TOWSON, Md. ? Sophomore Jarrel Smith gave the Tigers an early lift but it was freshman Troy Franklin that came to the rescue in the late going as Towson held off a pesky Hampton five for an 82-73 victory in the Towson Center Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers, now 2-1 on the year, built an early 15-point lead (30-15) with Smith pouring in 11 points. He finished the first half with 14 and eventually wound up with a game and career high 24 points and nine rebounds. Towson took a 39-32 lead into halftime.
The Pirates pecked away at the lead for the rest of the first half and into the second, finally catching Towson at 57-57 on Michael Freeman's layup with 8:25 left on the clock.
“We had the lead and gave it away,” said Tigers' head coach Pat Kennedy. “We had to get it back and then we had to close.”
A basket and a free throw by Theo Smalling gave the Pirates their biggest lead, 60-57. Franklin then buried a three pointer to knot the score again. Donte Harrison put Hampton on top 62-60 a minute later with a slam but that was to be the Pirates last lead.
On Towson's next trip down the floor Franklin hit another trey that ignited a decisive 10-2 run for a 70-62 advantage with 2:56 left. From there the Tigers had an answer for every Hampton attempt to rally.
The Pirates were forced to foul in the final 1:13 when the Tigers scored their last 10 points of the contest from the free throw line. Franklin and junior Calvin Lee combined to sink nine of them. The freshman from Mt. Carmel finished with 18 points.
Junior Josh Thornton was heavily involved for the Tigers also. Thornton finished with 14 points. Lee, making his first start in a Towson uniform, responded with 10 points scoring six points in the final two minutes. Sophomore Brian Morris chipped in with nine points, seven rebounds and a career high nine assists.
Morgan Kwame came off the bench to lead the Pirates with 14 points. George DeGroat subbed in and netted 12 points. Harrison finished with 11.
Towson is back in action again on Monday night when they host New Jersey Institute of Technology at 7:00 p.m. in the Towson Center.
