With Towson men’s basketball down, 49-38, to Hofstra on Jan. 8, Tyler Tejada hit a floater, absorbed some contact and figured he’d head to the free throw line with a chance to convert a 3-point play and trigger a possible comeback.
Instead, Tejada’s basket was waved off and he was called for a charge. The stoppage sent the game to a media timeout. The 6-foot-9, 230-pound junior wing was in disbelief over the call, eventually wandering over and slapping his hand on the television booth in frustration.
It’s been that kind of start to league play for Towson. The preseason CAA favorites fell to 8-9 overall and 0-4 in league play with a 78-67 loss to Hofstra.
“What did Winston Churchill say? If you’re going through hell, keep going,” Tigers head coach Pat Skerry said after the loss. “That’s the deal. No one’s going to give you anything in the league.”
Towson is shooting 35.2 percent from the floor and 28.8 percent from 3-point range in its four conference losses. The issues came to a head on Jan. 8, when the Tigers made just 20 of 59 shots due in large part to the struggles of their star players. Tejada was 6-for-20 from the field, while redshirt junior guard Dylan Williamson was 2-for-19.
Tejada and Williamson have scuffled during league play, posting numbers well below their career averages. Tejada is shooting 30.8 percent from the field and 27.8 percent from 3-point range, while Williamson is shooting 28.8 percent from the field and 29.2 percent from 3-point range.
There’s almost certainly some small-sample-size noise in those early numbers, which are likely to stabilize in the future. However, the Hofstra game was instructive as to how opponents will defend Towson — they’ll swarm Tejada and Williamson and force others to beat them.
“Those are guys historically that take 2-point shots in the mid-range. They’re a little bit outliers analytically,” Skerry said. “These aren’t guys I don’t know anything about. They did it last year. I don’t think it’s good coaching to tell good players to stop taking shots. We’ve got to get them going. Maybe they’re trying to hit the ball out of the park versus just making contact. Hopefully that changes.”
Towson does have some issues to sort through as it tries to get Tejada and Williamson back on track. The Tigers are shooting 28.5 percent from deep as a team on the season and haven’t established a reliable 3-point threat, allowing opponents to pack it in on the defensive end and forcing Tejada and Williamson into a lot of contested shots. Towson’s struggles in a half-court setting are paired with a lack of easy baskets in transition.
Add it all up and the Tigers are ninth in the 13-team CAA in adjusted offensive efficiency, according to KenPom, a college hoops analytics site.
“We haven’t made shots,” Skerry said.
Injury and illness haven’t helped. Graduate guard Jack Doumbia Jr., who gives Towson a productive slasher off the bench, missed the Hofstra game with pneumonia. It’s unclear when he’ll return. Junior guard Jaiden Cole (knee) and redshirt senior big man Abdou Samb (Achilles) have been out since December. The Samb absence means Skerry must lean on senior Mor Seck and sophomore Caleb Embeya at the center spot; both have offered little in the way of offense.
The good news for the Tigers is that they did get some juice from redshirt senior forward Tyler Coleman (16 points) and freshman wing Jaquan Womack (14) against Hofstra. They’ll need more of that moving forward, starting at Northeastern on Jan. 10.
The Huskies are 1-3 in CAA play and sit 11th in the conference in adjusted defensive efficiency, perhaps presenting an opportunity for Tejada and Williamson to break out.
“I want those guys to keep taking shots,” Skerry said. “I think they’re proven scorers. One thing I’ve told them this week, ‘I don’t want you looking over at me. I’m not going to play you less. I’m not going to tell you to shoot less. Stay aggressive, trust your work, be confident.'”
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