Towson Basketball Stuns Rival with Buzzer-Beater Finish | Game Recap & Highlights

SECU Arena may be 900 miles from Kissimmee, but Towson basketball fans woke up buzzing after the Tigers stunned previously unbeaten Liberty 72-69 in the ESPN Events Invitational semifinal. Junior swingman Tyler Tejada swatted away a potential tying three-pointer with 2.3 seconds left, then buried two free throws to ice his 20-point night and push Towson to 5-2 overall. Head coach Pat Skerry’s squad dominated the glass 39-25 and limited the Flames to 23.3% from deep, underscoring a defensive identity that has carried the program to back-to-back postseason berths. Red-shirt junior guard Dylan Williamson (14 points) hit a buzzer-beater to end the first half, while graduate transfer Jack Doumbia Jr. (15 points) provided a spark off the bench. The victory sets up Wednesday’s noon championship showdown with UC San Diego, streamed on ESPN2. A win would deliver Towson’s first in-season tournament crown since the 2013 Lumberjack Classic and pad a résumé that already features top-100 NET victories over Rhode Island and Liberty. Key storylines to watch: 1. Rebounding edge: Towson has yet to be out-rebounded this season, led by Tejada and freshman forward Caleb Embeya. UCSD ranks outside the nation’s top 200 in defensive-rebound percentage, giving the Tigers a clear path to second-chance points. 2. Emerging depth: The Tigers’ bench outscored Liberty 22-6, thanks to Doumbia Jr. and sharpshooter Tyler Schmidt. Sustained production could ease the load on Williamson in back-to-back games. 3. CAA implications: While the Invitational is a neutral-site event, a title would reinforce Towson’s preseason favorite status in the Coastal Athletic Association and boost its at-large profile should March come down to the wire. Search interest in “Towson basketball” has surged 450% this week, and ticket inquiries for the December 6 home opener against Penn have spiked accordingly, according to university officials. Expect that momentum to snowball if the Tigers cut down the nets in Florida and return to Baltimore with hardware—just in time for a student section that already ranks among the loudest in mid-major hoops.