CHICAGO (September 24, 2021) – After spending last season playing in both Spain and Estonia, 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year and Loyola University Chicago guard Marques Townes (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph/Fairleigh Dickinson) has signed a professional contract with Pieno Zvaigzdes Pasvalys in Lithuania for the 2021-22 season.
 
In two seasons with the Ramblers, the 6-foot-4 guard helped lead the Ramblers to a pair of MVC regular season championships and two postseason appearances, including a run to the 2018 NCAA Final Four in San Antonio.  As a senior in 2018-19, Townes pitched in 15.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game to become the second straight Rambler to take home MVC Player of the Year accolades, while also helping Loyola a second straight MVC regular-season crown and a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) berth.
 
During the 2020-21 campaign, Townes appeared in seven games for Kalev/Cramo and averaged 6.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.1 apg and 1.0 spg, while connecting on 44.4 percent of his three-point field goal attempts, in helping lead the team to the KML title.