The Towson Tigers men’s basketball team is laser focused on preparing for a season high in expectations. But this weekend their athletic missions will be secondary to their philanthropic ones.
“Life is bigger than basketball, you know,” said forward Justin Gorham.
The Tigers will host Bucknell on Saturday in a special exhibition contest to help support relief efforts after the recent hurricanes of the past few months. The two schools have received an NCAA waiver to approve the game.
“It’s a great cause, obviously. And along with that the guys are excited to play, especially this time of year,” said head coach Pat Skerry. “There’s really no downside to it. It’s homecoming weekend here at Towson. The place is going to be jumping.”
“I feel like this weekend’s going to be great,” added Gorham. “We’re trying to raise money for awareness for people who lost their homes, lost everything. We’re just trying to do it for a good cause.”
Admission to Saturday’s game is free. A donation of at least $5 is suggested. All the proceeds from the event will go to hurricane relief.
Tigers senior forward Eddie Keith is an Orlando, Florida native. The recent hurricanes didn’t affect him too much but he knows all too well how the damage they can do.
“I’ve seen a lot of devastation over my lifetime,” said Keith. “(I’ve) been without power for three or four weeks at a time during hurricane season. So, it’s cool to give back and having to play to give back, playing the game of basketball to give back to the community.”
“We’re blessed to have a scholarship to play for this university but some people aren’t as blessed to do some certain things. We were blessed not to get the hurricanes,” said Gorham. “Some people lost their homes, lost everything. But, we’re blessed to be here and now we’d like to give it back.”
Tipoff between the Tigers and Bison is set for 1:00 p.m. Saturday inside SECU Arena.
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