TOWSON, Md. ? After missing the last two games with sprained ankle, junior tailback Matt Castor made a triumphant return to the lineup, leading Towson University (2-3) to a thrilling 31-24 non-conference victory over Columbia University (0-2) before a crowd of 5,030 at water-logged Johnny Unitas ® Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

      Castor ran for a career high 108 yards on 37 carries and scored the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard run with 1:06 remaining to play. It was his second touchdown of the game.

      In a game that featured torrential rain, nine fumbles, three tied scores and a 46-minute delay for lightning, the Tigers pulled out the win when Castor capped off a game-winning 44-yard drive in the final minutes.

      “When it's raining like that, everyone knows you need to run the ball if you want to win,” said Castor, who had the first 100-yard rushing game of his career. “After missing two games, I was anxious to contribute today. I want the ball as often as they want to give it to me. I'll take the ball every time. I just focused on hitting the holes and running hard.”

      The Lions, who never owned a lead in the game, tied the contest for the third time with 4:06 remaining in regulation. Midway through the fourth quarter, sophomore safety Adam Mehrer gave the Lions excellent field position at the Towson 30-yard line when he intercepted a Sean Schaefer pass and returned it 19 yards.

      Seven plays later, sophomore quarterback Shane Kelly scored on a two-yard touchdown run to cap off the drive. When senior Jon Rocholl booted the conversion, the game was tied at 24-24 with 4:06 remaining.

      However, sophomore Hakeem Moore gave the Tigers an emotional lift by returning the ensuing kickoff 39 yards to give the Tigers a first down at the Columbia 44-yard line. On second down, Schaefer threw a 25-yard pass to sophomore Steve Holmes, moving the ball to the Lions' 17-yard. A 10-yard sideline pass to junior tight end John Godlasky enabled the Tigers to move to the six-yard line with 1:27 left. After Castor ran for five yards on first down, he gave Towson a 30-24 lead with his one-yard run up the middle. Senior Mark Bencivengo's conversion gave the Tigers a 31-24 lead.

      After the Lions moved to their own 33-yard line on their final drive, the Tiger defense held them on downs to preserve the win.

      “Getting Matt Castor and Drew Mack back in the lineup really helped us today,” said Towson Coach Gordy Combs. “Matt really gave the offense a lift and Drew's presence helped our defensive morale.”

      While Castor had missed two games with his ankle injury, Mack had missed three games in a row with a knee injury.

      “The weather conditions were a huge factor in the game,” added Combs. “I know I'm grateful we have FieldTurf instead of natural grass. There were a lot of fumbles for both teams and it seemed like both teams converted the turnovers into points. When they came back and tied the score with four minutes left, we were confident that we could go down the field and score. Of course, Hakeem Moore's kickoff return gave us a tremendous lift.”

      The Tigers received the first big break of the game when junior Austin Knowlin fumbled a punt and sophomore linebacker Donte Blakey recovered at the Columbia 36-yard line midway through the first quarter. After Castor picked up four yards on first down, the game was suspended due to lightning in the area.

      After a 46-minute delay, the game was resumed in a heavy rain. With the rain coming down, the Tigers kept giving the ball to Castor. On the eighth play of the drive, Castor burst through the middle of the line and raced 16 yards for a touchdown, giving the Tigers a 6-0 lead with 2:06 left in the first period. It was the Tigers' first rushing touchdown of the season.

      Early in the second period, the Lions also took advantage of a fumble by Schaefer. When linebacker Corey Cameron recovered, Columbia had a first down at its own 41-yard line. On the second play after the turnover, Kelly threw a screen pass to sophomore fullback Zack Kourouma, who raced down the Towson sideline to score a 59-yard touchdown, tying the scorer at 7-7.

      A career long 60-yard kickoff return by Moore helped the Tigers regain the lead. After the Tigers drove to the Columbia 15-yard line, Bencivengo gave Towson a 10-7 lead when he kicked a 32-yard field goal with 6:21 left in the first half.

