No. 7 Towson Makes Fifth-Straight CAA Semifinal with 81-56 Win over No. 2 Charleston
Dylan Smith
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | TICKETS
PHOTO GALLERY | HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE – TOWSON | PRESS CONFERENCE – CHARLESTON
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Junior guard Tyler Tejada continued his offensive explosion in the Air Force Reserve CAA Men’s Basketball Championship, pouring in a team-high 30 points as No. 7 Towson knocked off No. 2 Charleston, 81-56, in quarterfinal action on Sunday night at CareFirst Arena.
The Tigers (19-14) advanced to the semifinals for the fifth year in a row, where they will face either No. 3 Hofstra or No. 6 William & Mary at 8:30 p.m. on Monday night. Charleston dropped to 21-11 following the setback.
After scoring a career-high 35 points in a second-round victory over Hampton, Tejada followed with 30 points on 11-of-17 FG shooting, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Backcourt mate Dylan Williamson added 13 points and nine assists for a Towson squad that shot 50% from the floor and 10-of-22 from three while outrebounding the Cougars 44-27.
Post player Christian Reeves paced Charleston with 13 points and point guard Jlynn Counter chipped in 11. The Cougars also got 10 points apiece from Colby Duggan and Chol Machot.
Towson never trailed in the opening half, but held just a six-point advantage, 31-25, after a layup by Duggan with 4:04 on the clock. The Tigers caught fire down the stretch, as a Williamson three from the top of the key started a 12-4 run that he capped with a jumper to make it 43-29 with 20 seconds left in the period. Tejada also provided five of his 17 first-half points during the surge. A Chris Davis Jr. trey at the buzzer pulled the Cougars within 43-32 at intermission.
Towson continued the momentum out of the locker room, starting the second half on an 18-2 surge that featured three treys from Ryan Conway. His final one from the right corner put the Tigers on top 61-34 with 15:26 remaining. Towson maintained at least a 20-point advantage for the rest of the game and expanded it to as much as 29.
With Towson’s victory against Charleston and Campbell’s win over CAA regular-season champion UNCW earlier in the day, it marks the first time in the league’s 40-year history that the semifinals will be played without the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds.
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