FEDORA

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CIT and CBI Tournament Results for Colonial Athletic Association Teams:

CIT, Round 1:

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (15-15) vs James Madison Dukes (17-16): James Madison took a lead early in the 1st half which they never relinquished. At the break they were ahead 50-33 and then continued to dominate in the 2nd half, leading by as much as 26 points. While Coastal Carolina cut into that lead a little at the end, there never was any doubt as to the outcome with James Madison hitting 60% of their shots. The Dukes won convincingly by a score of 90-72. James Madison was led by SG Nick Calhoun who scored 23 points and had 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks.

CIT, Round 2:

James Madison Dukes (18-16) vs NC-Greensboro Spartans (20-11): This was pretty much of a replay of the Dukes opening victory. James Madison quickly took control and pulled away to a 44-31 halftime advantage. They again gained as much as a 26 point lead in the 2nd half and James Madison stomped the Spartans 84-66. As in their previous game, SG Nick Calhoun was stellar, scoring 24 points and dishing out 5 assists.

CIT, Round 3:

Florida Atlantic Owls (20-13) vs James Madison Dukes (19-16): The game was exceptionally close throughout the first half. The Dukes came out of it with a slim 41-40 lead. But the Owls flew into a big lead in the 2nd half as their fans hooted it up. Down by as much as 17 points, James Madison came on strong as the game was ending but the gap had been too big. Florida Atlantic held off the Dukes to win 80-75. James Madison top scorer was C Adam Ash with 16 points. Their typical high point man, SG Nick Calhoun fouled out with 11 points.

CBI, Round 1:

Maine Black Bears (21-11) vs Hofstra Pride (18-12): Hofstra held a small lead throughout most of the 1st half, finishing it ahead 41-37. The Pride came out and left the Black Bears behind in the dust. Hofstra finished by decimating Maine 84-65. C Colin Leith had a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds plus had 4 blocks.

CBI, Round 2:

Florida State Seminoles (17-15) vs Hofstra Pride (19-12): Hofstra took a 5 point lead over the Seminoles 6 minutes into he game, but Florida State came back to lead 37-30 at the break. The Seminoles defense dominated early in the 2nd half which allowed Florida State to go ahead by 18 points midway through the half. Hofstra came back and chipped away at the lead but couldn’t overtake the Seminoles. Florida State sent the Pride home by a score of 72-66. SG Norman Cherry scored 17 points while C Colin Leith had 9 points and 14 rebounds.

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NCAA Tournament Results for Colonial Athletic Association Teams

NCAA, Round 1:

#14 seed Charleston Cougars (18-16) vs #3 seed, #11 ranked Xavier Musketeers (26-8): Xavier controlled the Cougars in the first half to gain a 48-34 halftime lead. But Charleston came back in the 2nd half with an explosive offense, and regulation time ended with the teams tied at 83-83. After a first overtime, the game remained tied at 94-94. But the Cougars ran out of gas in the 2nd overtime. Xavier ran away with a 112-99 victory. SF Russell Brown topped Charleston’s scoring with 19 points, but SF Marques Smith scored 28 for the Musketeers.

#12 seed Southern Methodist Mustangs (20-12) vs #5 seed, #14 ranked Towson Tigers (28-3): The Mustangs won their play-in game over New Mexico by a score of 87-76. Southern Methodist has been a streaky team throughout much of the season with several mid-sized win streaks and losing streaks. They won 3 and lost 3 against ranked teams this season and placed 3rd in the AAC standings. PG Jeremy Felder scored 18.4 ppg and had 5.6 apg. Towson’s head coach Frederick Aura said before the game, “We haven’t had much of a chance to study the Mavericks, so we’re going into this game partially blinded. Southern Methodist is a heckuva strong 12th seed that plays well on both ends of the court. We’ve got our work cut out for us. We got our butts kicked in our last game, so I’m hoping the guys come out committed to proving that we’re a lot better than that.”

Towson scored the first 11 points of the game as they held Southern Methodist scoreless for 4-1/2 minutes. The Tigers continued to dominate and led 39-17 with 5 minutes remaining in the half. The half ended with Towson holding a solid 45-22 lead after holding Southern Methodist’s shooting to just 27%. C Donny Flint had 12 points and 11 rebounds in the first half.

Towson edged a little further out front in the 2nd half. With 8 minutes to go it was 65-36 in favor of Towson. The Tigers’ shooting then went ice cold allowing the Mustangs to trim the lead all the way until the end of the game. But Towson had enough of an advantage to avoid a serious challenge. The final score was Towson-73, Southern Methodist-61.

C Donny Flint had a big double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds as well as 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. SG Dominick Collins scored 12 and PF Kevin Holmes added 11 points. The Tigers held the Mustangs’ high-scoring SG Jeremy Felder to just 4 points (all on free throws).

Coach Aura said, “I didn’t like the way we fell apart in the final 8 minutes, but before that our guys were excellent. We had enough of a margin that our entire bench got to play, so everyone can say they played in the NCAA Tourney.”

NCAA, Round of 32:

#5 seed, #14 ranked Towson Tigers (29-3) vs #4 seed, #19 ranked Virginia Cavaliers (26-10): Virginia’s SG Ilian Johansen averaged 18.3 ppg and PF Darelle Bruce averaged 15.2 ppg and 7.8 rpg this season. Virginia tied for 4th place in the ACC standings and lost the ACC Tourney championship game to #1 ranked Duke. The Cavaliers defeated Southern Illinois 75-65 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. On paper the two teams look pretty equal, but coming out a tough ACC season would seem to give the Cavaliers an edge. Coach Aura said, “It’s going to be tough trying to contain two star players like Bruce and Johansen, but we came here to play the big boys so here we go.”

Two teams, one from the prestigious AAC and one from the not so prestigious CAA from locations 170 miles apart met on a neutral court 1000 miles away from their campuses to see who would reach the Sweet 16. Most people in the stands felt Virginia would make mincemeat of Towson. But the Tigers came out with a sense of purpose and took a 11-5 lead after the first 5 minutes. Eleven minutes into the game Towson was on top 22-9 forcing the Cavaliers to take a time out. Virginia began to hit their shots, but the Tigers stubbornly matched up with them. The first half ended with Towson in charge, 40-31. The Tigers were led by C Donny Flint’s 9 points and reserve SG Dominick Collins 8 points. PF Darelle Bruce knocked down 14 points for Virginia.

With 14 minutes remaining in the game Towson still led by 9 points. But Virginia then scored 5 quick points and the crowd sensed the momentum changing. At the 7:45 mark the Cavaliers tied the game at 57-57. It then became a defensive battle. Towson bent but did not break. With the Tigers ahead by a single point with 48 seconds to go, PG Shaun White launched a 3 that sunk cleaning through the net. The Cavaliers had a tough time getting off a shot, but with 21 seconds remaining they hit a tightly contested 3 to narrow the gap to one point. Virginia put on a full court press that the Tigers barely beat. With time ticking off he clock, the Cavaliers were forced to foul. PF Kevin Holmes hit the first of a one-and-one but missed the second. Virginia quickly got the ball across midcourt and put up a 3 that ticked off the rim giving Towson a 67-65 win.

C Donny Flint scored 12 and had 11 rebounds. SG Dominick Collins scored 11. For Virginia, PF Darelle Bruce poured in 30 points and pulled down 12 boards.
After the game, PG Shaun White said, “Before the game Coach Aura told us, ‘We’re being called underdogs, but let me tell ya, we’re not underdogs, tonight we’re going to be top dogs! Now get your asses out there and play like it!’ and we did.”

C Donny Flint added, “We fell behind late in the game but we never gave up and came back to beat a really tough team. Now we’re in the Sweet 16, baby!

NCAA Sweet 16:

#5 seed, #14 ranked Towson Tigers (30-3) vs #1 seed, #3 ranked Kentucky Wildcats (34-2): The Wildcats breezed through the SEC with a perfect 18-0 record. Kentucky is riding a 32-game win streak coming into this game. SF Dave Perry is averaging 18.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 5.5 apg, 1.1 spg, and 2.4 bpg. Kentucky’s debilitating man-to-man defense has only allowed their opponents to average 61.3 ppg. Towson’s Nate Culuko, their scouting coach, said, “Kentucky is a really tough team. But we’re a better shooting team that are they, and I think our guards can possibly outplay their guards and could give us a chance in this game. But we’ll have to play our very best to win this one.”

Kentucky wasted no time revealing why they are a #1 seed and the #3 ranked team in the country. The Wildcats employed a devastating defense that put Towson on its heels. Unable to get off clear shots, the Tigers slid steadily behind even though the Wildcats were having their own difficulties scoring. C Donny Flint and SG Dominick Collins were sent to the bench early after picking up 2 fouls apiece. Then PF Kevin Holmes left the game with an injury with Kentucky on top 17-8. Later in the half PG Shaun White and PF/C Donyell Porter also got into foul trouble. When the half concluded, Towson was trailing 32-18. Kentucky had hit just 29% of their shots, but the Tigers had shot an abysmal 22%. The Wildcats also had outrebounded Towson 26-17. C Donny Flint scored 6 points to top the scoring for Towson. Kentucky’s SF Dave Perry was held to just 4 points but had 10 rebounds in the first half.

Kentucky scored the first 6 points of the 2nd half to gain a 20 point lead. Towson made a small run that cut the deficit to 40-29 with 15 minutes remaining in the game. Flint fouled out with 12 minutes left and the Tigers fell behind by 20 again with 11 minutes to go. Both teams were scoring much better than in the first half, but with 7 minutes on the clock, Kentucky had opened a 30 point lead. Porter fouled out with 5 minutes left. The Tigers were unable to make any inroads and lost 85-56. Kentucky outshot Towson 43% to 35%, went to the line 20 more times where they made 17 more points than the Tigers, and held a 41-29 rebounding advantage.

The leading scorer for Towson was SF Wayne Burrough with 17 points, and he also hauled down 10 rebounds. SG/PG Jon Spann added 10 points. For Kentucky SF Dave Perry finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks.

“We ran into a real buzz-saw out there tonight,” said Coach Frederick Aura. “But making it to the Sweet 16 was an accomplishment for us and a step up the ladder from previous seasons.”

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Coach Matt Barnes, Recruiting Assistant:

The day after we played in the Sweet 16, PG Marco Fergerson, a 6’-0” high school senior from Bloomfield, CT accepted a scholarship offer we had extended a few months ago. Marco averaged 11.9 ppg, 5.5 apg, 5.6 rpg, 1.8 bpg, and 2.0 spg. He’s an excellent passer, very good ball handler, and great outside shooter. He’a ranked #382 nationally and has a tremendous work ethic, rarely missed practices, and while not leader, doesn’t cause problems.

We therefore filled all 4 scholarships we had to offer this season with 2 PG’s and 2 SF’s.

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Towson Tigers Player Stats for 2023-2024 Season

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TIGER BLOG

Donny Flint ran away with the big awards for the Colonial Athletic Association. Flint averaged 12.7 ppg and 10.1 rpg and consistently made life hell for opponents' interior players. This season he was a junior so, much to the pleasure of Coach Aura and Tigers' fans, he will be returning for his another year of collegiate competition this coming season.

Towson TIgers Colonial Athletic Association Award WInners:

C Donny Flint, CAA Player of the Year

C Donny Flint, CAA Defensive Player of the Year

C Donny Flint, CAA 1st Team All-Conference

Frederick Aura, CAA Coach of the Year

It's likely that Tigers' fans feel that some of Flint's teammates should have made the All-Conference teams, particularly PG Shaun White and SG Dominick Collins. But with stats pretty evenly divided between all the starters and several subs, they excellent play doesn't stand out on paper.

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Coach Frederick Aura:

Pretty good offers, but nothing that I got excited by. So I will stick around at Towson next season.

1st Asst Kenyon Haynes wanted to land a head coaching job but didn’t get one. He plans to look again after next season after his contract with us expires so he didn’t want to discuss an extension. I did extend 3rd Assistant Nate Culuko for an extra year, though. So he now has 3 years left on his contract.

My request for a Facilities Upgrade was approved by the board improving our facilities rating to a B, so I’m stoked about that. And thus this season ends.

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2024-2025 SEASON

Coach Frederick Aura:

We lost 2 starters off last year’s squad. But we have both starting interior players back (C Donnie Flint and PF Kevin Holmes) and Dominick Collins returns to start at SG again this coming season. Joe Spann got a lot of playing time last season. He split his time at PG and SG, but he’s a natural PG and I expect he will perform very well starting at PG this year. At SF, Mac McCaffery performed well as a backup last season during his freshman year and is ready to step into a starting role. So I think our starting lineup will be as strong as last season. We’ll have to see how our bench looks when we begin practice in October.

We have three scholarships to fill this coming year. 2nd Assistant Coach Matt Barnes and I will get together soon to map out our recruiting strategy.

On the home front both my boys are now in high school. They’re doing pretty well academically and both are good basketball players. My daughter is in grade school. Janeka, my wife, is still a nurse at the local hospital. She also mentors a junior high school student who comes from a disadvantaged family and has had a rough childhood. It’s a big challenge but one at which Janeka excels.

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Perry Winkle, Athletic Director

Things were really looking up for Coach Aura and the team after getting to the NCAA tourney the past 3 years and into the Sweet 16 a month ago. His professional and personal life were on all-time highs.

Coach Aura came into my office this afternoon to let me know his parents were driving home today when their car was hit by a guy trying to evade pursuing police officers. Both are in critical condition. If they survive, it’s likely that they will be laid up for some time recovering. Fred told me he needs to be there with them as much as possible. I told him to go and do what’s needed and that his assistant coaches will handle the team in his absence.

It's strange how things can go topsy-turvy in weeks, days, hours, or minutes.

Our thoughts are with Fred’s parents…that they recover fully.

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2nd Assistant Coach Matt Barnes


Coach Aura gave me complete control of recruiting this season since he just won’t have the time to oversee it. While I’m looking forward to that, it’s a big new challenge. We’ll be losing SG Dominick Collins and big men Donny Flint and Donyell Porter. So hopefully we can land at least one good big man and a SG this recruiting season with the 3rd recruit being who best fills a need for our team.

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Recruiting Coach Matt Barnes:

We’re into November and I’m sorry to say our recruiting efforts were far from what I had hoped for. We got a fairly early signing of a SG…Marque Worrell from Gaithersburg, MD. He’s got good height, 6-5 and is a good scorer with a nice outside shot. His other forte is defense. While he’s not highly rated, I think he could turn into a solid player for us. Then in late autumn PG Glen Fox from Dover, DE accepted a scholarship offer. He’s 6-2. He’s an excellent outside shooter and has scored well in high school. He’s probably going to need a lot of grooming to be up to playing in prime time, but he’s a hard worker so we gotta hope for the best. I suspect that initially he will be a backup at both PG and SG for us.

So both recruits are likely to need time to develop into potential starters, but 2 of 3 scholarships filled. We still haven’t been able to land a big man, though, and that could present problems for us next season. Without Coach Aura around to close the deal, recruiting has been a lot tougher.