      On their final possession of the first half, Schaefer drove the Tigers 63 yards in 13 plays. With 18 seconds left in the half, Schaefer threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to senior Marcus Lee, giving Towson a 17-7 lead at halftime.

      Lee, who caught six passes for 54 yards in the win, has now caught at least one pass in all 38 games of his college career.

      In the second half, Columbia came right back and scored on its first two possessions. A 32-yard pass from Kelly to senior running back Jordan Davis enabled the Lions to move deep into Tiger territory. Rocholl's 22-yard field goal with 10:19 left in the third quarter cut the Lions' deficit to 17-10.

      The fired-up Columbia defense sacked Schaefer at the Towson three-yard line on the next possession, forcing junior Bill Shears to punt from deep in his own end zone. When his 36-yard punt was fielded at the Tiger 39-yard line, Columbia had excellent field position.

      A 29-yard pass from Kelly to Knowlin on first down moved the Lions to the Tiger 10-yard line. On third-and-goal from the 15-yard line, Kelly ran away from pressure and fired a 15-yard TD pass to sophomore Mike Stephens, enabling Columbia to tie the score at 17-17.

      With the score tied at 17-17, the Tiger offense went back to work. Schaefer directed a masterful 75-yard, 17-play drive which resulted in a one-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Wes White that gave the Tigers a 24-17 advantage. On the drive which consumed almost half of the third quarter (7:26), the Tigers converted two fourth down chances.

      With 11:02 left in the game, Columbia had an excellent chance to tie the game when Schaefer was sacked at the Tiger eight-yard line by linebacker Drew Quinn. When he fumbled, defensive end Lou Miller recovered, giving the Lions a first down at the Tiger eight-yard line.

      However, the Tigers turned the Lions away without a touchdown when sophomore cornerback Ollie Thomas intercepted a pass in the end zone. It was the Tigers' first interception of the season.

      “The difference in the game was special teams,” said Columbia Coach Norries Wilson. “It seemed like every time we would get some momentum, they would get a big kickoff return. That really hurt us.”

      After allowing 317.2 rushing yards per game in the first four games, the Tiger defense came up with a big effort against Columbia. Towson held the Lions to 68 rushing yards on 27 carries.

      “We did a good job stopping the run today,” said senior linebacker Jordan Manning, who made five tackles in the win. “We were really focused today and it forced them to change their game plan. They wound up throwing the ball a lot more than usual.”

      With his five tackles against the Lions, Manning moved into a tie for sixth place on Towson's career list of tackle leaders. He now has 276 career tackles and is tied with former All-American defensive tackle Rodney Smith, ?90 on the career list.

      Kelly led the Lions' offense by completing 19 of 32 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once. He also ran for a team high 35 yards on nine carries with one touchdown. Stephens caught five passes for 82 yards and a touchdown.

      Hampered by the weather conditions, Schaefer completed 20 of 31 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns. With his 193 passing yards, he moved into fifth place on the Colonial Athletic Association's career list. He has now completed 849 of 1322 passes for 9,430 yards and 60 touchdowns. He moved past former Connecticut quarterback Matt DeGennaro, '91 into fifth place. DeGennaro threw for 9,288 yards in career for the Huskies.

      Moore led the Tiger special teams by returning four kickoffs for 111 yards and also had a 14-yard punt return.

      Junior linebackers Alex Butt and Miguel Dean led the Tiger defense with eight tackles each. Dean, who also forced a fumble, was making the first start of his Towson career in place of an injured Josh Root.

      Each team turned the ball over three times in the game.

      With the victory, the Tigers have now won 13 consecutive non-conference games at home. The Tigers' last loss to a non-conference opponent at home was a 24-17 setback to Monmouth on October 27, 2001.

      The Tigers return to CAA action next Saturday afternoon when they host Northeastern University in a 12:00 noon game at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium.