GAME NOTES: The Colonial Athletic Association Tournament kicks off Friday with a matchup featuring the ninth-seeded Towson Tigers taking on the eighth-seeded Elon Phoenix at Royal Farms Arena.

The winner of this clash will advance to the second round of the tournament, where the top-seeded William & Mary Tribe will be waiting on Saturday.

Towson backs into the tournament on a four-game losing streak after finishing the season with a 5-13 mark against conference opponents. The Tigers dropped their season finale to last year's CAA champion Delaware, 60-55, on Saturday at home to fall to 12-19 overall.

Elon was only slightly better in the regular season, garnering a 14-17 overall ledger with a 6-12 mark against league opponents. But the Phoenix, unlike Towson, head into the tournament on a high note having won their last three games, including a 74-55 thrashing of UNC-Wilmington Saturday.

This was the first season in which Towson and Elon were scheduled to meet. The programs clashed twice during the regular season, with Towson winning both head-to-head matchups by four and two points, respectively.

Towson and Delaware battled on Saturday in the win for the Blue Hens. Delaware held a 31-30 lead at the intermission, and then was able to pile three more points onto their advantage in the second half after limiting the Tigers to 37.5 percent shooting. Walter Foster tallied a 12-point, 11-rebound double- double to pace Towson, while John Davis added his own double-double of 11 points and 11 boards. Mike Morsell and Four McGlynn each contributed another 11 points in the loss.

The Tigers lost a lot from their 2013-14 season which saw them garner one of the better players in the conference in Jerrelle Benimon. This season, McGlynn was in the spotlight after contributing to the team's success a year ago. He finished the regular season with a team-leading 12.0 ppg, adding in 50 assists to pace the team. Davis was the only other player for Towson to finish with a double-digit scoring mark at 11.9 ppg, adding in a team-high 8.1 rpg. The Tigers as a unit netted 63.4 ppg on 41 percent shooting from the floor, and gave up just slightly more than that on average to opponents, who collected 64.7 ppg.

Elon dominated UNC-Wilmington defensively as the Phoenix cruised into the conference tournament on a high note. UNCW connected on a mere 33.9 percent of their field goal tries in the game, while Elon buried 31-of-39 from the free- throw line to gain a huge advantage. Tanner Samson netted 19 points with five rebounds before he fouled out of the contest, and Austin Hamilton chipped in with 14 points in the lopsided victory. Elijah Bryant added 13 points with eight boards, and Christian Hairston scored 12 off the bench in the victory.

Bryant finished the season for the Phoenix atop the team's scoring chart at 13.9 ppg, hitting on 37.7 percent of his attempts from the floor. Bryant, who started just 11 of the team's 31 games this season, did turn the ball over a whopping 111 times, though. Samson was the only other active player for Elon that averaged a double-digit scoring figure, collecting 12.6 ppg. Hamilton dished out a team-best 89 assists this year, while Samson holds a 4.3 rpg mark to top the team in terms of active players. The Phoenix are netting 70.8 ppg this season, but are giving up an eye-popping 70.6 ppg to opponents - the second-worst scoring defense in the conference.

Towson prides itself on a tough defense, while Elon goes more for the offensive attack. The game being played in Baltimore means Towson should have the edge with the favorable crowd, but Elon desperately wants revenge for two losses in the regular season.