towson, you had better be the type of coach that knows how to really develop a player and maximize what talent(s) they might have. That's just not Pat's strength unfortunately. I don't know that Pat is considered to be a fierce motivator, technical savant, top-tier strategist, etc. He's a really nice guy who loves his players and loves the game pf basketball. As an outside observer it seems as if the players view him as everybody's favorite uncle.

If you think these mid-November losses are frustrating just wait until the late February/early March losses roll around. #Skerryball

I mean what is there to add. Embarrassing & extremely disappointing, yet, at least to me, not really surprising. I’ll reserve judgement until after JMU, but I’m beginning to think Skerry made a terrible mistake in not bringing in a competent big via the portal. I’m also beginning to think that the prognosticators who picked us to win the CAA might have rocks in their heads. I guess we’ve already played maybe the two best teams on our schedule (though JMU, C of C and UNCW might have something to say about that), but this kind of dreadful shooting is painful to watch and certainly isn’t a recipe for success.

Its a warm business at Towson

With this win, Im excited for the possibility of Towson competing in the 24 team playoff field.

Congrats for clinching! Anyone going to Atlanta??!! running backs are very good. Not sure why we ever run it outside, they are beats up the middle. Defense had a seasons worth of sacks today. Towson announcers (again someone in athletics needs to make changes there) bashing the other team like they did… not a good look. Yes they are are now 0-10 and probably one of the worst teams in the country but not needed. It’s not like we are a world beaters or anything better than mediocre program.

“The only thing we did well was get to the foul line.” -Great they did a good job at getting to the foul line. WHERE THEY DO NOT SHOOT WELL FROM! You cannot say something like that when they shot 58% from the line. “it's more about re-setting and some things about habits.” -“Re-setting” 2 games in? Yes I know they “played” 3 but I’m not counting Wilkes Barre. These two quotes are more alarming than the game and that is SUPER hard to do. All my moaning and groaning about being tired of moral victories, I was wrong, I will take moral victories over embarrassing a$$-kickings any day of the week. I’m looking forward to the website headline after the JMU game. “Tigers claw back but fall short against JMU” GOH-away! I know that is harsh but what have we to go on right now to feel optimistic? Who would feel confident in a PS 2 game in reset anyway. Boyd, Lightening, Neal, Bennimon, or even Timberlake ain’t walking through that door.

Skerryball

Ugly. Pitiful. Disgraceful. Embarrassing. Lack of effort. You name any negative adjective and that’s Towson hoops. One of the worst games in a while. 26 point beat down for the presumptive favorite in the league, to fall to 0-2 on the season awful shooting check awful defense check a million fouls check awful free throw shooting check piss poor passing check garbage coaching check bad finishing check Sloppy turnovers check Shitting the bed against a quality team check SOT

https://towsontigers.com/news/2024/11/9/towson-football-defeats-hampton-on-saturday.aspx Strange game. Just 57 rushing yards and three turnovers and 18:05 of possession time, but Towson found a way to win through some horrific passing by both Hampton quarterbacks and some very solid defense. Led by Daniel Raymond's pick-six and Myles Brodie's interception, for some reason Hampton decided to give up on passing in the second half down 27-0. Strangest second half I've ever covered and we were called for "clapping" on defense.

https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=550204 https://towsontigers.com/news/2024/11/8/mens-basketball-towson-mens-basketball-cruises-in-home-opener.aspx

Per mat’s recommendation i watched the last 5 minutes. We were still in it down 4 with less than 4 to go. That’s respectable. I was perplexed to see Caleb Embaya flying into the stands trying to intercept a pass with 6 seconds remaining in the game. I like the hustle but good grief don’t hurt yourself or somebody when the game is decided already