CAA Men’s Basketball Recap – Jan. 18
Dylan Smith
Delaware 79, Elon 77
Box Score
Leading by as many as 19 with 10:15 remaining in regulation, Delaware (11-8, 4-2 CAA) staved off a late run by Elon (13-6, 4-2 CAA) on the final possession to secure a 79-77 win at home. John Camden shined with 28 points on 9-of-11 shooting, three made 3-pointers and a 7-for-8 showing at the line. Cavan Reilly (18 pts.), Erik Timko (15 pts.) and Niels Lane (10 pts. / 10 rebs.) rounded out those in double figures.
The Blue Hens caught fire from distance out of the gate behind the hot hands of Camden and Timko, who both went 3-for-4 from deep to start the game and propel Delaware to a 33-16 lead at 8:44. Reilly joined in on the sharpshooting in the first half, sinking his first five shots with four coming from behind the arc to expand the Blue Hens’ advantage to 49-31 at the intermission. Delaware ballooned its lead to as many as 19 at the midway point of the second half. Elon made it interesting down the stretch with a 13-2 run that cut its deficit down to eight with seven minutes to play. Delaware increased its lead back to 15 with 3:34 to play before the Phoenix made one final push. Elon utilized a 14-1 stretch to end the game with TJ Simpkins scoring the final six points. The Phoenix had one final opportunity to tie the game after a pair of missed free throws from Izaiah Pasha, only to see TK Simpkins’ runner bounce off the front of the rim as time expired. TJ Simpkins finished with 21 points while TK scored 16 of his own.
Towson 53, Stony Brook 49
Box Score
Tyler Tejada scored all 12 of his points in the second half to lift Towson (10-9, 5-1 CAA) to a 53-49 victory over Stony Brook (4-15, 0-6 CAA). Mekhi Lowery and Dylan Williamson also finished in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Stony Brook scored the first eight points with Joe Octave knocking down a pair of triples across the first 2:27 of the contest. Towson eventually clawed its way back before halftime to deadlock the score at 19 following a 7-0 spurt finished off by a Tomiwa Sulaiman triple with just over two minutes to play in the opening stanza. The Seawolves’ Jared Frey and Collin O’Connor knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers shortly after to give Stony Brook a six-point edge, 25-19, at the half. The two teams battled through the first four minutes of the second stanza before Towson outscored Stony Brook on a 19-6 run to capture a 42-37 lead it would not relinquish. Tejada went 4-of-7 in the second half and knocked down 4-of-5 from the line. Towson staved off the Seawolves down the stretch to hold on for the victory. Stony Brook’s Octave and Frey led all scorers with 16 points apiece.
Campbell 81, Monmouth 58
Box Score
Caleb Zurliene produced a 21-point performance on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor and a perfect 5-for-5 clip from the free-throw line to help Campbell (8-11, 3-3 CAA) to an 81-58 victory over Monmouth (5-14, 3-3 CAA).
Both teams exchanged blows to start the contest with neither team seeing a lead larger than four. With under nine minutes to play, Monmouth rattled off nine unanswered points, capped off by a triple from Andrew Ball to take a 22-13 lead. Campbell quickly replied with a 10-0 run of its own as Caleb Dorsey scored the final five points of the stretch to reclaim a one-point edge, 23-22, at 4:16. After working to a 27-27 deadlock at intermission and a brief exchange to open the second half, Campbell surged out to a 9-0 run and never looked back after seven straight points from Colby Duggan and a pair of made free throws by Zurliene captured a 39-31 lead. The Camels closed the game on a 22-8 run and held Monmouth to just three field goals over the final six minutes to secure a 23-point victory.
Charleston 87, Northeastern 85
Box Score
Deywilk Tavarez registered a career-high 32 points and eight 3-pointers to guide Charleston (15-4, 5-1 CAA) to an 87-85 victory over Northeastern 10-9, 2-4 CAA). Tavarez became the fourth CAA player this season to register a 30-point effort with at least eight 3-pointers in a game. Ante Brzovic also chipped in 24 points on 10-13 shooting from the floor to go with nine boards.
There were six ties through the opening 6:23 of the contest before either team gained a lead bigger than one possession. After a five-point edge was gained by Northeastern, Charleston’s Tavarez drained three consecutive 3-pointers, part of a 19-point effort and five made treys by the sophomore guard in the first half, to flip the script on the Huskies and capture a 25-20 edge with 9:17 to play. The Cougars grew its lead to as many as eight before the Huskies chipped it down to two, 45-43, at the break after Youri Fritz finished in paint before the buzzer. Northeastern built on the late bucket and surged out to a six-point edge as Rashad King and Masai Troutman combined for the first 15 points of the half to put the Huskies ahead by six, 58-51, with 12:57 to play. Charleston chipped away over the next six minutes before scoring 11 unanswered points to claim a 72-67 lead with 5:55 to go. The Cougars and Huskies exchanged buckets until a five-point spurt capped off by a trey from JB Frankel brought Northeastern to within one, 86-85, with 11 seconds on the clock. After Charleston’s CJ Fulton hit the back end of his two free throws, the Huskies’ King saw his final attempt from distance fall short at the horn. King led five Huskies with 22 points to go with eight boards and seven assists, while Harold Woods chipped in 20 points of his own.